Pre-flop Play in the Early Stage
by Unam
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Introduction
In this article- Goals of pre-flop play in the early stage
- What to consider when making a decision
- How to make a decision using the charts and the information you have available
Even though the winnings of a SnG player are determined mainly in the late stage of a tournament, the key to success is laid in the early stage. If you play badly here, you will rarely reach the late stage, or your stack will be too small to play effectively.
This article takes you beyond the starting hands charts from the Beginner section and explains the most important aspects of early stage tournament play.
What are the differences between SNGs and cash games?
Assume that you are dealt Q
Q
in the first hand of an 11$ SNG and are sitting in the Big Blind. The Small Blind shows you A
K and moves all-in. You are a 53.8% favorite to win the hand and have an easy call in a cash game.
At this point it is necessary to clarify the crucial difference between cash games and SnGs:
You buy into a tournament with $10 and receive 2,000 chips. So initially your 2,000 chips are worth $10, but this will change during the course of the tournament. If, for example, all your opponents decided to go crazy and went all-in every hand until only one of them was left, the situation would be as follows: You are heads up with 2,000 chips against an opponent with 18,000 chips.
2nd is certain and your 2,000 chips are worth at least $30 (even more as you still have a chance to come in 1st).
The mathematical method used to associate chips with a monetary value is the so-called Independent Chip Model ICM.
Let's have another look at the above situation without considering the blinds, as they are insignificant in size and can be reduced to 0 to keep the formula simple.
If you win the hand, you will have 4,000 chips. According to the ICM, they have a value of $18.444 (not $20, as you might assume). If you call the all-in, each uninvolved player gains 19.4 cents by moving closer to the money due to the fact that either you or the SB will be eliminated.
Therefore, you invest $10 to win $8.444. To make this call profitable, you need 10:18.444, or a 54.2% probability of winning the hand. Since you only have 53.8% equity, you should fold the hand.
This concept and formula with the ICM can be applied to any situation in an SnG, and the above example demonstrates why a tight pre-flop strategy prevails over loose play.
A chip won is worth less than a chip lost! (The first 2,000 chips are worth $10, where as the second 2,000 chips are only worth $8.444.)
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#1
PidKoker, 30 Mar 09 05:53
Great article wish it was around when I was grinding out the SnGs =P#2
viewer88, 31 Mar 09 08:37
nice :)would also be nice to have an article about AKo : hero OR; CO 3bet; hero?
#3
viewer88, 31 Mar 09 08:37
nice :)would also be nice to have an article about AKo : hero OR; CO 3bet; hero?
#4
redrockrain, 27 May 09 14:12
I would like to see some articles and thought about the Double or Nothing SNGs that have been popping up as of late.#5
pelikan114, 07 Sep 09 13:10
2 questions1. This article contradicts the Starting Hands Chart, which says always fold AQ after a raise. This article says you can call a preflop raise in certain situations.
2. The Starting Hands Chart says to push AK after getting reraised (early phase). Now this article sharply contradicts that in saying that you should fold a strong hand like QQ with even a higher than 50% chance to win. Now how cold I push AK preflop when I am an underdog against any pocket pair?
#6
michelr87, 19 Sep 09 10:46
2. The difference is that there already is a pot because of your initial raise. So you would make a return that's a higher then 50%:P1 raise 100
P2 raise all in 1000
P1 call 900
Calling costs 45% of the amount that can be won. So even against a pocket pair and taking into account ICM this is probally break even.
The advantage of AK is that there are very few hands that will be a > 54% favorite against you (only AA, KK and that chance is very low because you are already holding an ace and a king). Bad players can reraise you with less then a pocket pair (like AQ, AJ, A10, KQ). These hands make you money.
#7
obi1kenobi1, 30 Sep 09 08:38
i liked the early phase pocket pair article#8
lekski, 17 Nov 09 02:35
I am guessing the starting hand chart contradictions come down to the fact this is a silver article.#9
Hahaownedlolz, 02 Dec 09 21:49
... the starting hand chart is for beginners.Do you really think players like Phil Ivey got rich by strictly following only a simple hand charT?
ofcourse not. its just a start and as you play more and read more articles you learn more and adjust your play a bit. You keep changign your game is what i mean ;)
Anyway, nice article. I never really tried a squeeze bet, I'm definetly going to try it once i play SNG's again. (currently playing heads up)
#10
mihaidonos, 18 Jan 10 12:03
The first article with the chart is made for beginners. When someone makes an all in it practicly destroys anyone else strategy. If you make an all in with phil ivey, he won't have the advantege of strategy and advance play over you because the decision have been made.The starting chart is for avoiding this situations and to keep you away form better players who can mess you up after the flop
#11
Koshburger, 10 Feb 10 02:13
ok#12
Skraggy, 09 Mar 10 11:06
niceee (:#13
mattisks, 01 May 11 18:42
Phil Ivey is a nit. He plays only top ten. That's why he calls with AQ! :D#14
mattisks, 01 May 11 18:45
The advantage of AK is that there are very few hands that will be a > 54% favorite against you (only AA, KK and that chance is very low because you are already holding an ace and a king). Bad players can reraise you with less then a pocket pair (like AQ, AJ, A10, KQ). These hands make you money.??????
Why someone who reraise you with AQ, AJ, AT, KQ is supposed to be a bad player??
L-O-L!
#15
JohnDoe1313, 10 Jun 11 23:25
@#14Listen to PokerStrategy. They know damn right what they are talking about.
Hopefully some non-fish player corrects me because of high odds of me being wrong:
I am not a BSS player, but I would not reraise someone with AJ, AT, KQ, not even in a cash game. I would think about AQ, but not in SNG. It is basically a coin flip. If villain just calls your reraise with pocket pair, you are probably behind because most of the time you do not flop anything and you just waste chips. In SNG these chips are worth more than you think.