Final Table Play

[the sicilian]

Having fortunatley made a lot of final tables ( Mild brag imo ) I sometimes wonder how best to play them.... I usually play them on the conservative side tbh but i can change gears dramatically...

It came to a head in the Luton G £100 F/out on Sunday when I negotiated my way to the FTable after having no hands all night with slightly above chips.

As usual the FT started out a tight affair as top 5 only were getting paid...39 runners...

I decided to try and build a stack to try and win the pamela anderson structure...So I was looking to get into any unraised pot middle to lateish position with any reasonable playable hand.  Time progressed and here is my dilemma....because of the amount of 2 7 , 28 and 2 9's i was getting dealt i was actually only raising maybe 2 pots per orbit.

Now heres the thing....i begin to wonder if im just unlucky to run into rocks with hands...4 times i find KK QQ QQ JJ ( kind enough to show me just in case i dont believe ) waiting for me with me holding a medium ace or smallish pair and of course there answer to any raise is to move in with usually a massive overaise that i feel i cant call...or can i ?  with my sometimes 3-1 shot even though i'm not getting odds ( frustration call )....so I fold ...

So i continue to party and my stack yo yos..until we r 6 handed...i have 24k blinds and antes = about 8k b4 we start...to me any unraised pot and im moving in with pretty much anything resembling a hand because the whole table is rock solid...which i do folded to me on the button with Q 9 Clubs...

The chippish leader in sb whose not that far in front 65-70k has a big dwell and decides to call with K Q o/s.....anybody who knows me knows i loath people who make big calls with this hand especially on this occassion with the comment  ' your miles ahead '....FFS !!!! his calling nearly a third of his stack off and believes his well behind....poker players and sense hey....oh and this is after he laid 10 10 down previous

Anyway the miracle doesnt come and im out...no problem..i knew going in with a marginal if i get called im gonna be losing..I dont mind taking the usual 6-4.

Anyway I have to stick around cos no ones got my saver...LOL....and witness tbh the most weak closing stages of a tourney ive ever seen..everyone including the chip leader continued to wait for a hand even when everyone but chippy had something like 6 BB each 5 handed..i even saw some guy folded to him on the button had 24k in front of him with over 10k in the pot in blinds and antes and he still passed !!

IS IT ME ?

Shall I just wait around for aces and kings with the rest of them on a gibralter table hoping to ladder for another hundred quid or do i go the supposed correct route and try and win the thing.....

Also in passing 2 of the last 5 were imo very good very experienced players and i was shocked at the way they decided to play it out

Opinions please as im puzzled..i think i played it correctly and just happened to miss the lighthouse and run aground on the rocks.

[Royal Flush]

Yeah you run bad, the only thing i do different with an M of 3 is push any unopened, not just with a semi hand.

[TightEnd]

depends on table make up Dean

presented with a final of unknowns, mostly, the top heavy payout and length of time taken to get there usally leads to a "must not leave with nothing syndrome" with 4 of the 9 going home with zero. Many will also have no understand of what ranges they sohuld be pushing when, as you found

Given a final table of experienced and respected faces it usually plays faster and looser..as they know tomorrow's another day and they try to get a comp winning stack. Someone like Lalit is especially good at this.

On your table of rocks, a type of final table that's very frequent I prefer to be a re-raiser than an opener with marginal raising hands at a full table with only 5 paid as I think this is the best way to amass chips and put others to decisions.

[action man]

The QK call is about as standard as it gets, in everywhere but a live small runner comp. Its not a big call due to the range of hands your pushing, and QK is a lot better to cll with in this spot than Ace-rag 22-55 etc....

[boldie]

have 24k blinds and antes = about 8k

I'll shove any two and be happy doing so..even 7-2 will do.

and I'd also call anyone in a split second if i have KQ if they are as short as you are.

[the sicilian]

have 24k blinds and antes = about 8k

I'll shove any two and be happy doing so..even 7-2 will do.

and I'd also call anyone in a split second if i have KQ if they are as short as you are.

Reasonable enough he had 2-1 but it was the comment where he thought he was a mile behind..LOL

[Royal Flush]

have 24k blinds and antes = about 8k

I'll shove any two and be happy doing so..even 7-2 will do.

and I'd also call anyone in a split second if i have KQ if they are as short as you are.

I don't think the complaint was that KQ called it was the slowroll of "you are miles ahead"

tilts me hard when live mugs say that too mate.

[the sicilian]

depends on table make up Dean

presented with a final of unknowns, mostly, the top heavy payout and length of time taken to get there usally leads to a "must not leave with nothing syndrome" with 4 of the 9 going home with zero. Many will also have no understand of what ranges they sohuld be pushing when, as you found

Given a final table of experienced and respected faces it usually plays faster and looser..as they know tomorrow's another day and they try to get a comp winning stack. Someone like Lalit is especially good at this.

On your table of rocks, a type of final table that's very frequent I prefer to be a re-raiser than an opener with marginal raising hands at a full table with only 5 paid as I think this is the best way to amass chips and put others to decisions.

2 of the last 5 were simon galloway and Jim Golden Bollox....

Do u let medium aces go in the cut off in a unraised pot on a table of rocks 

[TightEnd]

On your table of rocks, a type of final table that's very frequent I prefer to be a re-raiser than an opener with marginal raising hands at a full table with only 5 paid as I think this is the best way to amass chips and put others to decisions.
 

p.s as long as I think I have fold equity, and on a table of waiting rooms FE can be far greater than you think

these play different to FE decisions against "names" and "faces"

[turny]

The QK call is about as standard as it gets, in everywhere but a live small runner comp. Its not a big call due to the range of hands your pushing, and QK is a lot better to cll with in this spot than Ace-rag 22-55 etc....

agree here i dont think the kq is that bad a call tbh

[boldie]

have 24k blinds and antes = about 8k

I'll shove any two and be happy doing so..even 7-2 will do.

and I'd also call anyone in a split second if i have KQ if they are as short as you are.

I don't think the complaint was that KQ called it was the slowroll of "you are miles ahead"

tilts me hard when live mugs say that too mate.

Ah yes..I hate the "I'm miles behind but have to call" thing...why don't they just say.."you're soo short you could have anything so I have to call here as I'm probably miles ahead here" as it atleast shows some grasp of poker.

[the sicilian]

Yeah you run bad, the only thing i do different with an M of 3 is push any unopened, not just with a semi hand.

TBH..i usually dont even look in that position and i will usually move with anything reasonable up to an m of 10 ..as you would...lot of average players can never get their head round this and the fact 3 6 o/s isnt that far behind AK  LOL

[the sicilian]

The QK call is about as standard as it gets, in everywhere but a live small runner comp. Its not a big call due to the range of hands your pushing, and QK is a lot better to cll with in this spot than Ace-rag 22-55 etc....

agree here i dont think the kq is that bad a call tbh

I agree without the comment..its just i have a history of people calling me KQ in postions where it clearly is a terrible call...slight frustration on my part and getting off the main subject...I would call to if im honest...

[Chompy]

As long as I get my 10% of the saver, I'll be happy. Not interested how you got there, just cough it up please...

[celtic]

Having fortunatley made a lot of final tables ( Mild brag imo ) I sometimes wonder how best to play them.... I usually play them on the conservative side tbh but i can change gears dramatically...
It came to a head in the Luton G £100 F/out on Sunday when I negotiated my way to the FTable after having no hands all night with slightly above chips.

As usual the FT started out a tight affair as top 5 only were getting paid...39 runners...

I decided to try and build a stack to try and win the pamela anderson structure...So I was looking to get into any unraised pot middle to lateish position with any reasonable playable hand.  Time progressed and here is my dilemma....because of the amount of 2 7 , 28 and 2 9's i was getting dealt i was actually only raising maybe 2 pots per orbit.

Now heres the thing....i begin to wonder if im just unlucky to run into rocks with hands...4 times i find KK QQ QQ JJ ( kind enough to show me just in case i dont believe ) waiting for me with me holding a medium ace or smallish pair and of course there answer to any raise is to move in with usually a massive overaise that i feel i cant call...or can i ?  with my sometimes 3-1 shot even though i'm not getting odds ( frustration call )....so I fold ...

So i continue to party and my stack yo yos..until we r 6 handed...i have 24k blinds and antes = about 8k b4 we start...to me any unraised pot and im moving in with pretty much anything resembling a hand because the whole table is rock solid...which i do folded to me on the button with Q 9 Clubs...

The chippish leader in sb whose not that far in front 65-70k has a big dwell and decides to call with K Q o/s.....anybody who knows me knows i loath people who make big calls with this hand especially on this occassion with the comment  ' your miles ahead '....FFS !!!! his calling nearly a third of his stack off and believes his well behind....poker players and sense hey....oh and this is after he laid 10 10 down previous

Anyway the miracle doesnt come and im out...no problem..i knew going in with a marginal if i get called im gonna be losing..I dont mind taking the usual 6-4.

Anyway I have to stick around cos no ones got my saver...LOL....and witness tbh the most weak closing stages of a tourney ive ever seen..everyone including the chip leader continued to wait for a hand even when everyone but chippy had something like 6 BB each 5 handed..i even saw some guy folded to him on the button had 24k in front of him with over 10k in the pot in blinds and antes and he still passed !!

IS IT ME ?

Shall I just wait around for aces and kings with the rest of them on a gibralter table hoping to ladder for another hundred quid or do i go the supposed correct route and try and win the thing.....

Also in passing 2 of the last 5 were imo very good very experienced players and i was shocked at the way they decided to play it out

Opinions please as im puzzled..i think i played it correctly and just happened to miss the lighthouse and run aground on the rocks.

 

most pretensious opening line to a post i've read in a long time IMO