question for you guys (and girls)

[newdadof13]

why does it seem that there is such a need in online poker to go all in the first one two or three hands? Even with rag bs? I cant tell you how many times I have had "good" cards only to either fold them for fear of that lucky donk catching and snapping me off, or playing and that lucky donk getting lucky and snapping me off? Is there a reason to go all in first hand? If so what are considered the "best cards" for this? It seems to me the more I play that there is really no reason to go all in first hand, REGARDLESS of the hand you have. That is just my opinion, looking to hear others though.

[GypsyTea]

Good Question, I feel it is to do with a number of factors, the main factor being the cost of the buy-in.

A lot of poker providers give some sort of loyalty points or bonus's which are usually time sensitive.

So in regard to bonus points, you tend to get a scrable at the end of the month to use them up in a bonus point cash tournament. Most players do not have enough points to play their "normal" or "preferred" stakes.

This indicates that the said player's have :-

1. No Bank Roll Management skills.
2. Are not profitable net poker participants.

So:- If a player has been playing cash say .20/.40 builds up around 1000 loyalty points, their points tournaments are some what limited to around a 200 to 300 dollar cash prize if they win the said tournament. I feel if I was playing that level of stakes ie .20/.40 cents I would like to be pulling out around 250 dollars for 2x 4 hour sessions every day playing 5 days a week.

So:- having said that.......

The player who is not a profitable player around 85% on any server finds that when they run low or out of money and they know they are going to have to soon re bank roll, they get "Hooked" into becoming a Gambler" instead of being a "Good Poker Player".

So one or two poker providers "Bank" on, and it would be very easy to lets say Put a member of staff playing for the purposes of "Staff Training" of course
To play Mathematically better poker with NO PRESSURE.

This "Loyalty Points" thing is a fairly newish ( around 3 or 4 years) thing conceived in a trade show from an idea out of Canada.

It's a way of "cost effectively" marketing, making it look like the server gives a lot of thought for there client base when really they want, No trouble and their money as long as they are slaves to the said server , the company men are happy counting their cash in their rather cheap and easy to crack wall safes ( No point in buying a good safe when you drive a Porsche is there <whicked smile>)

Regards

Gypsy

[cov]

In my experience the worst site for this is 888, so many people there want to throe away there chips on nothing, some feel they have to double up early on to have any chance in a mtt. i feel that if i make the break with my starting chips then im ok, all the proper poker happens then.
just my opinion

[ennotserp]

Being knocked out of a tournament early by a donk when you have a good hand is not a nice feeling - been there done that. After a while I decided I was not going to get involved in this type of situation early in a tournament.
Instead of a donk taking you out, let him take others out, and eventually he will get caught and be eliminated himself (even by yourself when you have the nuts - been there done that too).
Be patient and you shall be rewarded.

[scrawnybob]

Hi

just to agree with GT's solid explaination of the allin early players

its all about cost to buy-in (freerolls / tokens / points etc mean a zero cost) therefore less
of a commitment to the game

if they are freerolls then the chances are they have a load of freerolls lined up accross several sites ... therefore on balance it is probably a quite solid strategy to go for it with marginal hands early - and either double up or go out

IMHO the time to reward ration of freeroll's are negative - too much time for too little reward

in terms of hands to call allins with early in a freeroll - this will vary with the type of player you think your up against - of course they could get lucky and get dealt AA or KK and have you dominated BUT

there is no shame in getting taken out by a donk hand if you played a strong one - its bad luck but that shouldnt change your approach to the game

therefore IMHO AA or KK should be insta calls to a preflop all-in

if you think that the player is just trying to double up with a marginally strong hand (ie any pair or any pictures - 10 Q, QK, JA etc

then this opens up your calling hands wider than normal players making an allin move

so AK might even be worth a gamble, but QQ definately comes in and possibly JJ, 10 10 and even PP's down to 88

It really depends on how much YOU value the game

you cannot decide on playing less good hands because of the "donk luck" factor otherwise you would never play any hand especially the strong ones

if you go in ahead and loose then its bad luck - if you go in behind stupidly then its your own fault

hope thats a help

cheers scrawnybob

[LyndaNova]

Early on in tourneys, particularly freerolls and low cost MTTs, many people try to double up their chips or get knocked out.

I suppose to many people it's just not worth their time to keep playing in a 5+ hour tourney unless they have the advantage of a big stack.

To many players this can be quite annoying, but it also can be advantageous as well.

Adjusting one's play may seem difficult in this situation, but it could be an opportunity for you to double up early instead of them.

My suggestion is to only play premium hands in these situations. You will probably be folding plenty of hands, but it will most likely be worth the wait.

Good Luck at the tables and Happy Hoildays!

[Poker Orifice]

Allin early is retarded... and it sounds like you might possibly be referring to freerolls. Simply put, they don't know how to play or don't care about getting knocked out, &/or think they have a much better chance of making it to the money if they double or triple up early. Let them. These guys will be like ATM's later on when you want a hand to get paid off.
In sngs.. any players who push in early levels are generally poor players too. Let them smash each other around. You'll find that you can sit there for the first 25hands, playing none of them and still have as many or more than the guy whose VP$IP is at around 60%.
If you're entering games where it's common for players to be going allin in early levels, let them. Don't worry about it. Just wait it out. Either that or enter into some other games instead.

[wixx]

Lots of people do this and I agree that they are trying to double up early. They have no skills so the only way that they can make the money is to get lucky early. If not they onlt played a few hands and are free for the rest of the night.

[witchywitchy]

Alliners early sometimes are out to quickly double up, but also test the other players.

I happened to be in three games so my fold was not instant. Few hands later this guy again went allin and challenged me.... hey... you were thinking about it last time... come'on lets go! All he got was a LOL from me

[GOIVIT]

I play in a lot of MTT's and sitngos so I know the frustration the early alliners can cause. I play like I'm sitting out, if I catch a monster out of the blind I bury them if not fold. For me until the blinds get to the 4th or 5th level there is no reason to go out early and like several others have mentioned you will probably get their chips later.