One of the main concepts to take away from this book is Magriel’s M and how to apply it.

“The most important single number that governs your play towards the end of tournaments is M, which is simply the ratio of your stack to the current total of blinds and antes”.

The vast majority of poker players will have heard of “M” and most will be able to tell you what it is and how to calculate it. However, it seems to be increasingly common for tournament players to be discussing hands in terms of “bbs”. If there was an industry standard for structures this would be fine, but there are even subtle differences in the size of antes on Full Tilt and Poker Stars.

If we delve deeper and look at the structures on the European friendly sites the differences are staggering; Party Poker’s antes are almost negligible and appear almost as an afterthought whereas ipoker’s antes can add up to 50% more than the bb. The size of antes in live play also differs dramatically from casino to casino, some still not using antes at all but others having enormous antes, often due to the size of chips available and dealers’ eagerness to colour up the chips at the earliest point they can.

The standard size of an ante is around 10% of the big blind. Therefore an M of 5 for example usually = 12-13bbs. But as discussed, there is actually no industry standard.

To use an extreme example let’s compare ipoker and Party, and look at a specific situation where using the number of bbs you have to determine your play can be disastrous.

At the 300/600 level in the ipoker daily rebuys the ante is 100. Therefore at a 10 handed table there’s 1900 in the pot before any action takes place.

If you had an M of 5 this would be 9500 chips = 15.83 bbs

At the 800/1600 level on Party the ante is 50. Therefore at a 10 handed table there’s 2900 in the pot before any action takes place.

If you had an M of 5 this would be 14500 chips = 9.06 bbs.

The difference is clearly huge. Shoving the button with 9bbs on Party nets you the same gain as shoving the button with 16bbs on ipoker at this level.

If we were using 12bbs as being an M of 5, we’d actually be shoving an M of 6.6 on Party and an M of 3.8 on ipoker.

On Pokerxfactor.com Sheets has put up a very handy tool for calculating what hands you need to have for shoving particular M’s from particular positions based on the Nash Equilibrium¹

It’s great as a guideline, but be aware that just because something is +ev it may not be optimal. Ie shoving with an M of 10 on Party could be shoving 32bbs so a plethora of other options are available.

Also calling ranges will differ from site to site, it’s easy to see why the bb’s calling range of a 9bb shove on Party will be different from the bb’s calling range of a 16bb shove on ipoker.

Using the number of big blinds you have to determine your shoving range can be a massive leak, taking a second or two to calculate your M will benefit your game greatly.

That Harrington fella knew what he was talking about.

After stopping off in the UK for a few days, the three of us jumped on a plane to Venice for the WPT. The tournament was fantastically organized, but unfortunately none of us cashed. I say none of us cashed, but Shawn decided he was going to launch a new career of following poker players around the world and cashing-in on prop bets. His main source of income in his new job came in the middle of a 12 hour binge, long after we’d all been knocked out of the tournament. The challenge was to jump off a nearby bridge into a filthy Venice canal. After a lot of banter and bartering over who was covering legal and medical costs, mathclub stepped up and hurled himself into the canal earning himself €500 and eternal infamy amongst the bwin qualifiers. Figures are now being considered as to how much he’ll need to be paid to repeat this feat in the Venetian Casino.

We’ve rented a villa out here for the duration of the series, which is a marked improvement on last year’s accommodation of a hotel room for three long weeks. We have four permanent residents with other friends dropping in for a few days here and there. A guest this week set the bar high for crazy stunts when he attempted to climb a 50-foot palm tree on the strip outside Margaritaville, by the time he’d climbed 20 feet up, a massive crowd had gathered, but alas he didn’t make it to the top, he may have failed in the bet, but Trevor “Billybillard” Neufeld did succeed in entertaining more than just a few drunk poker players.

So far we’ve played in two events, the $1k and the $1.5k and despite amassing chips early, neither of us has come close to cashing. Our live experience is pretty limited, theVisionary (pictured at left) and I played in 3 WSOP events last year, the Aussie millions this year and the Venice WPT, but haven’t managed a cash yet between us. Obviously this sample size is very small, but it is important to realize that playing live is not the same as playing online, there are subtle differences that you need to adapt to.

In my experience, online players can be quick to shrug off the differences in live and online play, and while of course it is ultimately the same game there are plays that are optimal online that are far from optimal live. Take for example open shipping 15-20bbs. While it would still be +ev to do this in a live game it may not be optimal. For example, if you open 2.5x and the 50 year old guy on the button who hasn’t played a hand in 34 orbits re-raises you, you can fold and wait for a better spot, while some 21 year old online pro may have just jammed their AJo and chalked up their exit as “standard”.

Another part of the live game that we online players often dismiss is live tells. Sure the movies overrate live tells, but the fact is that this information is still available and we would be foolish not to use it. Many of us spend hours a week working on our games, studying hand histories, watching training site videos, but how many of us have done any more than merely read a Mike Caro book? I am making it my goal over this year’s WSOP to study body language harder than ever before.

I haven’t set myself a WSOP schedule this year, and when I do it will be a very loose schedule. As excited as I am right now about the series, I really don’t know how I’ll be feeling if in 2 weeks time I’ve played in 6 or 7 events and I have yet to cash. This of course is very possible, and despite me knowing that this would be no little short of par for the course, I can’t predict my state of mind. If I don’t feel like playing, I simply won’t play. Sitting for 12 hours playing one game can be tiring work, and if you’re not enjoying it, it really is a grind – especially when you know you could be playing online instead getting in twice as much volume as a $1,500 WSOP event.

A subject that is often broached on the forums is “Is live play actually worth it?” and often when answered simply in monetary terms the answer is no, but there is so much more to live poker than your expected Return on Investment. With the World Series come bracelets, notoriety and general good times. I’ve met dozens of people through playing live that would have simply remained a screen name had I not traveled to these events. I really don’t think you can quantify the utility you can gain from playing live that isn’t possible online.

Our next tournament is Event 19, the Shorthanded NLHE $2500 on Monday, and we’ll play most of the other NLHE events, climaxing of course with the main event. Fingers crossed we can travel back to New Zealand with an inflated bank balance and maybe, just maybe, a bracelet or two in our luggage!

The difference in play on each site is huge, and is obvious in every stage of a tournament. During early deep stack play on some sites I would have no problem advising anyone to get it in with JJ on a 9 high flop against 2 opponents, whereas on a few I would suggest it is a snap fold. Other differences come shorter stacked; ranging players is key in assigning your own all in re-raise ranges, or your calling of all in ranges. Bubble play also differs dramatically, and optimal plays to exploit the bubble change as a result.

The reason for the difference in playing styles is varied:

Does the site allow Americans?
Does the site have antes?
Where are the majority of players who play there from?

In general the play is worse on sites that have pulled out of the American market. The main reason for this is that due to the UIGEA there are less new American players getting into online poker, therefore the fish to shark ratio lessens. This means that on sites without American players we can value our hands more in the early stages than those that allow Americans.

Sites that have antes tend to be a lot looser preflop, and in order to succeed you need to loosen up your opening ranges and your calling ranges. There is often a lot of money in the middle preflop and therefore more players are looking to steal.

A few networks have a disproportionate number of players from a certain country or region. These players often have a similar style. British players for example tend to be very limpy and like to see flops in and out of position. They let themselves get blinded down, and then get it in with Ax after a raise. Whereas Scandinavian players tend to be a lot more reckless trying to mimic the style of players like Gus Hansen.

Ongame:

In the early stages of an Ongame tournament, I find the best way to play is tight aggressive. Unless I can get in for cheap I only play premiums and when I hit I hammer hard. I also have no problem getting it in for 50-80 bbs in most cases with JJ+ when it is an overpair to the board. Very rarely will I fold QQ preflop, I will have to know the opponent and be able to range him very accurately.

As the tournament progresses and the blinds go up, I tend to stay fairly tight (contrary to popular belief). There are no antes, so there is no real need to go after every pot and start raising suited connectors and the like. I loosen my opening requirements slightly, and when I’m in a pot I will pounce on any weakness to maintain my stack.

Bubble play is very important, and due to the hand for hand mechanism the network uses, it is a very good spot to pick up chips. Three places before every pay jump there’s an announcement “Play is now hand for hand”. This sows the seed in weak players’ minds that they want to make the money and they make sure they don’t do anything stupid. If this announcement wasn’t made, or if hand for hand started with only one player to go before the pay jump, less players would react to it – some might not even notice. Take advantage of this by opening lighter and re-raising lighter. (See The Visionary’s article on bubble play)

As the final couple of tables approaches, it is not unusual for the average stack to be under 10bbs. Therefore there is very little room to manoeuvre. As a result I open very tight if there are stacks of under 10bbs to act after me, as if one of them shoves I will be compelled to call. To maintain my stack, I look for players who I believe to be opening too much and too light and move in on them with fold equity. Often your hand is irrelevant, if I see a player opening every other hand I will not be afraid to stick my 12bbs in with 23o.

The standard raise deep in an Ongame tournament is about 2.5x, the reason for this is the software. When you click on the bet-sizing bar once the blinds get to a certain level it jumps to 2.5x or thereabouts. If you see someone raising 3x it can often mean that they have a hand that they are willing to go all the way with, but don’t want you flatting their raise. AQ/AK, 99-JJ fits this bill. Unless this is obviously their standard raise be careful of 3 betting light against such an opponent.

Ipoker:

Despite being very similar to Ongame in terms of traffic, game selection and structure, the play on Ipoker differs quite a lot. There are a few reasons for this: mainly that a lot of Ipoker players come from Britain, and also the software has a role to play.

In the early stages of an Ipoker tournament, play is a lot more passive. There are often five to a flop as players call raises with speculative holdings looking to hit hard. To adapt to this, don’t be afraid to bump up the pot larger than you usually would with your premiums. The limpers will often call with inferior hands, not realising that they lack the implied odds necessary to do so.

Another prevalent play that occurs on Ipoker is the “see where I am bet”. This is again thanks to the British. Many players have not learned yet that in general when betting you should be doing so for value or to bluff, and not to gain information. Players will lead out with top pair, mediocre kicker, or they will check raise – they will then fold to a raise. An easy line to follow when you think you are faced with such a bet is to raise when you have air and to call when you have the goods. Both methods communicate the opposite of what the villain wants to hear and renders his play somewhat useless.

The play in the mid stages of an Ipoker tournament is also a little different to Ongame. More players continue to limp, and more players will call raises in and out of position. As a result you are often forced to “play more poker”. Players will try to bluff you when they call raises preflop, and it is important to pick your spots to re-bluff when you have fold equity. Players will also commonly broadcast their hands to you with their bet-sizing. A 4x or 5x utg raise from an Ipoker player often indicates JJ/QQ/AK, so don’t be afraid to make a big laydown. In addition to this, don’t be surprised when this raise also turns out to be AA.

In the mid to end stages when dealt a premium, there is nothing wrong with standard raising, or even occasionally limping (this goes for Ongame too). I see professionals brought up on the American sites shoving 12 bbs with AA, and the only reason I see it is when they are called by JJ+. You do not need to balance your air shoving ranges with you premium shoving ranges. On the whole, the players you are playing against will not appreciate that just because you have 8 bbs and are raising 2.3x that you must have a monster. They will call with lesser hands looking to flop something or outplay you. The reason that shoving 8bbs with JTs is profitable is the same reason that shoving 8bbs with AA isn’t optimal, in general you will only get looked up by a strong hand.

The end stages of an Ipoker tournament is where the play differs dramatically. As a stereotype, the Ipoker player is the nittiest player on the net. Bubbles are great, players will continue to fold despite having half their stack in blind. You target these players by their actions, but also by their chat. It always makes me chuckle when I read things like “2 more to die” or “OMG, a face card would be nice” from players with under 5 bbs. In addition to taking advantage of these players, it is also important to take advantage of the players who have larger stacks, but are obviously afraid to bubble.

The Ipoker client has a handy feature where you can press a button and it 3x’s preflop for you. I use this button in the early stages of tournaments in unopened pots. Many players on there continue to use it as the tournament progresses. They see an ace on the button, think they have to raise and press the 3x button, not stopping to calculate that a 3x button raise equates to a quarter of their stack. These same players will then surrender their Ax faced with a 3 bet all in – they can’t call off their stack with ace rag now can they? I use this tactic a lot; players don’t appreciate that if they are not calling a 3bet all in with Ax or 77 that their hand is essentially 72o. Don’t be put off if you get caught, I’ve been caught many a time shoving 69o into AA. The incredulity displayed in the chat box in these instances shows why it is such a profitable tactic.

In addition to 3 betting super light, I also open a lot more than I would on Ongame. The stack sizes are just as shallow, but players are less likely to play back at you. You still need to be aware of the stack sizes at the table, as you will need to call certain players’ shoves, but in general you can get away with murder.

I’ve read on many forums that you shouldn’t raise fold with under x amount of bbs. I’ve heard x quoted as as high as 25. On Ipoker this can be largely ignored. The wisdom behind such assertions comes from laggy play with antes. On Pokerstars and Full Tilt, it is not uncommon to see people 3 and 4 betting with air, therefore it can be very exploitable to raise fold into certain stack sizes. However, this isn’t Pokerstars or Full Tilt, and it is important to adapt. I will open with as few as 12-13 bbs and fold to shoves against most opponents. Despite the lack of antes, this is still profitable as the players will continue to fold waiting for premiums. Size your raises small, The Visionary advocates a mini raise deep in Ipoker I prefer to make it a little more, due to the stigma attached to a mini raise, but when I say slightly more I mean raising from 10k to 21k.

When it comes to calling all ins you need to be careful in ranging opponents. Just because they should be shoving any two cards does not mean they are. In fact I have lost count of the number of times I’ve made a call in the bb after the UTG player has shoved 4 bbs to see him turn up with JJ+/AK. There are of course players who will shove light, observation is key here, but as a general rule I need a much stronger hand to call an 8bb shove on Ipoker than on Ongame.

Ipoker is in the process of implementing antes in some of their tournaments. This should change the play dramatically, but it won’t. I expect it to play similarly to the dying Crypto network. Players won’t loosen up as much as they should. I’ll revisit Ipoker in a few weeks after I have some experience on there with antes.

Next up Party Poker/Boss Media/Tilt and Stars.

The most exploitable bubbles exist within large buy in tournaments with big pay jumps, where a high percentage of the field have won a satellite entry. We see these tournaments every Sunday. Satellite players are playing effectively above their bankroll and will want to finish in the money, These players resort to extreme risk aversion before big payout increases. I recommend finding low buy in players using OPR. For example, if a player’s ABI is $18 and the tournament cost $500 to enter, the first payout level of this tournament could represent their biggest ever score. These players will also make themselves known by discussing the bubble in the chat box, and timing out every hand. These players are our prime targets.

We aim to play against them just before the big pay increases. We play against them when we have them covered (i.e. we can eliminate them) and we leverage their tournament life on any hand we play. This may mean opening their bb if they are incapable of playing back without the nuts. We can also 3 or 4 bet them light if we think they will raise/fold. It could also mean representing any potential scare card that hits the board. In short, it means putting our opponents to the test when there is an unusually large amount of money involved for them.

If you are a medium stack the above options are open to you against the short stacks. We cannot pose the threat of elimination to our big stacked opponents, however, we be able to exploit the bubble in another way – by exploiting those big stacks that are aiming to exploit the bubble.  Anybody who is half decent with chips at this stage of a tournament will be very active. If they are anything like me, they will be entering pots with marginal holdings, and you should punish them for this.  To do this you must 1) be the first player all-in and 2) you must have fold equity when making your play (your opponent cannot be priced in).  In  situations against a hyper aggressive opponents I tighten my 2 bet range to the point where I am never raise/folding against them, and I lighten my 3 bet range where my stack size is right to satisfy requirements 1 & 2. Trapping with big hands can also be very effective verses overaggressive opponents.

What about if you are the short stack? Obviously the bubble isn’t going to be anywhere near as profitable for you. As a rule with an m of 3-6 I try to push when the other Short stacks are in the big blind. Their calling ranges will likely be tighter than usual. Never tighten your own calling ranges. I’d take a neutral (and possible negative) ev spot near the bubble, if doubling gave me the opportunity to be the bully boy.

If you can apply these strategies, I believe the bubble is a great opportunity to accumulate whatever your stack size, because the best investments in tournament poker, like business, are when risk aversion is the order of the day.