Xmas Cracker HH requests - win a PokerStrategy video guest spot! (part 1: early stages) | Tournaments

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- LuckyLukePS
  
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  Joined: 28.08.2014 Posts: 190
  - 27.11.2014, 22:23
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  Hi guys and seasons greetings
  
  I'd like to ask all of you to get involved in this one, and there's a bit of a festive poker prize in it for you too.
  
  It's been a buzz working on the site the last couple of months, and this December as an MTT coach in residence I'll be bringing you a three-part live coaching on how to survive and play optimally at the different stages of MTTs.
  
  In week one (look out for it in the schedule, week of the 1st December), we'll be looking at the early stages of play in MTTs, deep-stacked spots and what considerations should be paramount here. How to stack your villains for max value and how to play different formats optimally in the early stages, from rebuys to KOs to good old traditional freeze-outs.
  
  I want to ask everyone to chime in and send hands, which will be featured for discussion in the live coaching. Please send hands from the early stages of a tournament, let's say where the effective stack in play table is generally at or over 60-70bbs. We'll keep the hands here but without commenting on them just yet, saving all that for the coaching.
  
  Whoever posts the best example of poker ownage in the early stages, be it sick value or a bluff, will get the chance to be featured in a juicy guest spot in one of my own training videos early on in the New Year. I'll get you on mic with me on the vid and give you some time on the poker airwaves. Who knows, it could be the first step towards your own career as a poker coach.
  
  So if you think you have what it takes to offer some nice reasoning on a great play in early stages MTT poker, drop the hand in here. Whether or not your hand gets picked as the sickest of the bunch or not, you can be sure we'll cover it with some analysis in my up-coming live coaching series: "Xmas Cracker: How To Crack The Early Stages of MTTs"
  
  Happy Christmas and good luck at the felt!
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14 replies
- Atalol
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 10.05.2011 Posts: 881
  - 01.12.2014, 22:25
  - 0
  Poker Stars $5.00+$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t20/t40 Blinds - 8 players
  
  BTN: t3390 84.75 BBs
  SB: t2940 73.50 BBs
  BB: t2955 73.88 BBs
  UTG: t2558 63.95 BBs
  Hero (UTG+1): t3514 87.85 BBs
  MP1: t2435 60.88 BBs
  MP2: t2897 72.42 BBs
  CO: t2925 73.12 BBs
  
  Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is UTG+1 with J K
  1 fold, Hero raises to t100, 2 folds, CO calls t100, 2 folds, BB calls t60
  
  Flop: (t320) J 3 2 (3 players)
  BB checks, Hero bets t268, CO calls t268, BB raises to t840, Hero calls t572, CO calls t572
  
  Turn: (t2840) 6 (3 players)
  BB bets t1055, Hero raises to t2574 all in, CO folds, BB calls t960 all in
  
  River: (t6870) 2 (2 players - 2 are all in)
  
  Final Pot: t6870
  BB shows 5d 4d (a straight, Deuce to Six)
  Hero shows Jd Kd (two pair, Jacks and Deuces)
  BB wins t6870
  
  This is an interesting hand and one I'm not sure I played well.
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- Veini
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 11.10.2010 Posts: 638
  - 02.12.2014, 02:36
  - 0
  Here's a hand I played at partypoker. I'm defending this deep close to 90% of hands against a lateposition 2x steal with antes. On the river I chose to x/r and if villian would 3bet I would have to fold.
  
  Party, $4.55 Buy-in (100/200 blinds, 20 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players
  Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
  
  SB: 17,850 (89.3 bb)
  Hero (BB): 18,000 (90 bb)
  UTG+1: 17,850 (89.3 bb)
  UTG+2: 18,000 (90 bb)
  MP1: 17,400 (87 bb)
  MP2: 18,000 (90 bb)
  MP3: 20,550 (102.8 bb)
  CO: 18,000 (90 bb)
  BTN: 16,350 (81.8 bb)
  
  Preflop: Hero is BB with 8 9
  5 folds, CO raises to 400, 2 folds, Hero calls 200
  
  Flop: (1,080) 2 9 5 (2 players)
  Hero checks, CO bets 455, Hero calls 455
  
  Turn: (1,990) 8 (2 players)
  Hero checks, CO checks
  
  River: (1,990) A (2 players)
  Hero checks, CO bets 855, Hero raises to 2,277, CO calls 1,422
  
  Results:
  
  6,544 pot
  Final Board: 2 9 5 8 A
  Hero showed 8 9 and won 6,544 (3,392 net)
  CO mucked A K and lost (-3,152 net)
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- Veini
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 11.10.2010 Posts: 638
  - 02.12.2014, 03:01
  - 0
  This isn't particularly early in the tournament but we are quite deep and this hand goes into the "owning" category. Playing with wide ranges blind vs blind can be tough as you need to play big pots with marginal holdings. This hand is a good example of hand strength vs range. When villian bets the river I start thinking the hand through again.
  
  preflop: he opens probably 70% of hands
  flop: he might be cbetting strong Ax for value but I'd think that he would often just c/c them. As the combinations of pocketpairs and connected pairs on this board is so small compared to the combinations of his offsuit and suited hands that want to make a stab at it calling with kq here is a must. He might even start 3barreling me if the turn comes K or Q.
  
  turn: villian checks and I feel that betting here will only make worse hands to fold and better hands to call so I decide to c/b
  
  River: This gets tricky... So what is he valuebetting here? Maybe A5,44,some tx that he wanted to c/c on the turn against my floats.... He might even be c/r:ing some trip dueces on the turn, but in general I feel that he will very often be frustrated and just wants this pot so bad that he just decides to take another stab at it. Further more villian polarizes his range with this big betsize so I can be pretty certain he doesnt have 66-99 here... Would he turn Ax into a bluff here? No i doubt that. So with the nut second highcard this is a relatively easy call.
  
  Pacific, $3.55 Buy-in (4,000/8,000 blinds, 800 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 6 Players
  Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
  
  SB: 346,737 (43.3 bb)
  Hero (BB): 325,070 (40.6 bb)
  UTG: 215,925 (27 bb)
  MP: 99,716 (12.5 bb)
  CO: 177,818 (22.2 bb)
  BTN: 182,122 (22.8 bb)
  
  Preflop: Hero is BB with K Q
  4 folds, SB raises to 18,000, Hero calls 10,000
  
  Flop: (40,800) 3 2 2 (2 players)
  SB bets 15,200, Hero calls 15,200
  
  Turn: (71,200) T (2 players)
  SB checks, Hero checks
  
  River: (71,200) 4 (2 players)
  SB bets 53,400, Hero calls 53,400
  
  Results:
  
  178,000 pot
  Final Board: 3 2 2 T 4
  SB showed K 8 and lost (-87,400 net)
  Hero showed K Q and won 178,000 (90,600 net)
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- LuckyLukePS
  
  Coach
  
  Coach
  
  Joined: 28.08.2014 Posts: 190
  - 03.12.2014, 11:37
  - 0
  Thanks for these guys, some interesting spots for sure, looking forward to including them. The deeper one we'll likely look at in part two - a thread to come for part two which will be focused on mid-game / bubble play.
  
  Keep 'em coming MTT-ers!
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- benaars
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 03.06.2010 Posts: 783
  - 07.12.2014, 21:40
  - 0
  PKR, $50 Buy-in (150/300 blinds, 25 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 6 Players
  Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
  
  SB: 31,451 (104.8 bb)
  BB: 17,125 (57.1 bb)
  UTG: 20,089 (67 bb)
  Hero (MP): 31,105 (103.7 bb)
  CO: 8,716 (29.1 bb)
  BTN: 23,759 (79.2 bb)
  
  Preflop: Hero is MP with 5 6
  UTG raises to 600, Hero calls 600, 2 folds, SB calls 450, BB folds
  
  Flop: (2,250) 6 9 J (3 players)
  SB checks, UTG bets 1,125, Hero calls 1,125, SB calls 1,125
  
  Turn: (5,625) 5 (3 players)
  SB checks, UTG bets 2,100, Hero calls 2,100, SB calls 2,100
  
  River: (11,925) 7 (3 players)
  SB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks
  
  Results:
  
  11,925 pot
  Final Board: 6 9 J 5 7
  SB mucked and lost (-3,850 net)
  UTG showed J A and lost (-3,850 net)
  Hero showed 5 6 and won 11,925 (8,075 net)
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- MartinsStraupmanis
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 18.05.2011 Posts: 18
  - 08.12.2014, 15:57
  - 0
  ***** Hand History for Game 1111111111 ***** (IPoker)
  Tourney Hand NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, December 07, 05:20:57 ET 2014
  Table 1 500 Super ANTE MATTER 494695028 (Real Money)
  Seat 9 is the button
  Seat 1: Hero ( 10418 ) - VPIP: 16, PFR: 13, 3B: 3, AF: 2,5, Hands: 7667
  Seat 2: Player2 ( 9735 ) - VPIP: 25, PFR: 13, 3B: 0, AF: 1,0, Hands: 8
  Seat 3: Player3 ( 9766 ) - VPIP: 15, PFR: 10, 3B: 0, AF: 8,0, Hands: 78
  Seat 4: Player4 ( 9756 ) - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 12, AF: 0,0, Hands: 34
  Seat 5: Player5 ( 7130 ) - VPIP: 32, PFR: 9, 3B: 6, AF: 0,5, Hands: 34
  Seat 6: Player6 ( 9675 ) - VPIP: 29, PFR: 9, 3B: 6, AF: 2,3, Hands: 34
  Seat 8: Player8 ( 8784 ) - VPIP: 23, PFR: 4, 3B: 5, AF: 1,0, Hands: 47
  Seat 9: Player9 ( 8758 ) - VPIP: 70, PFR: 39, 3B: 33, AF: 1,5, Hands: 33
  Seat 10: Player10 ( 16171 ) - VPIP: 8, PFR: 2, 3B: 0, AF: 0,3, Hands: 48
  Player10 posts ante of [10].
  Hero posts ante of [10].
  Player2 posts ante of [10].
  Player3 posts ante of [10].
  Player4 posts ante of [10].
  Player5 posts ante of [10].
  Player6 posts ante of [10].
  Player8 posts ante of [10].
  Player9 posts ante of [10].
  Player10 posts small blind [50].
  Hero posts big blind [100].
  ** Dealing down cards **
  Dealt to Hero [ Qd Ad ]
  Player2 folds
  Player3 raises [200]
  Player4 folds
  Player5 calls [200]
  Player6 folds
  Player8 folds
  Player9 raises [600]
  Player10 folds
  Hero calls [500]
  Player3 calls [400]
  Player5 calls [400]
  ** Dealing Flop ** [ Jd, Qs, 7h ]
  Hero bets [1000]
  Player3 folds
  Player5 folds
  Player9 raises [2200]
  Hero raises [8808]
  Player9 calls [5948]
  ** Dealing Turn ** [ Jc ]
  ** Dealing River ** [ 7s ]
  Hero wins 1660 from main pot
  Player9 wins 18836 from main pot
  Player9 shows [Jh, 9h ]
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- MartinsStraupmanis
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 18.05.2011 Posts: 18
  - 08.12.2014, 16:03
  - 0
  ***** Hand History for Game 1111111111 ***** (IPoker)
  Tourney Hand NL Texas Hold'em - Saturday, December 06, 04:44:54 ET 2014
  Table 200 Six 494659438 (Real Money)
  Seat 1 is the button
  Seat 1: Hero ( 10970 ) - VPIP: 16, PFR: 13, 3B: 3, AF: 2,5, Hands: 7667
  Seat 3: Player3 ( 6537 ) - VPIP: 47, PFR: 17, 3B: 0, AF: 1,0, Hands: 64
  Seat 5: Player5 ( 4400 ) - VPIP: 39, PFR: 13, 3B: 10, AF: 0,0, Hands: 23
  Seat 6: Player6 ( 5000 ) - VPIP: 54, PFR: 8, 3B: 0, AF: 0,8, Hands: 13
  Seat 8: Player8 ( 6720 ) - VPIP: 39, PFR: 27, 3B: 0, AF: 1,3, Hands: 33
  Seat 10: Player10 ( 5000 ) - VPIP: 82, PFR: 18, 3B: 25, AF: 1,2, Hands: 22
  Player3 posts small blind [50].
  Player5 posts big blind [100].
  ** Dealing down cards **
  Dealt to Hero [ Ad Ah ]
  Player6 folds
  Player8 folds
  Player10 calls [100]
  Hero raises [300]
  Player3 folds
  Player5 calls [200]
  Player10 calls [200]
  ** Dealing Flop ** [ 6d, Qd, 8d ]
  Player5 checks
  Player10 checks
  Hero bets [525]
  Player5 folds
  Player10 folds
  Hero wins 1475 from main pot
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- MartinsStraupmanis
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 18.05.2011 Posts: 18
  - 08.12.2014, 16:10
  - 0
  ***** Hand History for Game 1111111111 ***** (IPoker)
  Tourney Hand NL Texas Hold'em - Thursday, December 04, 09:05:38 ET 2014
  Table 1 000 SPACE 494604393 (Real Money)
  Seat 1 is the button
  Seat 1: Player1 ( 13990 ) - VPIP: 28, PFR: 3, 3B: 0, AF: 2,2, Hands: 69
  Seat 2: Player2 ( 16204 ) - VPIP: 20, PFR: 15, 3B: 6, AF: 0,0, Hands: 142
  Seat 3: Player3 ( 5994 ) - VPIP: 12, PFR: 5, 3B: 0, AF: 2,8, Hands: 143
  Seat 4: Player4 ( 10495 ) - VPIP: 20, PFR: 7, 3B: 0, AF: 1,0, Hands: 46
  Seat 5: Player5 ( 9150 ) - VPIP: 22, PFR: 14, 3B: 7, AF: 0,0, Hands: 37
  Seat 6: Player6 ( 8625 ) - VPIP: 26, PFR: 2, 3B: 2, AF: 1,3, Hands: 123
  Seat 8: Hero ( 13505 ) - VPIP: 16, PFR: 13, 3B: 3, AF: 2,5, Hands: 7667
  Seat 10: Player10 ( 8562 ) - VPIP: 28, PFR: 3, 3B: 0, AF: 2,2, Hands: 69
  Player2 posts ante of [25].
  Player3 posts ante of [25].
  Player4 posts ante of [25].
  Player5 posts ante of [25].
  Player6 posts ante of [25].
  Hero posts ante of [25].
  Player10 posts ante of [25].
  Player1 posts ante of [25].
  Player2 posts small blind [100].
  Player3 posts big blind [200].
  ** Dealing down cards **
  Dealt to Hero [ Td Ad ]
  Player4 folds
  Player5 folds
  Player6 folds
  Hero raises [600]
  Player10 folds
  Player1 folds
  Player2 raises [1486]
  Player3 folds
  Hero calls [986]
  ** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, Ks, Qd ]
  Player2 bets [1072]
  Hero calls [1072]
  ** Dealing Turn ** [ 6d ]
  Player2 bets [2858]
  Hero calls [2858]
  ** Dealing River ** [ 4c ]
  Player2 bets [8003]
  Hero folds
  Player2 wins 19435 from main pot
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- sherriffatman
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 30.04.2009 Posts: 273
  - 08.12.2014, 17:57
  - 0
  Poker Stars, $10 Buy-in (20/40 blinds) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players
  Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
  
  SB: 4,930 (123.3 bb)
  BB: 6,560 (164 bb)
  Hero (UTG+1): 5,330 (133.3 bb)
  UTG+2: 4,930 (123.3 bb)
  MP1: 4,380 (109.5 bb)
  MP2: 4,700 (117.5 bb)
  MP3: 5,050 (126.3 bb)
  CO: 7,007 (175.2 bb)
  BTN: 2,960 (74 bb)
  
  Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 2 2
  Hero calls 40, 5 folds, BTN raises to 80, 2 folds, Hero calls 40
  
  Flop: (220) 6 A 2 (2 players)
  Hero bets 121, BTN calls 121
  
  Turn: (462) 3 (2 players)
  Hero bets 320, BTN calls 320
  
  River: (1,102) 8 (2 players)
  Hero bets 727, BTN raises to 1,454, Hero raises to 3,659, BTN calls 985 and is all-in
  
  Results:
  
  5,980 pot
  Final Board: 6 A 2 3 8
  Hero showed 2 2 and won 5,980 (3,020 net)
  BTN showed A T and lost (-2,960 net)
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- bobsonNS
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 26.01.2009 Posts: 418
  - 08.12.2014, 18:12
  - 0
  - This post has been edited 8 time(s), it was last edited by bobsonNS: 08.12.2014 18:59.
  Poker Stars, $0.91 Buy-in (25/50 blinds) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players
  Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details
  
  MP2: 1,735 (34.7 bb)
  MP3: 1,630 (32.6 bb)
  CO: 2,325 (46.5 bb)
  BTN: 2,765 (55.3 bb)
  SB: 8,513 (170.3 bb)
  Hero (BB): 4,530 (90.6 bb)
  UTG+1: 2,885 (57.7 bb)
  UTG+2: 1,603 (32.1 bb)
  MP1: 1,110 (22.2 bb)
  
  Preflop: Hero is BB with Q J
  6 folds, BTN raises to 100, SB calls 75, Hero calls 50
  
  Flop: (300) J T 9 (3 players)
  SB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets 200, SB calls 200, Hero raises to 600, BTN raises to 1,000, SB folds, Hero raises to 4,430 and is all-in, BTN calls 1,665 and is all-in
  
  Turn: (5,830) 2 (2 players, 2 are all-in)
  River: (5,830) 7 (2 players, 2 are all-in)
  
  I didn't calculate range but i thought in this situation my opponent could have many SD,FD without TP. I don't know how it should be look like my deduction in this situation. I don't remember any dynamic and history. Stats vpip/pfr/AFq 15/6/50 for 30 hands. Additional suggestion - this was tournament for 1$ so I saw a lot of sick action
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- sherriffatman
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 30.04.2009 Posts: 273
  - 08.12.2014, 18:20
  - 0
  - This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by sherriffatman: 08.12.2014 18:22.
  looking back at this one I deffo misssed rvr value, probs scared of flush coming in, in-game, but not many scs in his range as its a 3B pot
  
  Poker Stars, $10 Buy-in (75/150 blinds) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players
  Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
  
  Hero (SB): 8,684 (57.9 bb)
  BB: 4,480 (29.9 bb)
  UTG+1: 8,075 (53.8 bb)
  UTG+2: 3,595 (24 bb)
  MP1: 6,540 (43.6 bb)
  MP2: 7,142 (47.6 bb)
  MP3: 7,705 (51.4 bb)
  CO: 5,026 (33.5 bb)
  BTN: 4,750 (31.7 bb)
  
  Preflop: Hero is SB with Q A
  4 folds, MP3 raises to 300, 2 folds, Hero raises to 750, BB folds, MP3 calls 450
  
  Flop: (1,650) 9 A 9 (2 players)
  Hero bets 726, MP3 calls 726
  
  Turn: (3,102) Q (2 players)
  Hero bets 1,364, MP3 calls 1,364
  
  River: (5,830) 5 (2 players)
  Hero checks, MP3 checks
  
  Results:
  
  5,830 pot
  Final Board: 9 A 9 Q 5
  Hero showed Q A and won 5,830 (2,990 net)
  MP3 mucked A J and lost (-2,840 net)
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- bobsonNS
  
  Bronze
  Joined: 26.01.2009 Posts: 418
  - 08.12.2014, 18:35
  - 0
  - This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by bobsonNS: 08.12.2014 19:01.
  Poker Stars, $1 Buy-in (25/50 blinds) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players
  Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details
  
  MP3: 5,695 (113.9 bb)
  CO: 2,091 (41.8 bb)
  BTN: 2,575 (51.5 bb)
  SB: 7,743 (154.9 bb)
  Hero (BB): 3,035 (60.7 bb)
  UTG+1: 2,410 (48.2 bb)
  UTG+2: 5,820 (116.4 bb)
  MP1: 3,000 (60 bb)
  MP2: 6,611 (132.2 bb)
  
  Preflop: Hero is BB with Q Q
  UTG+1 calls 50, 3 folds, MP3 raises to 5,695 and is all-in, CO calls 2,091 and is all-in, 4 folds
  
  Flop: (4,307) 3 7 J (2 players, 2 are all-in)
  Turn: (4,307) 2 (2 players, 2 are all-in)
  River: (4,307) 4 (2 players, 2 are all-in)
  
  Can we ever fold this cards? Big push looked like 99+,AK+, and snap call JJ+ ?
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- LuckyLukePS
  
  Coach
  
  Coach
  
  Joined: 28.08.2014 Posts: 190
  - 09.12.2014, 12:07
  - 0
  Thank you guys for the submissions, made for some great discussion Look out for thread #2/3 coming soon - on mid stages / bubble play!
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