Rush Poker Report - Middle Position

Full 9 Max table - $.25/.50 - Mercury

It's been a while since my last post because my regular job has kept me too busy to play enough poker to give my opinion on Rush Poker from middle position.  

This my for the record section of the blog.   I was able to put in 9 hours x 2 tables the last couple of days.  My results were not as good as my report from my last post covering early position.  I made a total profit of $122.40 which is $13.60 per hour on 6,943 hands which is 1.76 BB/100. 

Middle position would be seats 5, 6, and 7 at the Full Tilt 9 max table.  Because of the speed in which you can play hands at Rush Poker, it is rare to find players that play speculative hands from middle position like you would find in a regular game.  It is easier to just fold and move on.  I do suggest playing a slightly increased number of hands from middle position but still not what you would play at a regular 9 max table.  When you see an early position raise or you get re-raised it usually indicates a much stronger hand than you would normally expect.  I added the following hands to my playable hands from middle position if I am the first to open the betting.  99, TT, 88 from seat 7 as well as AQo, KQs (see previous post for all hands).  I still stick with my 3BB opening  bet.  That's it for the extra hands to play from middle position.  With these hands you may get looked up and have to decide based on the action you received if it is worthwhile to continue or simply fold.  Remember, with a 3BB raise you only have to pick up the blinds 2/3 of the time to break even. 

Playing middle position is still a risky play because you have 2 - 4 more players to act after you plus the blinds.  Risk is determined by how much information you have about relative hand strengths and middle position does not provide you with all that much and you still have a bunch of hungry sharks to get through and a potential 4 more rounds of betting before you win anything.  The small and big blinds look attractive because with only a small bet by another player it costs little to play from this position or does it?  After the flop the blinds are the hardest to play from because you will have little information about those to act after you and this is why the blinds are the biggest money losing positions even for the best players (See previous posts - Playing the Blinds). 

 

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Rush Poker Report - Early Position

Full 9 Max table - $.25/.50 - Mercury

I started playing Rush Poker about a month ago and have found it extremely profitable, certainly better than my results at $5/10 NL.  The strategy for winning at Rush Poker ring games is slightly different than at a regular 9 max table because the action is so must faster.  Most people are only playing premium hands and folding small to medium pairs and suited connectors and just moving on to the next hand.

Early position at a Rush Poker table is easier to play than other tables if you stop playing speculative hands.  I would suggest only playing premium pairs like AA, KK, QQ and JJ, as well as AKs, AKo, and AQs from early position.  A standard 3BB raise from 1st or 2nd position in most cases will cause everyone to fold and you pick up the blinds.  If someone else raises you are in a great position to re-raise with all these hands or maybe just call with all but the AA and KK.   I know I will get some arguments with my next statement.  I like to limp from early position with AA and KK  at Rush tables from early position.  There are 8 people left to act after you open and you can almost guarantee, someone will raise.  When it gets back to me after a raise I usually make a pot size bet.  From here this is what usually happens.  40% of the time you get re-raised or your competitor goes all and then you can call the all in or go all in yourself, 30% of the time people fold (a good thing because you just won), and 20 % of the time you get called.  It is the 20% of the time that gets more difficult to play.  The guy that just called your re-raise has a good hand but what does he have?  If the flop comes up with lots of cards in the play zone you could be in trouble because most people that don't just fold to a pot size re-raise likely have hands like AK, AQ, or a big pair.  On the flop if there is a T, J, Q, K, or A or 2 cards to a flush proceed with caution.  I would try control the size of the pot from here until you get a better read.  If your competitor has made a set and you didn't it could get expensive.   Post flop play is now played the same as you would at any other table.

The other possibility is that you just get your AA or KK called by 1 or more callers.  In this case you are likely not going to make much money but you have to make sure you don't lose a whole bunch of money because you are now playing against players that played any 2 cards and you will have no idea what they are.  In this case I mix up my betting sometimes raising 3/4 the pot or check raising.  I like the check raise better  with more than one caller because quite often the person behind you will raise and get the other players to fold  and you are now heads up.  If your check results in a raise and a then a re-raise from other players, you are probably beat and should fold and wait for another spot to get your money in the pot. 

This past weekend I played for 8 hours x 2 tables.  Total number of hands played was 5,430.  Total profit was $162 - $20.25 per hour or 6 BB/100 hands.   I doubt I can maintain this win rate over time.  I will keep you posted.  A word of warning.  Be prepared for big swings in this game.  

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