ITM strategy

[ToastedMoses]

ok ... so over the last 200 games or so my ITM at the 50's on PP has been about 43% which i'm pretty satisfied with (though i'd like to get that nudged up a bit...) but my poor ROI is only slightly over 20% (and down around a paltry 11% over the last 100 or so)

1st: 20
2nd: 32
3rd: 32
4th: 17
5th: 23
6th: 24

I've read a lot of whats been written/posted on ITM play but i'm still having poor results. I know to play LAG but i'm not real clear on the parameters... most of the time I get to 3 handed its at the push or fold blind levels and I've been pushing with a lot of hands but where do you guys set as the approx min hand worth pushing with (and reraising with)?

Also, do you guys play much differently heads up than 3 handed? And how good/useful do you find your reads to be once you get to this point in an SnG being as that the style of play is so different. Any input you guys could supply would be greatly appreciated - thanks !

- ToastedMoses

[Outkicked]

[EscapePlan9]

How much are you raising when it's down to three? What's the stack-sizes of everyone? What image have you presented at the table so far?

I'm not sure if you've read Dan Harrington's 2nd volume on No Limit tournament play. I highly recommend it for improving your late game.

Here's what I generally do late game... first, my table image is of a tight player. Before the blinds were up to 50/100, I was playing almost no hands. With the blinds increasing, I start stealing from middle - late position more often. Just do a standard 3x BB raise. If you get called and the flop comes uncoordinated (cards under ten, spread out in ranking and with 2 or less suited cards), take a stab at the pot. Bet around 80%-100% of the pot and more often than not you'll take it down right there. This is called a "continuation bet" if you're unfamiliar with Dan Harrington's 1st volume of No Limit tournament play. However, let's say you raise from late position with 75s hoping to steal the blinds and the flop comes AT9 with two suited cards. This is a terrible flop for you! I'd just check/fold here.

Stealing the blinds and winning many of those pots where you are called will slowly accumulate more chips. You should be around the average stack size by the last three players. If you have a cold run of cards and you're shortstacked, you're going to HAVE to make some moves. Let's say the blinds are 100-200, it's down to three players, you have 1400 chips (7x the BB) and the rest of the players have more than 2000. If you make any standard raise now (3 or 4x BB), you're pot-committed, so push all-in. I usually push with Axs, K7+ (King with a higher kicker than 7), Q7+, J7+, T8+, 97+ and ANY pocket pair. I sometimes will push with middle suited connectors 56s or higher, although it's riskier. If I'm really desperate for chips, I have to push with ANY two cards.

To get to first, you're going to have to double up a few times. That either means you have to win some coin-flip situations or simply have the better hand and have your opponent call you. It's a thing of beauty when you're short-stacked, push all-in with JJ and get called by someone holding 77 or JT.

I hope this helped somewhat. I rarely ever place in 2nd. When down to the last three players, I place in 1st or 3rd almost every time, with much more 1st places than 3rds.

Post some hand histories which show your late game play when you were unsure what to do and we can help you more.

[ToastedMoses]

Thanks, for the link - and I completely agree with what you wrote there ... which is sort of the problem : )

I feel like I know the correct strategy, yet I'm still not having a lot of success with it, which makes me think my tactics are a bit off.

I know this topic has been discussed elsewhere and actually I think theres a recent post that I didn't see before I posted this one that has some good advice in it - but still I hear a lot of "... so yeh if you have a strong ace or a pair just go ahead and push..." which again I completely agree with but I feel is probably too limiting as one is lucky to see cards like that in a three-handed or heads up game.

The question then becomes what is the weakest hand you'll raise with 3-handed or headsup? I think even a 10 high is favored against a random hand, so does this make pushing with 10 high or better (in a heads up situation) a positive play? 3-handed should you be pushing with hands like K-3? or should you wait for 2 cards above a 10? Also, does the "if a raise is going to be > 40% of your stack, then you should push" rule still apply in an ITM situation or should you not be giving them a chance to come over the top, further, what hands are you comfortable going over the top with in these situations?

As with any discussion of poker, these types of questions can't be answered definitively, but without details or special circumstances, what are the criteria you guys follow?

[EscapePlan9]

If any standard raise you can do is over 35% of your stack, push all-in. Some especially weak players might tell you to make a smaller raise, and if you're re-raised you know you're beat. DONT DO THAT! You'd be giving up too much. Say you small raise with 66 and someone goes over the top to set you all-in. Are you behind? Not really. You showed weakness by betting little despite being desperate and they probably have two high cards. When you hold 66 and it's down to 3 players, there's more than a 80% chance you have the highest pocket pair at the table. Just push all-in.

As I mentioned in my response above.. sometimes you don't need criteria to push. When you're desperate for chips, you sometimes need to push with ANY TWO CARDS. If you keep waiting and waiting thereby being blinded away, eventually your push all-in will be so small, the other two players will have the odds to make it an easy call. You do not want to go all-in against 2 players!

[ToastedMoses]

[EscapePlan9]

I should add... when you push all-in with less than premium hands, make sure no one else has limped or raised before you. You need the "first-in vigorish", as Harrington calls it.

Now if someone min-raises it or limps in and you have something like QQ, go ahead and push. In a 3-handed game, your chance of running into an overpair when you have QQ is less than 5%. Just wait a couple seconds (don't overdo it) when it's your turn and then put those chips in!