Team tournament strategy

So, now that Derby Lane is back running tournaments, they've scheduled a pretty interesting one for this Sunday: a two-person team tournament.

Fasso will be my partner in this new format. We're at work devising what the proper strategy should be, but I figured, "hey, we have a lot of smart listeners and bloggers out there, maybe they have a thought or two on how to play this."

Here's the deal:
It's a timed tournament - 3 hours. At the end of the 3 hours, your chips are combined with your partner's chips, and the 9 teams who have the highest chip counts place (max of 75 teams allowed). If your partner is felted, you're still alive. Starting chips and blind structure are extremely generous, considering how stingy Derby usually is on both: start with 2000 in chips, blinds begin at 25-50 and increase every 30 minutes, ending at 500-1000.

They also aren't doing random seat assignments, and they're going to try their best to minimize partners playing at the same table. (Partners will wear matching bracelets).

My first thought was with a starting chip/blind structure like this, combined with the normal Wild Wild West play at Derby, the prudent play would be to stay very, very tight for the first half at least, playing only premimum starting hands and trying to induce action.

Chris says he thinks a better play would be to be ultra-aggressive early on and then tighten up when the blinds get big.

Or perhaps the best strategy is for one of us to play tight and one to play loose.

So, the floor's all yours, Ante Up Nation. How would you play it?

P.S. One interesting tidbit - with a timed tournament, I hafta imagine there will be a LOT of all-ins on the last hand. Can you imagine sorting through 6 side pots to crown a champion?!? Sigh ...

Comments

[BSN]

One play loose-weak and try to see cheap flops, one play tight-aggressive and go for monster pots. As long as the tables cooperate. You might have to switch up your roles if the tables dictate it.I think the end-game will be the opposite from what you would see at a final table. The big stacks will go into a prevent-defense, while the medium stacks will get super-agressive. The short stacks will play the way short stacks always do. Should be a lot of steal opportunities from big stacks in that last 45 minutes or so.

[Anonymous]

Interesting concept - I'd probably want to keep a close eye on my partner's chip stack and watch where we are collectively and let that partially influence my play. I.e., if I'm the larger stack of the two partners and an average chip stack individually, but my team is a below average chip stack overall, I might get more aggressive with my play and play more like a short stack - which could have a side benefit in adding some deception to the game. The structure might also allow more room for very loose aggressive play by at least one partner to start - given the risk of busting out as a team is reduced if only one guy busts out early, and the benefits in getting an early collective lead are strong.Probably all depends on what your goals are - to win, or to cash?I'd anticipate the end game being like bsn writes above, and thus maybe it might make sense to get ultra aggressive a little earlier with anything other than a big stack, then tighten up in the last round of blinds and hope to catch decent cards at a time when a shorter stack goes all in at the end.

[Christopher Cosenza]

As Scott pointed out, we talked about a strategy yesterday and I said I thought a looser approach early on might prove tactically sound. My reasoning is very similar to the comment above in that I think the end game is going to be furious and you will want to have a lot of chips at the end to (1) survive the blinds as you lay down to all-in after all-in (2) have enough chips to make an all-in call with something like QQ when you still have five desperate guys to act behind you and (3) more than likely your partner may be one of the all-in guys at another table and someone is going to have to have chips. Since there are no antes in this tournament that means you are going to have to pick up a lot of pots to accumulate, you can't rely on stealing blinds and antes to build your stack. With that said, a lot of people will be playing tight and you should be willing to gamble early. With two-player teams the odds of you both playing this way and picking up pots increases. And if you don't, then you can resort to the ALL-IN moves at the end, which, unless you have a huge stack, you'll be doing anyway. So why not try to get chips early?

[Gambit727]

Well, I think you may have to have an all or nothing attitude here and get very aggressive with your post-flop betting...although remain somewhat tight on the hands you play. I would recommend staying away from the drawing hands and just play big cards and any pocket pair. Standard raise pre-flop, but avoid getting over-committed too early in the hand. Your opponent will never be too much of a dog with five cards to come, so just value bet preflop..don't overpush any small pre-flop edge you may have; Wait until you are a more substantial favorite in the hand. In other words, wait til either you hit the flop or he misses the flop, then drop the hammer. Bet half-pot, pot, or all-in depending on what you think will work for the situation. Get paid off big by the chasing players. Trap only when you flop a set and there is no draw on board. Considering the normal looseness of Derby Lane players and the fact that this tournament encourages a big-stack-or-bust strategy and your big value bets should get paid off.Late in the tournament the middle stacks are likely to make it an all-in fest as they will have to leapfrog all the teams in front of them to make the money. Sounds like it will become a crap-shoot here, so I don't know if any strategy will work during this phase. Assume the possibility that if you enter a pot, someone behind will push. Position will be a big factor pre-flop, the fewer behind you the more safe it should be to enter a pot. Only come in from early or middle position with hands you are prepared to go to war with.Good luck.

[Peter Schorsch]

Although I will probably end up playing with my poker partner Fred, he may have to work...If anyone is looking for a partner for this tourney...call me at 8227222.

[Gambit727]

I am going to Orlando this weekend, but I'm interested in hearing the details of how this plays out.Whats the buy-in? Is this going to be a regular event?

[Scott Long]

Gambit - typical $45 buy-in ($90 for the team). Not sure if it will be a regular thing or not. Guessing if the first one goes fine, they'll do it again, though. And, yes, Fasso and I will post our results/discussion here afterwards, and hopefully anyone else who plays will do the same.