Bubble play when someone is disconnected

tonypmm

Joined: 11.01.2009

31.12.2013, 04:46 0

To many of you, the iPoker client is a nightmare subject, but I play SnGs on it nevertheless :f_biggrin: and client freezing is a known frequent bug. Regs know how to reconnect fast but recreationals don't :f_grin:; it's become an inherent part of the game that requires adjustments.

So every time someone gets disconnected on the bubble (with 4 people left, blinds increasing by 1.5-2 times every 7 minutes, and the 50/30/20 prize structure), those who're lucky to stay connected are confused as to how to find a balance between letting the disconnected player be blinded out and not blinding out themselves (reducing the chance of getting HU) by folding to aggro players' minraises or resteals.

So I'd like to discuss how a disconnected player affects the strategy, how wide to open first in (when there are connected players behind), how wide to resteal from those who try to abuse the situation and steal every blind, how aggro to be postflop when people want to check it down, etc.

As said, there are two separate cases - a disconnected reg who comes back in 5 minutes (so a future game simulation is computationally feasible) and a rec who hardly comes back (so there's no FGS, but at least it's more certain that the connected players can softplay implicitly to let the rec bust, though blinds increase and turn the game into a lottery and people still want to win by skill). And of course it depends a lot on the stack size of the disconnected player.

Another question is how to prevent network's suspicions about soft play. I avoid chatting in such cases so can't be accused of explicit collusion, and try to maximise my own EV only, but the network might seek thin excuses to disqualify players if it comes to awarding a jackpot :f_mad:

Thanks in advance and gl in the new year!

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maythany

Joined: 18.10.2011

Posts: 1,195

31.12.2013, 04:58 0

I left Ipoker and 888 poker for this very reason.....

Spending My Days at 5NL

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metza

Joined: 28.01.2012

Posts: 2,216

31.12.2013, 05:04 0

Would assume that a player who is not coming back eg. close to 100% chance of blinding out would have a huuuuuuuge effect on bubble factor, so calling ranges should be even tighter than normal for the bubble, which makes stealing as big stack even more viable than usual bubbles.

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tonypmm

Joined: 11.01.2009

Posts: 3,523

31.12.2013, 05:39 0

That's what I think too, but perhaps becoming the biggest stack is worth tossing good hands at times, which reduces the bubble factor. I'm not so sure, need to emulate this somehow in HRC.

I actually started the thread after such a spot when one of the connected villains, a rec, was pretty pissed off by my resteals :f_biggrin: and started stacking off lighter, as a result a reg who had been short all that time shoved 3 bb with K9o into my AQs (nothing else could he do), then the rec limp/called with A6o for 12 bb and ran into my AJo, and then of course I minraised the absent one to death to ship the tourney. Lol at variance.

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_Anonymous_

01.01.2014, 08:25 0

what you do is entirely dependent on stack set-up.

if you are lucky enough to have the big stack you shove ATC every hand (if the disconnected player is the SS).
if you are unlucky enough to have the SS, you have to be EXTREMELY tight until the disconnected player busts or 2 of the other people collide.

I can't give more specific advice without an actual HH, but in general these rules will make you a beast in this situation.

It is an amazing feeling when you have a huge chip lead on the bubble with 1 disconnected player and 2 other short stacks. You can profitable open shove every hand and the other guys cant do anything without QQ+ (in most situations). Occasionally they will get frustrated and just call with what ever, but if you have the huge chip lead it won't matter. The profitable play is to pump that all-in button every hand no matter what with the chip lead.

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