Playing 9-handed versus 10-handed in a tournament

[Memphis Mojo]

Mark Gregorich makes this statement in the lastest issue of Card Player magazine:

<font color="blue"> "We played 10-handed (I vastly prefer ninehanded, both for comfort and strategic reasons),..."
</font>
He is speaking about a big tournament at the Bellagio.

So what exactly are the stratgic differences between playing 9-handed and 10-handed?

[andre006]

i guess you got to tighten up "slightly"
card player magazine is 95% full of useless column. this is just another one.

[Marduk]

He probably just feels more crowded when it's ten-handed. It does make it easier for tight players to wait for hands since blinds come around less often, though.

[AceLuby]

It's less comfortable at the table, and if you are near the dealer there are more players you can't see.

[TFGoose]

The presence of an extra player at the table certainly makes a difference in how you play, but how big a difference is debatable. I know that I certainly appreciate playing only 9-handed in a SNG for example, since these pay 3 spots just the same as the 10-handed versions do. But with the former, there's one less person to beat, and that can make a lot of difference.

As for MTTs, one less player just means slightly looser opening requirements, and a slightly greater necessity to steal blinds as the tournament goes on (since they come around 1 person faster). Other than that, I can't speak intelligently to the major differences.

--TFGoose

[Moose747]

I play almost exclusively 9-handed, but lately have been playing 10-handed on rare occasions. The biggest adjustment I found I needed had to do with playing TT and JJ preflop when there's action ahead of me. The increased likelihood that someone has you crushed makes reraising -EV in places where I think it's +EV with only nine.

Mostly though, the adjustment from 9 to 10 is similar to the adjustment you make between 8 and 9 and between 6 and 7. It's a subtle change, but it's pretty profitable when you're making it and no one else is.