Advice for a loose bar tournament

[xxbeanxx]

I played a bar tournament last night... $20 buy in, close to 60 people. I busted out around the middle of the field after playing just two hands. I am thinking I played too tight, but am not sure... I'm looking for advice..


To describe my table as loose would be an understatement. From the getgo people were pushing all in for $60 pots with nothing but an ace high, and getting called by king high. So I knew if I was gonna get any chips I needed a hand. I waited and waited, throwing away rags. I picked up a few A,T and A,9 but also threw them away because of the action in front of me. A preflop raise of 10xBB was normal, and would usually see 2-3 callers..

At one point I was UTG and had A,Q.. But got some good tells on the guys behind me, so I tossed it and it turned out one of the guys behind me had AA, so it was a good laydown.

Eventually the blinds crept up and I had A,Js on the button with one raiser and no caller (!!). So I called the preflop bet and had to fold to the flop all-in.

At this point I had about 5xBB left and just waited for any kind of hand I could double up with. I found KQ in early position and just had to go. I lost.

So my question is this: how do I handle these situations? When the table is loose I play tight.. But at no time did the table ever tighten up so I could make a play.

Did I play it right, from my description? I mean, Should I be getting involved in raised pots (big raised pots) with marginal hands?

[geoncic]

extremely high variance game.

You'll need luck, that's just how it is.

Just get your chips in when you've got the best and cross your fingers.

sounds like a game any sane person would hate to be in if they weren't getting hot cards pre-flop.

[SunyD]

I've played in games like this myself (unfortunately), and when your card dead, there is nothing much you can do. It seems people are there just to drink a few beers and have a good time gambling, they dont care about playing respecfully because playing the right way is too boring. I try to stay away from donk-fests like these.. but if I was dragged in, I would just wait for a good hand in position, shove preflop and just hope for the best.

For example, I wouldve shoved the AJs on the button as you mentioned above.

[ev_slave]

OP did get hot cards. He made a read with AQo vs AA, but then folded other juicy spots. If the game is as wild as he says, it's going to be a card catching contest, so you may as well get it in preflop before cards are even out. For example, your table was way loose, people were raising / calling with garbage. One person raises and you have AJ on the button, but then just call. Further, you fold the flop. If you were as tight as he says, he knows he can bet at you and ~60% of the time you're folding! Since AJo is WAY ahead of the initial raiser's range, you should have just RRAI on the spot, and hope that after 5 cards you came out ahead. You would have been a favorite (probably), so you should have just pushed when ahead.

The overall idea is that if post-flop play is a joke, (calling AI with K-high vs A-high qualifies) then you should either (1) play TAG PF and reraise the **** out of the jokers' when you're ahead their ranges, or 2) see flops cheaply when you can because if you hit hard (2pr or better) the idiots are willing to pay you off big. When your stack is large in comparison to the blinds, go with strategy (2) and limp or call cheap raises a lot from Late Position with speculative hands, and then drive the pot like a truck when you hit. When the blinds start to get big, adopt strategy (1). You'll either get short-stacked quicker but have good double-up opportunities, or build the big stack quickly, but hey, that's how tourneys like the one you described go.

[pzhon]

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From the getgo people were pushing all in for $60 pots with nothing but an ace high, and getting called by king high. So I knew if I was gonna get any chips I needed a hand.


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Or a pair.

Much of poker is about reading strength, both the strength "represented" by a betting sequence, and the actual strength of your hand and your opponent's hand. When a maniac gets all of his chips in, don't give him the respect you would give a tight player who has pushed. Otherwise, you are being outplayed.

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At one point I was UTG and had A,Q.. But got some good tells on the guys behind me, so I tossed it and it turned out one of the guys behind me had AA, so it was a good laydown.


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I think there was a CardPlayer article where a pro talked about the only time he folded KK to a single raise. A novice raised in early position and her hands were shaking uncontrollably, a sign of a monster hand. He was confident that she had AA. She had JJ, and just didn't know that JJ isn't a monster.

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When the table is loose I play tight.. But at no time did the table ever tighten up so I could make a play.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is common advice, but wrong. When the table is playing very loosely, this means their raises should be given less respect, not more. So, while you should normally throw away AJ after an early position raise, AJ is playable when the players think A6 and KJ are great hands.

When players are too loose or too tight, you can play slightly more loosely than optimal. Players who are too tight give you better position by folding hands with which they ought to attack the blinds (but once they are in, you have to tighten up). Players who are too loose are posting extra blinds, and this makes marginal hands profitable.