Low Buyin vs High ...need advice

[Misty]

Would anyone play low buyin tournaments different than they would high buyin tournies?
Please post the reasoning beside your reply. ty.

Reason I'm asking is because I sometimes do...and because of that, I just lost a "high buyin" tourney by mistake. :(

[PokerRef]

I don't change my style regardless of the buy-in, but many players do. Playing different from normal will just cause problems, and get you into some bad habits. Some players think that its only $2, $5, or $10, so what the hell, I'll call an all-in with AJ and its plain stupid except in very certin circumstances. Its one of the reasons I cash so often in low buy-in tourneys. Alot of players in those tourneys are very loose and if you play a smart solid game you will have the upper hand most of the time. Don't Play down to the level of your compettion. The only time I change my style a little is in Turbos, but I won't loosen up until the blinds are higher. If you check stats on OPR it tells you when you get knocked out when playing. If you finish early or early middle more than 25% combined, then theres a problem in your game and you need to tighten up.

[Adaon]

While generally the answer is no, there are 2 other factors:

1)The players the buy in gets. A higher buy in gets a higher caliber of player so there are adjustments to be made.

2)The structure of the tournament sometimes changes with the buy in. On pokerstars, a $5 tournament has a lot less play in it then a $10 tournament does. That can and should cause you to play a little differently.

[Yoda]

In General, I think most of would play the same in both, but in a lower buy in, might be more inclined to gamble more early on verus the numerous donks early on. In every level there is donks, but usually less as you move up in price.

[Kat]

I mostly play omaha and i play quite a bit differently in lower BIs assuming the opponents are weaker. some of it is just normal adjustments to # players seeing the flop. but if i feel i have a skill advantage i want to see more flops but control pot size. so i shift loose passive.

[Yoda]

I mostly play omaha and i play quite a bit differently in lower BIs assuming the opponents are weaker. some of it is just normal adjustments to # players seeing the flop. but if i feel i have a skill advantage i want to see more flops but control pot size. so i shift loose passive.

Can you explain a little more on loose passive?

[Kat]

Re: loose-passive... Let's compare LHE and LO8. In LHE the chance of the best hand pre-flop still being the best hand post-flop is quite good (despite how it seems sometimes). Also the differences in hand values pre-flop are quite large (e.g., the classic overpair 80/20). This means when you pick up a hand you want to play it aggressively pre either to simply pick up the blinds or for value. LO8 is a post-flop game. Not only can a beautiful hand like AA23 turn to dust on the flop, but typically in LO8 you want to "pull" rather than "push." In other words with your big pre-flop hands you want to pull in (by playing passively and calling rather than raising) lots of players so that when you do hit monster flops you have lots of customers.

In that hand I posted in the other thread there is a good illustration of passive play. I have a huge hand there with a made no-bust nut low and a wheel draw, but at no point do I raise cos I don't want to thin the field. So that is passive play and in O8 it is usually correct.

Pre-flop loose-passive means that in position I'll play some fairly speculative hands like 2346. If an A and a baby flops I'll typically have the nut low draw and a straight draw. If an A doesn't flop the hand goes in the muck.

[desperad0oo7]

depends on what you mean by high buyin. generally $1-$30 are not considered high buying.

to answer your question, yes. play should change according to the stakes you are playing.

in the lower buyins you should be playing straightforward poker and not bluffing much because most of these bad players don't have a fold button. These players tend to be passive and loose. but when the blinds get high and most of the loose maniacs are out they tighten up considerably. at this stage you should loosen up and start stealing the blinds from late position. that means you should be raising alot of hands from late.

In the higher buyins, players are usually tighter early on. and many of them play solid ABC poker. So to take advantage of them you need to play looser throughout. not too loose and avoid playing out of position like the plague. but whenever you are in late position try to force them to defend their blinds out of position and throw in some well timed bluffs/. these players do have a fold button. However, you will also come across better players at these stakes. when you find another players is pushing people around and playing good poker then you should tighten up and look for a good spot to get your money in or reraise him. so you should be playing a bit tighter, especially if he is on your left.

there are other subtle differences but as I said, these are stakes above $33 we are talking about. hope that is helpful

[desperad0oo7]

Re: loose-passive... Let's compare LHE and LO8. In LHE the chance of the best hand pre-flop still being the best hand post-flop is quite good (despite how it seems sometimes). Also the differences in hand values pre-flop are quite large (e.g., the classic overpair 80/20). This means when you pick up a hand you want to play it aggressively pre either to simply pick up the blinds or for value. LO8 is a post-flop game. Not only can a beautiful hand like AA23 turn to dust on the flop, but typically in LO8 you want to "pull" rather than "push." In other words with your big pre-flop hands you want to pull in (by playing passively and calling rather than raising) lots of players so that when you do hit monster flops you have lots of customers.

In that hand I posted in the other thread there is a good illustration of passive play. I have a huge hand there with a made no-bust nut low and a wheel draw, but at no point do I raise cos I don't want to thin the field. So that is passive play and in O8 it is usually correct.

Pre-flop loose-passive means that in position I'll play some fairly speculative hands like 2346. If an A and a baby flops I'll typically have the nut low draw and a straight draw. If an A doesn't flop the hand goes in the muck.

that is definitely true for LO8 because edges are so small preflop in comparison to NLHE and LHE where you can be a 4-1 favorite preflop. in LO8 you are never that big a favorite before the flop.

but loose passive is not something you should EVER do in holdem. either tight aggressive or loose aggressive. in Holdem, loose passive literaly means flushing money down the toilet. but if you mean trying to see alot of cheap flops with marginal hands then sure. but be aggressive with your better ones.