Clint's Next Level Of SNG Play: Anti-Strategies and More Exploiting » Bluefire Poker Videos / Articles

Discussion for Clint's Next Level Of SNG Play: Anti-Strategies and More Exploiting.

Hey finishtilt, thanks for the comments and I am glad you liked the video. I am a bit confused about your comments in regards to the T8 hand about "anything being too strong to fold." I do agree that given the stack sizes, i is a good time to ISO with a wide range. However, I typically do not iso ATC. I like to have somewhat of a hand to fall back on that could also flop OK. I hope that kind of refers to your comments, just let me know if not. I will have part 4 coming out soon, so hopefully you enjoy that as well. It will get into the push/fold game and how 8-12 bb stacks do not always require you to shove all in.

great series - well communicated. suggested plays are really helping me build chips stack for the 75 - 150 blind levels. And I am noticing that I am finishing 1-2 significantly more often than before. thanks!

Hi - really enjoying the series - i'm new to SNGs so this is a great start for me! I want to make a few comments about the ATC ISO IP v limpers strategy that you outline. I see this advice being given quite often ('The Raiser's Edge' p50 and 'Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Vol 1 ps 84-87) but i am not sure if it addresses the reality of playing against limpers at low-stakes. I was waiting for one of your examples to show what you are doing when the limper calls your cont bet which happens more often than not - any tiny piece of the board and they are calling - bottom pair/no kicker; gutters; overcards; anything. What are you doing there - firing again ? shutting it down ? An amusing example from a recent 5 dollar six max i played - 15/30 blind level (stacks about average): MP (53/8) limps and I ISO in the C/O for 3x with K-Jo. The flop comes Q 5 6r - i cbet half pot and sure enough the limper calls. The turn is a 10. I've picked up an open-ender so i fire half pot again and he calls again. The river is a Q - he checks and not wanting to bluff anymore chips to this guy i check waiting to lose another ATC ISO pot to A-5 or 6-7 or K-10 and i win the pot to his 7-3o !! He called two streets looking to hit his gutterball! This is an extreme example but it shows that you cannot ATC ISO bluff these guys. Of course against these opponents you just need to go for value but you can't have it both ways. It has come to it that I have taken the ATC ISO out of my playbook completely - it seems too high variance and possibly not even profitable at these lower stakes. Look forward to any comments (:

Hey mso, thanks for the comments. So you mentioned about ISOing at lower stakes. Lower stakes just means you probably have a higher percentage of fishy players at the table compared to higher stakes games. Many times, a bad player is still a bad player at $5 games or $50 games. So its not so much the stakes that you should concern you, instead, we should look at each player's stats and their tendencies regardless of the buy in level. So, in regards to ISOing in general, I am not necessarily ISOing with ATC, I would rather have a hand to fall back on as well (ie, hands that can flop OK or have some showdown value). In a perfect world, it would be great to ISO a limper that has a high fold to cbet %, but of course that ideal scenario does not always happen. In that case, you probably could get away with ISOing ATC, but again, the majority of the time, I am ISOing with hands like Ax, broadways, PPs (typically at higher blind levels where limping to set mine is not optimal), connecting-type hands (such as Q8, J9, etc..). Again in a perfect world, we would get the villain to fold to every cbet, but we certainly know that doesn't happen either. So, getting to your main question about what to do if you get called, well then you definitely need to figure out the best course of action depending on ranges, villain stats, board texture, pot size and stack size. There are times when you should double barrel and other times where you may want to check down the hand. I can't get into every type of post flop decision or this post may get pretty lengthy (maybe post flop play should be the topic of my next video), but think about how these types of hands play out. A player limps, you take the initiative and put in a raise in position. The villain calls pre OOP, then calls your cbet OOP. Of course they can be a bit insane and start calling you down with a gut shot, but many times, you will usually only get called when they hit their hand. So if you totally miss, you then have to figure out if giving up or double barreling a good turn card is the best option. Watching cash game videos can really help with these post flop plays as well. Last 2 things as they relate to the example you gave. 1st, I will still ISO in the early levels, like at 15/30, but I will probably want a tighter hand range compared to what I described earlier. (KJ is perfectly fine), as the pot is smaller and you may tend to get less folds from loose players in the early game as they have a bigger stack to work with. Also, in the early game, limping may actually make more sense with PPs, suited connectors, suited Aces, etc., whereas I would ISO with those hands at later levels. When the blinds increase to bb50, bb100, bb150...then I will start to ISO even wider as there is much more value give then bigger pot. Also, given that the pot and bet sizing will represent a larger portion of your stack, the villain will be less likely to continue with the hand when they miss. And finally, with the hand example you gave, when you get to the turn and you now have a straight draw, I tend to check back those hands where I have outs and I can improve on the river. It can protect against getting raised off your hand. Whereas if you didn't have that draw, then double barreling can make more sense. I hope that answered your question. Feel free to post any hands or any other questions for clarification. Clint