Currently on break 100 us freeroll tourney

[pasaway925]

Good evening to everybody here at rakeback.com. We are currently on break at tournament 100 United States Free Roll (68987595) im currently in TENTH place with 48,708 chips feel free to watch my full tilt account name is manilaboy11 wish me luck!!!!! THIS TOURNEY IS FOR EVERYBODY HERE AT RAKEBACK.COM!!!!!!!

[frob23]

Alright, I watched this and had several thoughts along the way. I hope you don't mind but I am going to comment as if you were one of the friends I play with and they had asked me to watch. We often comment on each other's play.

First, you open-limp and limp behind way too often. With 38k chips, you should not be limping UTG for 1k chips... pretty much ever. If you want to play a hand, raise it coming in. If it's not good enough to raise, fold it. This one change would have probably increased your stack by 20% over the course of the time I watched you. You threw away a lot of chips limping into pots that you could have taken pre-flop or saved the chips when you didn't enter it.

Even in a cash games... I will have friends comment when I open-limp in any position (especially in early position) because it's so odd for me. And in tournaments, raising is so much more important (especially when the blinds are up there).

Second, bet big or don't bet. When the pot is 6,100 you should not be minbetting 800 into it. One hand, you limped in early position for 800. Minbet the flop (and were called), minbet the turn (and were called), and minbet the river -- a 3rd club -- and got raised almost the size of the pot. Of course you had to fold. Had you bet 1,800 on the flop and folded to a reraise... you would have lost the same amount of chips but had a much greater chance of winning the pot right there.

Overall, you minbet much too often. Or, if you weren't minbetting, you were betting much less than half the pot. The pot would be 7,600 and you would bet 2,000. That just isn't enough to get the job done. Over and over, I watched you make one of these weak bets and have to fold to a raise. And, if I was on that table with you... I'd be raising really weak against you because it wouldn't take me long to realize that you're capable of folding to a big raise. And if I had any sort of draw at all, I'd be priced right in... and know I could just steal the pot on a later street when I missed anyway.

Third, this goes with the above... but don't min-raise -- ever. There's just no reason to do it. You're playing NL... inspire some fear in your opponents. Make people worry when you're involved in a pot because they might have to face a large raise. Make them wonder, "should I bet here and risk a large reraise behind me or see what he's going to do first?"

Fourth. and this will probably be last... play your position strongly. On an Ace high flop against the blinds and a mid-position limper... when it checks to you on the button... put in a good sized bet with your Q3o (or don't limp with it at all from any position but that's another story -- oh, and PS, don't show... there was no reason to show that hand when it was folded on the river to your bet). If you're playing a hand like that from the button, it should not be because you're going to try and make the best hand... it should be purely for steal value. And a crappy and disconnected flop with an Ace (that gets checked to you) is as good as any to fire at. People always worry about the Ace. If you get called or raised, you're pretty much done... but you might have won anyway because you'll usually be checked to on the turn and can check behind (and hit your 3rd Q on the river in this case).

Basically... don't be so passive. Yeah, sometimes you'll make a bet and lose some chips when someone has a real hand or shows real strength... but that's poker. Play fewer hands so there is less chance of it happening... raise those hands coming in so there are fewer people left hanging around to hit the flop if any... and make your raises large enough to be a threat.


Anyway... good game man. You got pretty far. Too bad it was outside the money.