KO Victories Are SO Two Months Ago

Shhh. Don't tell anyone, but there's a game on Full Tilt where you can get free money. It's called the $3 KO Game.

I boasted about winning one of these sometime in January, which at the time was a big deal because it was my first MTT type victory in a couple months, and it represented a large increase to my measly bankroll. Now, winning this thing (last night = 4th time) is becoming as routine as brushing my teeth. I'm not sure if a 170-something% ROI is sustainable, but I also had the same question back when it was only 110%. I stopped playing these for a while because they were so mentally unstimulating, but it's going to be hard to continue passing up free money.

I had thoughts of posting some sort of strategy about these games, but really it isn't any different from a standard MTT-strategy. Play tight early, loosen up as the game progresses, steal to grow your stack, etc..but there are a few adjustments that have to be made to be successful, so if you're interested in playing these, here's what advice I can offer.

1. Play uber tight early. Play very cheaply and no sooner than the CO. If you find yourself card dead, then it's probably time to start pushing a wider range with 12BB or less at the 80160 level, but try to stay patient until then.

2. OBFV is key, especially if someone has already led out with a bet. I've gone as far as open-pushing AA or KK preflop a couple of hands in because I've already identified a donk who can't resist a chance at a $.50 bounty by calling with 77 or JT. In fact, you have to OBFV (not necessarily always pushing though) to keep all 5 limpers out of the pot because even a 10xBB raise won't thin the field.

3. Very rarely is restealing useful. Most raises in this game are card-based, not position based, so your reraise will most likely be called, if not pushed back on. There are a handful of players who will steal from the button or CO but restealing is not recommended unless you A) have a stack to scare them and B) don't have complete garbage.

4. On the other hand, late game stealing is HUGELY +EV. Even though 9th place pays only $2.50 profit, players fear the bubble like it's the plague. You don't even have to worry about odds - most times, a min-raise from the button is sufficient. I can't count how many times I've doubled up my stack late in the game simply by stealing.

I'll probably be around for the Mookie this week, especially if it's a DS, but I'll be WAY far away from the Skillz game tonight. Me + Razz = headaches.