**100% inspired from the Doja thread

Late in an MTT
Close from bubble (busted or not)
M 10-15
Q 0.8-1.2
7-8 handed

What is your openeing hand requirement?
What kind of raise?
What are you trying to achive entering the pot from UTG?
What is your raise?
How game conditions affect your play?

I realized reading and rereading that thread that we are very often in that position and that its a crictical stage of the game. Despite the fact the other thread lasted for 6+ pages, we only said 66 was'nt a hand we should have limped, but no much more...

I think this could be interesting...

Honestly, if I remember well (i planed to reread it very soon), even HOH2 is not that much precise about this stage of the game... It talks more about final tables, or when you have a great stack or shorter stack.

Lets talk!!

KJ

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Originally Posted by Girevik
Heck, I've seen people go nuts with middle pair!

Table conditions, my table image and the image of the two players in the blinds are key.

If I'm entering from under the gun I have AQ+ 99+ and my primary objective are the blinds. I often put in 2.5ish raises in this kind of situation if the table's been folding to them, and often they do, though I'll also push. UTG raises seem to get a tiny bit more respect.

If I have AA, KK then I'm min raising (unless I limp) and hoping for the raise in order to reraise.

AK I'm playing every way possible depending on the table.

66 I'm either pushing, or more often than not folding.

I second what Rex said about table conditions . . . .

If it's a tight table, I have a tight image, and the blinds are tight . . . . I'll probably raise 2.5 bb with any 2 cards every so often hoping to win the blinds. Much more likely to do this at a live tourney than online . . . because UTG raises garner more respect at a live tourney. I'd prefer to do this with suited connectors, so that if I get a flat call and the flop comes undercards I can bet with more confidence (I'm more likely to have connected and they're not).

At a tough table, where late position reraises are more the norm, I'm limiting my hands to either bluffs (as above) or AA-TT, AK/AQ. At a passive table, I'm raising with AA-77, AT+, KQ, and bluffing more often.

I raise by position, and UTG is a 2.5 bb raise unless the table won't fold for that (then it's the min I think the table will fold for). I don't limp under these conditions, unless I have some kind of big stack maniac trying to push the table around and I've picked up AA/KK/QQ/AK and think I can get reraised all in.

The lower the M, the more likely I become to push.

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Jason75: Ok, you check and the button bets 400. Now what?
Beavis68: You play poker.
Jason75: Darn, I was really hoping for canasta. Maybe Gin.

depending on how the table is playing... if the table has been playing pretty tight, I open with AJ+ and 88+ UTG (with about 12-15M), for a standard 3x the BB raise, if i have a stronger hand i may raise more (maybe 4x the BB).. I may limp with 22-77 for the set value, and hope the pot goes unraised. If someone decides to raise, i fold.

If my M is around 10-11M i usually just kick it right into a "tight" all in or fold mode, where I push with 99+ AQ+, sometimes AJ 88 or 77, depending on position etc...

btw.. KJ, what does Q 0.8-1.2 mean?

Q is your stack to average stack, so in the .8-1.2 range are are around average.

99+ AQ+ for me., I may toss in some other pairs, KQ or AJ depending on other considerations.

I have started to mess with opening for 2.5x from EP. Bu my typical bet is anywhere from 3x to allin depending on a lot of things.

UTG each raise i make will be all in (unless i have AA-KK).

my image will be fairly loose, and the table will be fairly tight nuturally around the bubble. so i will muck every hand except TT-AA, AK.....maybe AQ, although im pretty sure i'm mucking aq.

all in for all of them. i might just pot it w/ aa,kk to encourage a call.
its fairly tight requierements, but if your loose from LP, then you can afford to be tight from EP

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Generally, Aces through Tens. AK-AJ, 78s, 67s, 56s, 45s.

Of course, this depends on the table, but if people are very scared to go broke, but seeing a lot of flops, I'll limp with those connectors, AJ, KQ, and the eights through ducks.

My normal raise is 2.5BB's.

This fluctuates a lot with the table, the feel, and my mood at the table, and if I have the notion that people are getting sick of me.

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UTG im raising AJs+ and 99+
2.5-3x utg
usually with these hands i dont mind action as i am not ample stacked and i will play the flop agressively if i hit it, as i need chips
however i do not mind the blinds at ALL

i love the "stop n go" play with pairs, but my m might need to be a bit lower for me to do this, as a 10bb all in on the flop is an overbet and will only be called by hands that beat me.

i have been known to push UTG with 66, 77, 88, but only under very certain circumstances. but i will not open raise or limp these hands.

all depends on how im feelin the table and how i think the table is feelin me.
imo the bubble is the easiest time to gather chips as everyone plays tightly. also right after the bubble the short stacks rejoice and instantly autopush every hand so its nice to stack a few of them here.

what does M mean?

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http://gthejester.blogspot.com

A closed mind is like a closed book ... its just a piece of wood.

M is the ratio of your stack to the cost of blinds + antes for one orbit of the table.

Say you have 6000 chips and the blinds are 200 / 400 with an ante of 40 and you were six handed then:

M = 6000 / ((200+400) + (6 * 40))

So M = 6000 / 840

M ~ 7

It basically means that you have enough chips to survive 7 orbits of the table.

As your M gets lower (say around 8-10 and below) then you are under more pressure to make a move, whereas if your M is over 25 then you can afford to take your time and wait for good hands.