Differences Between Big and Small Buy-In Events
There is a moment in each player’s career that defi nes him. For me, that moment was winning the 2004 WSOP Main Event. But as the 2009 WSOP began, I was prepared to make history once again as I entered the final table of the $40,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the WSOP.
Although I didn’t win, I began to think about the differences between the players in low and high buy-in events. In most cases, as the buy-in increases, so will the skill level of your opponents. It was no surprise to me that the field of 201 players that entered the $40k event was mostly the top players in the world. With the huge buy-in, players would need to believe that entering this event would be +EV. That is, if they didn’t have the right mindset on this tournament, they would be making a huge mistake.
As the buy-ins decrease, players don’t make the same decisions. The fields grow rapidly as less experienced players try to take a stab at poker fame. They don’t think about their actions in the same way that a professional would, and thus, playing against them is very different than playing against a fellow professional.
Although that correlation exists, there is one major exception: the World Series of Poker Main Event. With over six thousand players trying to make it through the tough grind until November, the level of skill in that particular event is far below any other tournament with a $10,000 buy-in. Playing against amateurs at the Main Event takes patience and an understanding that the tournament cannot be won on Day 1. These are players who may have beaten their home game and are taking a shot, satellite winners, or maybe just a rich celebrity or businessman testing his skills on the felt.
While I finished third in the $40k, I took a step back to rethink my strategy for the WSOP Main Event. I knew that Day 1 would present me with a variety of players at my table, and I was right. I had fellow Team PokerStars Pro Alexander Kravchenko to my right and knowing that he is a great player, and that my table wasn’t going to break all day, I had to adjust my game. It’s almost a given that you’re going to get a least one or two good players at your table on Day 1. At the same time, there will almost always be some not-so-good players against whom you can take full advantage. My initial strategy, which isn’t something I’d typically do in a high buy-in event, was to talk the table up and start getting a feeling for the players around me.
During the first level I was splashing around because, let’s face it, in a tournament with such a deep structure, playing hands like suited connectors, ace-x suited, and even one-gappers can lead to a good result. The goal is to take a shot with these hands and take the risk. If you hit, then you will most likely be paid off because your opponents won’t give you credit for a weaker hand. They’re expecting you to have solid starting hands early in a tournament and when a flop of 2-4-6 hits the board and I’m playing 3-5, I know that my opponents will never put me on the nuts. If I don’t have a big draw or two pair after the fl op, I know that I won’t lose a big pot.
Early in this Main Event I decided that min-raising was the correct approach when opening the pot. As I mentioned, the new blind structure allowed for greater deep-stack play and opening for 200 (blinds 50/100) was enough to win the pot pre-fl op sometimes and build a small pot at other times. This isn’t something that I recommend to students at the World Series of Poker Academy, but I’d explain to them that if you’re confi dent you can outplay your opponents post-flop, you can do all kinds of things when it’s a very small percentage of your stack. In this case, it wasn’t even 1% of my stack at risk when I was making these risky plays.
If I were playing in the $40k, even given the deep stacks, I probably wouldn’t raise in the same fashion, but for a different reason. Being confi dent with your post-fl op play is important, but knowing that the $40k players could play back at me in different fashions, I would need to adjust my strategy. Given the general skill level increase, making a bigger bet would be essential to limit my opponents’ range of hands. I’d still open the pot with the hands I mentioned above, but if I were called, I’d expect to be facing a much different situation. In the Main Event, a continuation bet would probably do the trick either way. In the $40k, I’d need to a start adjusting my play based on the player and the experiences I’d had with him.
The other noticeable difference between the two fields is that those who put up a $40,000 buy-in aren’t intimidated by playing with the world champ (or another popular player). Maybe they want to bust me, but they aren’t going to change their game because I’m at their table. In a $1,500 event or even the $10,000 Main Event, I’ll have a mix of players who will be intimidated by playing with me or will want to target me (even at times when they know they are in a losing spot) so they’ll have a story to tell back home.
Given the popularity of poker on TV, a good amount of poker players will be put in a situation where they’re recognized by their opponents. The big names in the game understand that in a tournament like the Main Event they’ll have fans at their table and need to adjust one way or the other. The Main Event offers a $10,000 field that you won’t see anywhere else and being a smart player and changing your strategy based on your table composition is important. The next time you sit down at a table, consider the buy-in, but also think about those surrounding you and how you present yourself. It is more important to understand the opponents who are actually at your table than it is to understand what is typical of the tournament you’ve entered. The moment you take your seat, the tournament has begun.
