Working the Rocks in Poker Tournaments

Sit and Go Tournaments, Tournaments
March 15 2009

A rock style player is a tight player who will only play a hand with something. That something usually needs to be a good hand. These players try to save bets instead of manufacturing them, and are often predictable and easy to get off of a hand. They like to wait for big cards and play fewer pots than other players. This style of play is good for some cash games and early in multi-table tournaments, but it doesn’t fare well in sit-and-go settings.

Playing against a rock is simple. You bet into them if they check to you, and you raise them if they bet into you early in the hand. Forcing the aggression on this type of player will tell you where you stand right away. If they have the goods they’ll raise or call you, but if they missed they’ll almost always fold their hand. They’ll miss more often than they’ll hit, so if you keep the aggression on them you’ll earn chips.

Be prepared to get trapped by this player. If you bet into them it’s preferred that you have position on them. That way you can get a free card after you raise them and they called you.

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