Poker Leaks

[JustPlayPoker]

I recently pegged a big leak in my Sit N Go game. I was basically accepting coin flips when the blinds were low.

Once I found it, the leak looked pretty obvious to me and it made me wonder what other leaks I was missing. What are some of the biggest leaks you all have found in your game?

BTW- here's the post: http://justplaypoker.net/2009/05/coin-flip-leak/

[bridgey321]

Great post, ideally you should not be risking your chips early on in the tournament on anything like a coinflip. When I play very very tight (I only really play premiums and even lay down hands like AJ/small pairs even if I have position) early on I do much better. If I can get to when the blinds are 50/100 with a stack of say 1600 (slightly more than starting) then I am happy as I feel I have a decent chance of cashing, obviously with playing very tight I can hope to get all my chips in with a 80/20 situation and ideally I will have a decent stack by the 50/100 stage but I feel like the most important factor is not to be broke by this time. At this stage you can start to take advantage of the tight reputation you have built up and accumulate chips this way. The fact that many weak players play an opposite strategy (ie start off loose as the blinds are low then tighten up as they get near the bubble) makes our TAG ---------> LAG progression very profitable.

[Litellio]

I used to grind out 1$ 9man sngos, best thing I found was to never re-raise with hands that could potentially be flipping. It makes the swings less brutal as you can see the flop, then get ya monies in. I'm also too tight at the start. I still think I've got tons and tons of leaks at cash, but NL25 aren't going to expose them any time soon .

[tan_man25]

Yup, I also find that playing TAG in tourny/sngs are extremely successful. Most donks dnt rele pay attention to whether you've been tight throughout the game, so when you do receive a premium hand you will still get paid alot of the time. I tend to losen up on the button and cut off with marginal hands, but make sure I play position aggressively.

I usually grind out $16 Turbo 9-man SnG's, in these games you defo gotta be aggressive in the later stages of the game as blinds become big, very quick, however, in the later stages, you have to make the occasional coinflips!

[aamir6433]

Originally Posted by tan_man25

I usually grind out $16 Turbo 9-man SnG's, in these games you defo gotta be aggressive in the later stages of the game as blinds become big, very quick, however, in the later stages, you have to make the occasional coinflips!

One of your leaks is choosing your game then. The same strat pays off much better in normal sngs. If you're playing turbos because you find normal ones boring, then play 3-4 at once.

[bizkit]

The article isn't loading for me for some reason.

Originally Posted by aamir6433

One of your leaks is choosing your game then. The same strat pays off much better in normal sngs. If you're playing turbos because you find normal ones boring, then play 3-4 at once.

I don't think this is necessarily a leak. Lets say you can win 5%-10% more equity playing a normal SNG. You should still play the turbos in the same numbers because your winrate will still be higher simply because you're spending less time throughout the entire SNG. It's just a faster structure; they don't really play much faster in terms of time you have to make a decision. And obviously your push bot game is more important.

[JustPlayPoker]

Originally Posted by bizkit

The article isn't loading for me for some reason.

That's strange. What browser are you using so I can see if the problem is with my site?

Originally Posted by bizkit

It's just a faster structure; they don't really play much faster in terms of time you have to make a decision. And obviously your push bot game is more important.

I agree. I think turbos favor players with better end game strategy whereas normal SNGs favor more patient players. Of course there'll be more variance in turbos since you can wait around for premium hands.

[tan_man25]

Originally Posted by aamir6433

One of your leaks is choosing your game then. The same strat pays off much better in normal sngs. If you're playing turbos because you find normal ones boring, then play 3-4 at once.

I understand that my strategy may work well in normal sng's, however, I wouldn't necessarily agree that playing in turbos is a leak, but I defo see what you're saying. Thing is I already 4-table on turbos.

I've found that being patient in a turbo game can be equally as rewarding as in a normal sng, perhaps even more so. This is because when you get to the later stages of the game, you get donks who move all in with trash, just to steal the blinds. For this reason, it is easy to get paid when you get a big hand, especially if you are on the SB or BB. I also find that limping big hands UTG get paid much more frequently than in a normal sng, because again, someone will usually shove. TAG is definitely a good strat in turbos, however, aggression should not be as frequent as alot of people think!

[The Incompetent-Donkey]

[QUOTE=tan_man25;23861] This is because when you get to the later stages of the game, you get donks who move all in with trash, just to steal the blinds.QUOTE]

These donks are in fact winning players (usually). The correct strategy is move all-in aggressively. When your BvB at 10bb eff, it is basically correct to move in on the 50% of hands regardless of opponents, and those who call 20% or less you should move in with nearly 100% of hands.

[bridgey321]

QFT. Greg Raymer wrote an article saying that it was mathmatically correct to shove ATC from the sb in an unraised pot with anything up to 30bbs. Or something like that. Obviously this can be adjusted player and situation dependent though. Shoving with ATC in certain situations in sngs is part of the game and when you get called you look like an idiot but more often than not this person will be playing in a profitable way.