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Rushpoker tactics 9-player tables
Playing only top hands in rushpoker
Everybody probably first thinks about this rushpoker tactics: Just playing AA, KK, QQ, JJ and AK. You can very quickly fold and if you play a pot you have the best hand. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Sadly it is not that easy. It is the expected rushpoker tactics. The good players know what you probably do.
Imagine you and your opponent are 100 big blinds deep. You open with AA for 4 blinds, get called by a good player. The flop is 367. This is a strong flop for AA but if your opponent has 33, 66, 77, 67 or 45 you are likely to loose your stack. Way round if he didn’t connect you hardly would win more than one more bet, if even. If your opponent had 1010 the setup would be great but because many people know under the gun people only play top hands you wont win more than one, maybe two bets unless he is a real fish.
The other big problems are QQ, AK and especially JJ. These are big trouble hands in rushpoker. I believe most players loose money with them. You can read more about these hands some topics later.
Rushpoker hand values
People play tighter in rushpoker than in regular games. This especially applies for the fishes who normally play many hands because they lack patience.
Imagine you open with AK and the flop is 38K two hearts. You bet out and get called twice. What can you opponent have? At regular poker he easily could have KJ, KT, every king in fact. Or some hand like A8. Or many combinations existing of flush draws. But in rushpoker?
Most players (also the fishes!) don’t play kings except maybe KQ. They also don’t play A8. Neither any two suited. They simply fold such hands preflop. This means you while you normally might bet all streets with top pair/top kicker knowing there are many worse hands your opponent could have, the opponents range is way tighter now. Except KQ the most likely hands are 33, 88 and AK.
So, with people playing way less hands that make weak top pairs in rushpoker you need to adjust. Having top pair isnt much. Having top pair with an average kicker is a poor hand in rushpoker in fact. To play a big pot you normally need at least two pair or better a set/straight/flush.
Having AK on an A57 flop isnt worth much if you opponents don’t play worse aces!
Rushpoker trouble hand AK
AK (and of course AQ even more) is a hand I rate very low in rushpoker. AK makes you top pair but not more. Like discussed in blablabla top pair is worth little in rushpoker.
Early position if it is suited you can go for a limp and hope for the nuts flush (draw). But offsuit I would just fold AK early position. Yes it looks good but it just plays horrible after the flop out of position.
AK is fine to play in middle and late position in rushpoker.
Rushpoker trouble hands JJ and QQ
With people having a tight range in rushpoker, sometimes even only AA, KK, QQ, AK and JJ, you have little to gain when moving in preflop with QQ. What should your opponent have or call you with?
The same problem occurs if you bet preflop with QQ, get reraised and call. Flop 222. What do you do if your opponent bets? If you call him there often is about one bet left which a consequent opponent will again bet / bluff either on the turn or river.
You need to avoid playing bigger pots with unimproved JJ and QQ in rushpoker. One way to achieve this is early position limping.
Preflop: Early position limping
In my eyes limping in early position is way better than opening with a raise. Let me give you some examples:
In rushpoker JJ, QQ and AK are like explained trouble hands, no allin hands.
Opening with a bet and then getting reraised is a very unpleasant situation. Way round if you limp and call a raise you invested only about 4 big blinds and can play JJ, even QQ, as a simple set mining hand. If you hit a Queen on the flop, perfect, jackpot. If not you can cheaply fold it. Yes I am not joking. On a 469 flop it is a serious option to simply fold QQ when being out of position. You will sometimes fold against a worse hand like 99 or AK. But way round what can you gain with a call? If the turn is a blank like another 4 and your opp bets again, what now!? He might still have a worse hand or be bluffing but the 2nd bet indicates a better hand is more likely. You are in a really tough spot. Unless you have a detailed read of your opponent it is impossible to play it profitable.
AA and (unless playing very deeply) KK are obviously preflop allin hands. Early raising with AA and then getting three callers isn’t fun at all though. On a flop like 47J you have no idea where you stand when someone plays back or calls you. He might have a set or just QQ. Who knows. Out of position this is no fun for you, this is for sure.
When you open with a limp things are much easier. If someone raises you can rereraise and bring a serious part of your stack in the middle.
If everyone just limps your AA or KK is quite wasted. Whenever someone starts betting strongly you have to fold your overpair. This might sound cruel but lets be serious. The limping means no one had a strong hand. If you opened with a raise probably everybody had just folded. You had won the blinds but thats not much, is it? Or one guy had called you with a small pocket, hit the set and cracked your aces for stacks. No fun either.
Smaller pocket pairs are also nice early position limping hands. You go for set mining and if it doesn’t hit. Fold, next hand.
Middle and late position
There are less players are left to act and you more often have position (LINK). There are many tactics to play it. You can still play tight or loosen up with the intention of stealing some more blinds. Limping or opening with a raise both works too.
Just always keep in mind for a big pot you need more than just top pair!
Playing from the blinds in rushpoker
It is advised to always play tight in blinds cause of being out of position. This applies even more to rushpoker where people play tighter than in regular poker.
Imagine you call an early position raise with AQ. Your opponent likely has JJ, QQ, KK, AA, AK. Maybe also AQ, TT, 99. How do you want to win money in such spot? If you hit your hand on a so called “good” flop like A67 or Q34 most of your opponents hands still beat you! If you add being out of position we have a situation where every player in the world will loose money. Be smart and avoid it by simply folding hands like AQ in the blinds!
Even if it is limped to your blinds I would play very tight and passive preflop. I checkhHands even as strong as AQ or TT from the blinds.
Imagine someone in middle position limps and you raise from the big blind with 99.
There is some small chance the limper played tricky and now reraises you. You have little alternatives to folding. It coasted you some small potion of your stack but also the chance to hit a well concealed high set.
The more likely scenario is he calls you. Now you usually have the better hand but playing 99 on a flop with likely at least one overcard when being out of position is no fun. Compared to regular poker you have a way worse read on your opponent. If he starts betting you got no idea if he simply plays position and bluffs or if he value bets.
Yes you still have the better starting hand and I wont disagree that very good players will earn by raising in such spot. But for most players the way easier and safer option is to simply check it preflop and keep the pot small.
Hands like AQ, KQ have very similar problems. You more often than not miss the flop and are put in a pure guessing spot – out of position.
And even if you hit your top pair on a A56 board you often don’t know if you face a fish who calls down (or bets out) with a weak ace or if you face a tight regular who only plays pockets this way.
Keep it simple, just check your AQ preflop and fold if you miss the flop.
Your edge (the way to win in rushpoker)
Now some reasons why you can win at the rushpoker 9-player tables:
- The fishes play tighter but still call too much. They wont fold a hand like toppair
- The tight so called pros who play only JJ+ play too tight and don’t do early position limping
- Most players don’t understand that an overpair or even worse toppair isn’t good enough to play a big pot.
- Some guys move allin preflop with something as weak as JJ or AK.
- You hopefully take notes what many don’t do.
- You sometimes will meet a fish who ignores any rules and moves in for 50 blinds with bottom pair (yes that’s extreme but I experienced it!)
- You hopefully have a Rakeback deal to earn additional money.