Tourneys Are For Donks, Plus Thanks for Not Stacking Me, Bro! (Part 2)

I spent the first couple of days of this week playing a few single- and multi-table Sit 'N Go's, after reading David Sklansky's book on tournament poker. While explaining much of the intricacies of tournament poker strategy and how it deviates from proper cash game play, he also confirms this page's intution that tourneys are for lucksacks and donkeys. In all seriousness, he does show that the capability of going all-in before the flop can negate much of the advantage an expert player has over a novice. A finely tuned all-in preflop strategy can come pretty close to doing just as well as any tourney pro. Which is kind of dumb. Of course the best players win more often than the bad players, especially players that are bad in the loose-passive way rather than the shove pre-flop way, but again, simple strategies can take away much of that edge.

One of the concepts Sklansky pushes is the "Gap Concept" - first, that you should call less often in tourneys, basically play tighter, since your expected tourney cash is concave in your chip count, forcing you to play in a risk-averse fashion, and second, that you should raise more often, i.e., play more aggressively, because your opponents will be facing the same problem and therefore are less likely to call. That's probably true at the large buy-in MTTs that Sklansky focuses on. But anybody who has played at the $10-$20 Sit 'N Gos I played this week would get a big ROR out of that second statement. There is very little folding going on at these things. It is quite comical. Here's an actual HH:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 20/40 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): 3,910
BB: 3,300
UTG: 3,165
UTG+1: 2,605
MP1: 5,185
MP2: 6,475
CO: 2,690
BTN: 2,910

Pre-Flop: (60) dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG calls 40, UTG+1 folds, MP1 raises to 180, MP2 calls 180, 2 folds, Hero raises to 560, BB calls 520, 2 folds, MP2 calls 380

Flop: (1,900) (3 Players)
Hero bets 3,350 and is All-In, BB calls 2,740 and is All-In, MP2 folds

Turn: (7,380) (2 Players - 1 is All-In)


River: (7,380) (2 Players - 1 is All-In)


Results: 7,380 Pot
Hero showed (two pair, Aces and Kings) and WON 7,380 (+4,080 NET)
BB showed (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-3,300 NET)

Yes, that is a cold call of my 3-bet by the BB with QJo, and then a call of my shove with bottom pair and a gutter ball. I guess this donk put me on TT! Ror!! I could show plenty more HHs that would be quite similar. Anyway, unfortunately, I couldn't win enough races to get any big scores, so I ended up down a little bit after playing 20-25 or so Sit N' Gos of various sizes. Luckily I made that back and then some with a little bit of furr-ring pray tonight, thanks in part to this donk's srowpray:

Full Tilt Poker, $0.50/$1 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $100
Hero (UTG+1): $112.85
UTG+2: $118.20
MP1: $114.15
MP2: $100
CO: $37.85
BTN: $305.75
SB: $183.95
BB: $103

Pre-Flop: dealt to Hero (UTG+1)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $4, 5 folds, SB calls $3.50, BB folds

Flop: ($9) (2 Players) (I don't think there's much reason to bet this flop. Maybe to get value out of a T, but that's pretty thin, and since that hand won't put in more than one street's worth of betting anyway, I can wait until later to try and get that value.)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($9) (2 Players) (Gin!!! Hopefully this donk was slowplaying AQ or now has a flush or a straight, definitely betting this one. He just calls, which makes me think he has one of the aforementioned hands and I'll try to get another bet in on the river.)
SB checks, Hero bets $7, SB calls $7

River: ($23) (2 Players) (Hmm....not a good card for me, really. Now AK beats me. KK beats me - even though it's an unlikely hand for him to end up with, it's possible. Obviously I'm not folding. The question is whether my hand is worth a small raise. If I raise here, after checking the flop and betting the turn, it really looks like I have a monster hand. I certainly don't think I'm getting called by just a naked Q for the nut straight. Probably not a flush either, unless, of course, it's a royal. Tens full probably. But if I get re-raised I would have to fold, and that would suck barrs. So arr in arr, I think just carring is right.)
SB bets $15, Hero calls $15

Results: $53 Pot ($2.65 Rake)
Hero mucked (a full house, Jacks full of Aces) and LOST (-$26 NET)
SB showed (a full house, Aces full of Tens) and WON $50.35 (+$24.35 NET)

Aaaand thanks for not stacking me, bro!!! Bet your spades, dood!

BRUECHIPS