Adapting to Changing HT Conditions

PokerStars recently changed the format of most of its six-handed hyperturbo sit-and-gos (HTs). Prior to 2011, both first and second place won approximately two and half times their buy-in, while third place got roughly his money back. Since the start of the new year, the buy-ins have been lowered, and first and second win almost three times their buy-in, while third gets essentially nothing.

For example, the PokerStars gold standard has long been the $88 HT that awarded two $215 seats to the Sunday Million, while third place received $87.68. Now, that same HT has a buy-in of $74, and it still awards two $215 seats, but third place gets only $2.80. It’s the only HT that runs around-the-clock (except for a few hours on Sundays during the majors), so it attracts most of the serious HT grinders.

You should have seen the commotion that this abrupt change caused; you would have thought the sky was falling! A lot of the players with whom I play regularly were complaining to anyone who would listen. In the chat boxes and on the poker forums, they demanded that the format be changed back. Otherwise, they claimed that they would boycott the HTs, pull their bankrolls, and switch their play to other sites.

Frankly, I preferred the old format, too. I enjoyed the various strategic considerations that no longer exist under the new format. Among other things, I liked the following:

1. The way that you could attack opponents who were too concerned about trying to lock up third place to ensure getting their money back. In reality, they were hurting their chances of winning and simultaneously helping yours.
2. The concept of using a co-chip leader to your advantage when four-handed, as I discussed in “Cooperative Play in HTs” in issue No. 20, 2010.
3. Being in third place out of four players remaining, and having to decide whether to try to hold on for third or take a chance at the top spots by calling all in with a marginal hand like A-2 or K-7.

Sure, I enjoyed the old format as much as the rest of the regulars, but I saw no point in complaining the way that most of them did. Instead, I immediately turned my attention to succeeding under the new format.

Playing poker for a living is all about adapting to changing conditions. Rather than complain about the changes, the only smart thing to do is make the necessary adjustments. You can spend your time either whining or preparing; it’s no secret which activity the smarter players choose.

I spent about two hours summarizing the types of changes that I would need to make. Then, I started playing the HTs in groups of three. After each set of three, I took a quick break and noted the pivotal hands that took place, even the ones in which I was not personally involved. If I lost an all-in confrontation, I objectively analyzed whether I made the correct play or should have done something else. If I lost because I allowed my stack to dwindle down, I looked back over the hands that I folded to see if there was one that I should have played. And most importantly, if an opponent showed up with an unexpected hand in a particular situation, I noted how his range had likely shifted from the old format. Even now, after having played hundreds of the new-style HTs, I still take frequent breaks to review hand histories and take notes.

To give you an idea, here are two examples of notes that I’ve made:

1. We were four-handed, all with roughly equal stacks, and I was in the BB [big blind]. It was folded to Player X in the SB [small blind], who previously would go all in 100 percent of the time in that situation. But now, under the new format, he surprisingly gave me a walk. My guess is that too many players were gambling and taking stands from the BB with marginal hands, willing to risk a fourth-place finish for the chance of being the chip leader with three players left. Therefore, Player X realized that he couldn’t shove every hand when first in from the SB, and in turn, I realized that I could no longer assign him a random hand when he made that shove.
2. In the first hand, it was folded to me in the SB, I shoved with K-5, and Player Y in the BB instantly called with K-2 offsuit. I had never seen him call before with a hand that weak in that situation. Therefore, I knew that his calling range had widened under the new format, and I had to take that into consideration.

After the first few hands of an HT, the variables start increasing. You have to consider how many players are left, the different chip stacks, and each opponent’s tendencies; then, you must adjust for each given situation. It took months for me to feel truly comfortable doing that under the old format, and it will take some time with the new format, as well. As of right now, it is still a work in progress.

My adjustments haven’t been only strategic. I’ve also had to prepare myself to be in the proper mental state. For the first few years of my poker career, I played primarily live tournaments. I moved the bulk of my play to cash games (and then to HTs) because I enjoy the feeling of winning (or at least breaking even) more than half the time.

The problem is, under the new format, that won’t be the case anymore. Any win rate greater than 35 percent will show a strong profit, and will put anyone achieving it among the new HT elite. It will require greater mental toughness to deal with the increased number of disappointing results. Anyone who ignores that facet of the game will probably go on tilt fairly often. If I find that the higher percentage of losing HTs causes me too much mental stress, I’ll have to strongly consider moving on from them, the same way that I moved on from live tournaments.

So, what happened to the large group of angry players who threatened to take all kinds of action if their demands were not met? Predictably, within a week, almost all of them were back playing as much as before. Whether or not most of them are adjusting properly remains to be seen, and the same is true for me. The complaints continue sporadically, but the more time that passes, the more likely it is that the new format is here to stay.

Some players continue to dwell on the way that things were. For the rest of us, there’s no reason to do anything but focus on the present. ♠

Matt Lessinger is the author of The Book of Bluffs: How to Bluff and Win at Poker, available everywhere. You can find other articles of his at www.CardPlayer.com.