Style of play in the business league...

DeVore

Last night was a blast and given that I didnt have to buy in at all, it was as close to a freeze out for me personally as I could get (which is what I was trying for).
However it was an absolute frenzy of buyins at my table, I left with 13,000Euro worth of chips and there were others as big, given that we started with 7500 chips at the table ENTIRELY that will give you some idea of what was going on with the other players and buyins!

I played a good deal looser then I normally would since everyone seemed to be going in on anything connected! The business league should be very different but given that we know we will be playing with noobs anyone got any idea how we should play it?
I would normally say we should play a tight game given that there are no buyins, let a few people at each table get knocked out and then come out fairly strong to try and place in the top 3 at each table. On the other hand, given that they are noobs, perhaps we should play a bit looser because its immoral not to take money off a sucker!

From what I've seen of the team, we should do be in the running. We've consistently placed at the free-in games at the fitz's and we cant all be unlucky on five separate tables!

DeV.

Hyzepher

Firstly I would recommend that we have a chat beforehand.

Obviously we will all have our own styles of play and sometimes it isn't easy to impose a team strategy. What I will say that these tournaments are all about survival - the amount of chips you have comes second. With a table of 10 you can play tight and last a long time - with noobs it is possible not to win any hand all night and still place 3rd or 4th.

The trick is not to jeopardise the whole tournament on one hand unless it is unbeatable. You can pressurise noobs with large bets without committing your whole stack - when you have no chips its over - even the guy left with a 10 chip has beaten you!

Personally I hope there is one guy on each table taking risks and getting callers - if this happens then a tight game will have a great chance of winning. Wait for that hand and then paste him.

Hyzepher

mewso

I think with new/loose players the only tactic is tight play. With tight play good players respect your raises and you often only win blinds. With newbies you stand to cash in when you hit a good hand because they won't recognise the significance of you raising for the first time in 20 hands.

DeVore

Aye, that was basically my first line of reasoning Muso, but if you bail too often without having AK or better then you risk watching the pot be taken by some noob
with a crappy hand. If money is being lost every hand then shouldnt we in there at least with some mediocre hands, building a buffer to then play tight again for a while?

Hmm... thats not a very good explanation of what I was thinking but hopefully you get it

I think if theres one or two decent players at your table you should play medium and give them some respect (second or third is better then being the first person out!), if there doesnt appear to be anyone who knows their stuff (and therefore probably a lot of callers) I would be tempted to see nearly every flop where I had anything half decent just to see what lady luck brings me. If the table seems to know what they are at then I'd agree with the play tight and sit it out approach.

Like Hyzepher said though, I have a terrible feeling any plan will last less then 5 minutes after contact with the enemy! All the same I think they have more to fear from us then we have of any of these teams...

DeV.

Hyzepher

I think if the whole place is filled with noobs then it is going to be a marathon rather than a sprint. If there are people calling just for the sake of it then although it is easy to call along with them, it is the wrong thing to do. The more people in the hand the more chances that you will be out drawn.

Let them fight between themselves knocking each other out and helping us win points without gambling our stacks. Then when we really have a strong hand we are guarenteed callers so tipping the hand is not likely.

My own strategy is going to be one of survival - not one that is geared up to win. If you enter the table hoping to win then by definition you need to amass chips and this requires a higher degree of gambling of your stack. I will be happy with 2nd or 3rd spot and high points. If we all do this then as a team we aill run awau with it over the 6 weeks. Of course if I end up winning the table then thats a bonus but I am not starting out with that in mind.

Hyzepher

Lafortezza

I don't see any point in having a particular mindset or idea of how to play the tables in the business league.
I'm guessing that each of the other teams will have 1 or 2 good players, these players more than likely were Fitz members beforehand and convinced their co workers to have a go.
And you can never tell how the table will play, maybe the n00bs won't understand the various values of their hands and bet crazy or play ultra-tight as a result.
And you never ever know what kind of cards you'll get.

I say wait and see until the night itself, then play it by ear.

DeVore

Hyzepher wisely pens...

My own strategy is going to be one of survival - not one that is geared up to win. If you enter the table hoping to win then by definition you need to amass chips and this requires a higher degree of gambling of your stack. I will be happy with 2nd or 3rd spot and high points. If we all do this then as a team we aill run awau with it over the 6 weeks. Of course if I end up winning the table then thats a bonus but I am not starting out with that in mind.

I think this is probably as good a metaplan as we are going to get. I too will be playing for 3rd-5th place and if we all get in the top half of our tables then (unless I'm mistaken) we mathematically have to be in the top half of the league. Do that every week and we'll be in the top 5 teams imho if not better.
Once were down to 4 players I'll go a bit nuts trying to snatch something better but until then I'll try and play tight. Also by the time I get to play we'll have 2 nights experience to judge on!

I agree with La Fortezza too, I think most teams will have a star player and then some fillers from mediocre to "all-red!" types. With that sort of mix I think there will be a lot of "noise" ie: the good players will sometimes succumb to noobs who get lucky. Undoubtedly some of us will too and as Hyzepher says I guess we need to minimize the number of times we allow that to happen.

DeV.

mewso

Yeah basically when I say I intend to play a tight game I mean I will try and see flops but not with big raises. Calling pre-flop raises is when I'll be looking for the monsters. If the flop treats you well you will find some newbies calling your bets and most of the time, I stress most of the time because sometimes they get lucky, you'll make them pay for it.

gerire

Each should stick to their own playing strategy. I cannot tell anybody how to play a hand. But having gone a long way in the 250 game and received advise off some very good players along the way:

>Look at it as a single table tournament, you just have to beat everyone at your table, not the people at the table behind.

> You dont have to play every hand to win

> If things start to go bad dont stress and worry, if you still have a chip and a chair you are still in with a chance.

>If you throw away a hand and it turns out as the hand is played by others that you would have won, or if you are beaten in a tight hand, dont worry about it, beating yourself up takes away your concentration and you might try and do something brash with a not so strong hand to re-coup your losses


Oh yeah as it is at 6pm it is likely that we will be dealing to ourselves, personally I hate this but everybody is in the same boat.

See you all on Monday.
DON'T FORGET, ENJOY YOURSELF

DeVore

Muso: Couldnt agree more, thats going to be my approach too and initially I'll be a little more cautious to try and start the night with a nice juicy win (starting last Thursday with a poker of Queens and a round of applause did wonders for my confidence)...

Good advice there gerire but if we pay into this league and we have a bunch of n00bs (which the Fitx themselves said we would) and we have to deal for ourselves I wont be happy. You're going to have complete noobs cocking hands up, not understanding side pots, all ins etc etc... they are going to have to have dealers imho or its going to be a hell of a mess....

DeV.

Krusty_Clown

I'm looking forward to hearing how you all get on...

Just wanted to point something out - unlike a typical money game, where you are playing for the green stuff, on this occasion, you're going to be playing for points. The longer you stay in the game, (while having others drop out), the more points you get for your team.. So, for most of the competitors (who will likely be new to tournaments), their focus is going to be on playing cautiously, and staying in the game as long as possible.

You could feasibly take advantage of that knowledge. So, theoretically, if you start with an agressive style, you could face little resistance in the early hands. Amass the chips early, and sit-out the small scuffles which will knock out the less experienced players, when the blinds go up a bit..

Of course, it's all good in theory! You could also end-up at a table of callers. Adjust your style to suit the audience..

Well, good luck all!

gerire

is there a plan for the team to meet up pre tourney?

In say fireworks at 5.30?
Ill go there from my job and be there around 5.40. If anybody wants to have a swifty that'll suit me.

I have no net access during the day, so is hyzepher could let me know if anybody is meeting, or in a different location, that would be great

cormie

Is every night at the Fitz pre determined? Is texas every night? I have until Thursday off work (fell off my bike, elbow in sling) I want to go along because I wont get the chance again for ages. Please let me know what games are on what nights, buy ins etc:) Thanks.

Lafortezza

www.fitzwilliamcardclub.com for all the info about what gets played each night. Click the 'Tournaments' link on the homepage. It's Hold'Em every night of the week bar wednesday I think, when its 5 cards draw JJ or better.

How about we meet in either Larry Murphys or that other pub myself Mr Pudding and henbane were on last thursday beside it. Cant remember the name.
They're just around the corner from the Fitz.
I should be finished work about half five so will probably just make it to the fitz for 6 or a bit after.

MrPudding

Hi all

I actually reckon we have a pretty good chance. I was talking to one of the dealers and it would seem that most of the teams have one or two ringers and the rest are just noobs to make up the numbers. If this is the case I think we have a really good chance as we have a full team of pretty good players.

I find playing with total beginners quite hard. You really need to play ultra tight. These guy will call with anything. Your pocket aces will get beat with 2 pair, 7s & 2s make on the river. I have seen it. But the fact is, as everyone says, if you only play good cards you will come through in the end. They will call pocket aces with s**t one time too many.

On the subject of meeting up beforehand, how about the Henry Gratten, it is 30 seconds from the club. They don't have pool tables but it is a nice spot and very close.

MrP

cormie

MrPudding, are you the same MrPudding who downloaded empire poker from www.poker.ie? If so, how do you find it? I'd like any feedback I can get. If you need another guy for the team your talking about, phone Owen Fox, his contact details are on the poker.ie contact page, I'm too lazy to look it up, he is good, he's got like 10 books, he's way up in his Empire account from $50 tournies, and he is good to play heads up, he also has allot of free time to play, unfortunately I've a full time job, will be qualified in 2007, poker time;)