Hold’em with Holloway, Vol. 4: Punish the Satellite Bubble

Earlier this month, I launched Hold’em with Holloway, my weekly strategy column here on PokerNews, by talking about making reads and trusting them. For example I explored a $65 qualifier for the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells, with the intention to host a $1,100 Main Event this weekend at my home casino. I did not win that qualifier — which advanced the highest 20% — but I LATELY did well in a bigger $250 qualifier to win a seat into the principle Event.

These $250 qualifiers are great value for those seeking to get right into a MSPT Main Event at a reduction. Players start with 12,000 in chips and every level lasts HALF-HOUR. In this particular day, the qualifier attracted 99 entrants, meaning the highest 20 finishers would win a $1,100 seat into the primary Event.

It’s important to notice that satellites are different than your everyday tournament. Within the latter there can only be one winner, but within the former there are many players walking away with the similar prize — a seat right into a bigger tournament. In those instances, there's no difference between advancing because the chip leader or short stack, it is all similar to. such, it's a must to adjust your strategy accordingly.

For example, let’s say you were sitting on a standard stack of 60,000 at the bubble, meaning only one more player had to bust before everyone else won a seat. You're first to behave and look down at , which after all is the most efficient hand in poker. Do you play it? In a normal tournament the answer's irrevocably affirmative, but in a satellite scenario the best play is to ditch them. That’s right, fold aces.

With a typical stack you are not in peril. Why put your life at the line when there are short stacks available in the market that experience their backs against the wall? After all your aces are going to be a favourite to win, but there’s always that opportunity that they get cracked. By not playing at all, there may be absolutely no chance of shenanigans, you preserve your chip stack, and you'll fold your technique to a seat. The wise choice is to only eliminate your hand, nevertheless it never ceases to amaze me how some players just can’t throw away them aces.

Case in point, the general hand of the $250 MSPT qualifier that I played. With 21 players remaining, we were at the bubble and that i had a ton of chips. I’d run extremely well and amassed 200,000 or so, which was about 20% of the chips in play. Usually I’d take my very own advice to sit down tight and coast to a seat, but I had such a lot of chips that I USED TO BE afforded a little bit fun. You see, the following biggest stack at my table had about 70,000, meaning I'LL double any of the shorter stacks up and still be a huge chip leader. And not using a credible threat to my stack, I MAY wreak havoc by punishing the bubble.

My plan to take action was to transport all in every hand without my cards. Sounds foolish, but take a moment to consider it. With such a lot of chips I MAY dictate the action and put everyone to without equal test. Many of the players had a standard stack, meaning the suitable play for them was to fold every hand within the hopes that both of the 2 short stacks on the table or someone at another table would bust. Despite the fact that someone called me, I had good enough chips to soak up the hit.

Granted, I MAY have sat tight and waited, but with such a lot of chips I USED TO BE guaranteed a seat it doesn't matter what. If I FINISHED up taking a small hit, I MIGHT have downshifted and waited for the bubble to burst on its own, but until that happened I intended to hurry along the process.

I stuck to my plan of raising all in blind every hand, and at last some of the short stacks called off from the large blind holding, you guessed it, . While I advocated for the folding of aces earlier, that was for players with a regular stack. As one of the vital shortest stacks within the tournament it only made sense he’d opt for the double. He can have folded and hoped one of the vital other stacks busted first, but instead he took his fate into his own hands. I respect that.

Anyway, I flipped over my two blind cards – . In step with the PokerNews Odds Calculator I had a 12.19% chance of cracking the aces, while the quick stack would double 87.45% of the time. I managed to seek out a queen and two spades at the flop, after which a 3rd spade at the turn gave me a flush attract. other words, I had quite a lot of outs. Much to the dismay of my opponent — and relief to the opposite 19 players watching the action — a fourth spade spiked at the river and my lowly gave me the flush for the win. I had cracked aces to burst the bubble.

This was clearly a novel situation, and one I likely won't find myself in again anytime soon. However, the purpose is, relating to tournament poker, you must constantly identify the location through which you end up and act accordingly. When you are flush with chips, I LIKE TO RECOMMEND you punish the bubble with relentless pressure whenever possible be it in an ordinary tournament or satellite (Note: don't go all in blind every hand in a standard tournament). It’s a large number of fun and an effective way to pick out up some valuable chips.

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