Joined: May '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2064
Ok... I haven't posted on here for a while and feel like making a thread. So here's what I'm gonna do...
I will register in and play EVERY play money tournament on PokerStars from 8pm GMT to 8am GMT and put all the results and thoughts/comments/conlusions on here. Granted, it's not the most exciting challenge ever, but it should be interesting...
Feel free to join me - Any play money tourney you join in this 12 hour period, I'll be in with you - but if you are on my table, don't expect any chat from me!
What can the play money tournament make you win?? I just wounder if it really worth that time investment... Why don,t you take this same time to make some freeroll? At least, you would have a chance to make some money if you can reach the prizepool. Maybe
Joined: Nov '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 67 (M)
Posts: 3361
gl with that Yout85,maybe if you find a few decent freerolls you can make some cash i remember on FT they used to give cash prizes in a play money tourney,buy in used to be 500k anyone else remember them ?
Joined: Oct '11
Location: Sweden
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 1410
Good luck! This will make for some great multi tabling practice as you mentioned! Just transfer this to your real money game and you'll be a winning player no doubt!
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 10090
any challenge is better than no challenge. @least u have to move your braincells to think of it.
now getting back to the play money to cash conversion - it is possible to do by selling play money to some sites online (rate is about $2-3 for a million playchips). havent tried selling yet, so cannot say if it actually works, but some time ago searched the companies and it looked like there are some legit ones. besides you do not risk anything.
Joined: May '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2064
Jeeeeeezzzzz.... Never have I been more happy for a break
Seem to be in around 15 - 20 tourneys at a time... most I've been in so far is 24.
2am will be the cut off for registering, but it'll probably take a few hours after that to finish them all, so it'll probably end up being like a 9 hour session, give or take...
Joined: Nov '12
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 4675
Posted by yout85: Ok... I haven't posted on here for a while and feel like making a thread. So here's what I'm gonna do...
I will register in and play EVERY play money tournament on PokerStars from 8pm GMT to 8am GMT and put all the results and thoughts/comments/conlusions on here. Granted, it's not the most exciting challenge ever, but it should be interesting...
Feel free to join me - Any play money tourney you join in this 12 hour period, I'll be in with you - but if you are on my table, don't expect any chat from me!
...screen name - yout85
....Here goes.
G'day mate
Best of luck to you mate. Sounds like an interesting little challenge. Never would do it myself but i like your thread so i will read it. be cool
Joined: May '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2064
Tournies are starting to wind up now.
It's tired me out, so I'll post results tomorrow... For now, a few observations....
Mixing games makes things a lot harder. I wouldn't say don't do it, but I'd say be careful if you do, and know you'll have to be paying attention the whole time. If you mix your draw games, ie draw with any low-ball variant it's VERY tricky to keep on top. The same if you mix any stud game, ie razz and stud hi. I'd advise that if you are going to mix your games, stick to one kind of two card game, one four card, one stud, and one draw... that way you can immediately know what game you're playing by how many cards you have. So a mix of NLHE, PLOH, Razz and 2-7lowball shouldn't be a problem as long as you're experienced enough at each game to make fast decisions. I would advise avoiding altogether any game you're not totally comfortable with.
Tight play is essential while multitabling... firstly, you don't wanna have to make any tricky decisions, so keep your starting hands premium, and secondly, the more hands you play - the more hectic it'll become. It's also important to have strict rules as to when you raise and reraise preflop... that way when a table pops up and there's a flop out, you should be able to tell if you raised or flat called preflop as that will change how you play from there.
I'll think of a few more points tomorrow, but for now - I have three tournies to finish, then bed
Joined: Feb '12
Location: Canada
Age: 64 (M)
Posts: 6036
I guess playing for play money in the beginning might aquaint newcomers to the game with how to play....but I wouldn't see it as any sort of practice as play money and real money games are two different beasts....
It's like the difference of practicing your guitar playing on a cheap department store clunk,.....or a nice Les Paul or Strat....
Joined: May '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2064
While it is true that there are huge differences between play money games and real money games, there is still a lot that can be learned from the play money games.
I'm already quite experienced at all forms of poker, and am also experienced at playing multiple tournaments at a time - so my aim wasn't exactly to learn anything myself, but to see what lessons there are to be found to help others.
I have already mentioned a few points that anyone should bear in mind before attempting to multitable. But I intend to list a whole lot more tomorrow once I've got the results on here. In my comments, I'll assume that the readers are already vaguely familiar with each game - and i will focus on the strategy for each game from a multitabling perspective. I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts once I've got it all up, especially from experienced multitablers. And I also hope to inspire someone who's never tried it to give it a go.
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 5712
I just couldnt imagine playing one Play money game, let alone 12 hours worth. Does anyone play seriously on there at Pokerstars? Does it give a true reflection of play or are people just 'playing'? Not for me but well done on your dedication to this effort.
------------ Firstly, a few points on the "Play money vs Real money" debate...
People DO play "properly" in the play money games - or at least they try to, they just aren't very good. I'd say the standard of play in an average play money game is a lot better than the average standard in a freeroll. Where play money tournaments are full of people trying to learn, freerolls are full of people who know how to play, to a certain extent, that are just looking for a free shot at some cash... I think the play money tournaments are comparable to the very low stakes, so there's definitely a lot that can be learned from them.
I think I played in at least one of each kind of tournament, so now I'll run through them explaining basic strategy, and how to alter that when playing multiple tournaments at once...
------------ No Limit Hold'em...
When playing multiple NLH tourneys, you'll want to be a lot more selective with your starting hands, so small suited connectors, should be straight in the muck pile for a start. If you try and play a more open game, not only will you be swamped with tables requiring action, you'll also be getting some tough decisions that you won't be able to put the necessary thought into.
My suggested tactics... Raise AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, AK, AQ... call with lower pocket pairs and sutied aces - fold virtually everything else. That way your hardest decision will be whether to call on a nut flush draw, or an overpair and it should steer you away from trouble for the most part. As the blinds get bigger, or your stack smaller, you'll have to open up a bit - so I suggest just pushing all-in or folding... keep it simple!
------------ Omaha Hi....
Here you'll want to use the same tactics I'd use if I was only playing one tournament... NEVER (or VERY rarely) raise preflop... only limp hands where all 4 cards are doing something - suited aces are your friend... double suited aces are your best friend! After the flop, only call large raises with very strong hands or draws... only raise or reraise with the absolute nuts, or at worst an overfull on a flush/straight board to take advantage of people calling when behind and drawing dead.
------------ Omaha Hi/Lo....
Only play hands that have high and low potential. Only raise or reraise with the nut high or the nut low... but beware of splitting low pot and losing the high, so it's advisable to only raise with BOTH nuts, or just the high if there's no low possible.
A234 is a great hand in Hi/Lo... as a rule, 75% of players will be gunning for a high hand, so the nut low is equal if not better than holding the nut high, despite the split potential. Again, play tight and wait for the good spots - they will come!
------------ Stud...
With all stud games, I don't think they lend themselves well to multitabling. You need info on the players and it's hard to get any when multitabling. So I'd suggest avoiding the altogether. If you do choose to play them, play tight aggressive... wait for premium holdings and bet, bet, bet. There's no other real advice I can give here.
------------ 2-7 triple draw....
Again, despite being one of my favourite games, it's not great for multitabling.
Fold any hands requiring 3 cards before the first draw, limp when you need 2 cards to a 7 ie 257, 237, 247 etc etc... raise when you need 1 card for a 7 and raise pat 7s or 8s... you'll almost certainly need to break a pat 87XXX if you get reraised on the 2nd draw, so don't be afraid to do so. Only draw to premium hands... NEVER keep a 9 or higher don't enter a pot without a 2 unless you have a pat 8 (34568). That way you'll avoid trouble spots and should do well.
------------ 2-7 single draw....
Only draw to 10s, nothing higher... fold in multiway pots unless you're drawing to a 9 or better, if you get reraised, it's doubtful a 9 is good... play cautiously and sensibly to make your way through the field, but don't be afraid to get it all in on any 8 or better. If you lose, then so be it.. but these are premium hands so you'll want to get full value from them.
------------ Badugi....
I hate this game, so my best advice is don't play it But if you want to, only play when you have 3 cards 8 or lower to a badugi... don't chase against someone who's pat, and never raise without a badugi. If you're dealt a 3 card 5 and below, you'll want to raise, but slow down if you get reraised and see how you go.
------------ I think that just about covers anything, but if anyone thinks I've missed anything, or has any questions, I'll be happy to discuss
Joined: Mar '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 1646
That's a great post and some great tips and info. Looks like you ran deep in a lot of tourneys have you got that out your system now? What will you be doing now? Why tourneys do you normally play?
Joined: May '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2064
Thanks mate
I wouldn't exactly say "got it out my system".... I'm not gonna do another play money thing like that again, but it's got me in the mood to do something else... I just don't know what. (any ideas/suggestions will be appreciated)
My favourite things to play are NLH MTTs.... looking through my results from this thing though, it seems that Omaha is actually my best game, so maybe I'll focus on that a bit more....
I didn't mention in the above post, and I doubt anyone's took the time to add it up, but I went from about 10000 chips to 90000 in that session...
