Jeremiah Smith / Poker Player Newspaper...
Why do we do it? Why do we pay $100 of our hard earned money for a few hours of watching the blinds climb faster than Lance through the Alps only to end up putting our tournament on the line with hands like Q-J suited and pocket fours? Because it's the only game in town.
Any time you discuss poker strategy, you are forced to paint in some broad strokes. Please remember that every situation is different, and you have to respond appropriately.
In order to keep things simple, I will use what seems to be a typical structure for small buyin NLHE tournaments:
1500 chips, and 20 minute blinds levels beginning at 25-50 (that usually double).
Your goal in these tournaments should never be just to cash or get your money back because you will quickly find that's the easiest way to lose it. Your goal should be first place, because that's where the money is. What you will usually find happening is that by the time you make it to the final few players, a deal is usually being discussed.
At the very least, you want to be in on this conversation.
With this goal in mind, You can break the tournament down into four stages: early (the first 3-4 levels), middle, the bubble (just before the cash), and the final table. Your strategy needs to adjust for each stage, but keep one phrase in mind: practice selective aggression. If your approach is to sit back and"wait for a hand," you will instead find yourself waiting for the next tournament.
When you are the one driving the action, you put yourself in the driver's seat instead of the luck of the cards and the escalating blinds. Varying your level of aggression will be the key to moving through each of the stages:
Early. In the first few rounds you will find most players are extremely cautious and do not want to take too many chances because they don't want to be the first person going home. You will find many "orphan pots" after the flop. My recommendation: fire away! You are going to need some chips to last through the middle stages, so playing a bit loose when everyone else is tight is the way to go. This is where the value of hands like suited connectors increase because the price to see a flop is relatively low.
If you have position and there are a few limpers in front of you, go ahead and raise with hands like K-J, Q-J, 10-J, even 9-10 and 8-9. By raising you can narrow down the field and usually find the action passed to you after the flop. This runs a bit contrary to some opinions that you want to see a cheap flop with a hand that plays well against multiple opponents. But your goal is not to"hit a hand" it is to win the pot. There is no sense calling away your chips in a tournament with this structure. They are valuable and should be treated as ammunition, not a shield.
Middle. Ideally you have at least doubled up by now because it's time to batten down the hatches. As people begin to realize their stacks are dwindling and they can barely afford the blinds, they begin to loosen up. Just last week I saw a player who had barely played a hand shrug his shoulders and say "let's do it" when someone raised his big blind. He turned over K-3 after his all-in reraise was called ("But they were sooooted...").
Bubble. Hopefully players have noticed your cautious play for the last few levels and you can open both barrels again. The majority of your opponents will hang on for dear life in this stage, just trying to get their money back. Passed to you one from the button with J10? Push all-in. The few times you run into a big hand will be overshadowed by the valuable blinds you pick up.
Final Table. Here is where play starts to even out a bit. By now most of the chip stacks have a fair amount of play in relationship to the blinds. Pick out who is just trying to move up the money ladder and raise their blinds. Your next goal is to get to the final three players where most deals are made.
Again, the key concept is to practice selective aggression. When you enter a hand, you will create far less problems for yourself if you are the one driving the action. In some stages, this may be looseaggressive, and others tight-aggressive, but pick your spots and don't be afraid to bet. If you follow this general pattern, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other at a final table sometime soon. Next, we will look at two more key concepts: a big hand equals a big bet and when to quit raising and start pushing.
Fox Sports..
Why do we do it? Why do we pay $100 of our hard earned money for a few hours of watching the blinds climb faster than Lance through the Alps only to end up putting our tournament on the line with hands like Q-J suited and pocket fours? Because it's the only game in town.
Any time you discuss poker strategy, you are forced to paint in some broad strokes. Please remember that every situation is different, and you have to respond appropriately.
In order to keep things simple, I will use what seems to be a typical structure for small buyin NLHE tournaments:
1500 chips, and 20 minute blinds levels beginning at 25-50 (that usually double).
Your goal in these tournaments should never be just to cash or get your money back because you will quickly find that's the easiest way to lose it. Your goal should be first place, because that's where the money is. What you will usually find happening is that by the time you make it to the final few players, a deal is usually being discussed.
At the very least, you want to be in on this conversation.
With this goal in mind, You can break the tournament down into four stages: early (the first 3-4 levels), middle, the bubble (just before the cash), and the final table. Your strategy needs to adjust for each stage, but keep one phrase in mind: practice selective aggression. If your approach is to sit back and"wait for a hand," you will instead find yourself waiting for the next tournament.
When you are the one driving the action, you put yourself in the driver's seat instead of the luck of the cards and the escalating blinds. Varying your level of aggression will be the key to moving through each of the stages:
Early. In the first few rounds you will find most players are extremely cautious and do not want to take too many chances because they don't want to be the first person going home. You will find many "orphan pots" after the flop. My recommendation: fire away! You are going to need some chips to last through the middle stages, so playing a bit loose when everyone else is tight is the way to go. This is where the value of hands like suited connectors increase because the price to see a flop is relatively low.
If you have position and there are a few limpers in front of you, go ahead and raise with hands like K-J, Q-J, 10-J, even 9-10 and 8-9. By raising you can narrow down the field and usually find the action passed to you after the flop. This runs a bit contrary to some opinions that you want to see a cheap flop with a hand that plays well against multiple opponents. But your goal is not to"hit a hand" it is to win the pot. There is no sense calling away your chips in a tournament with this structure. They are valuable and should be treated as ammunition, not a shield.
Middle. Ideally you have at least doubled up by now because it's time to batten down the hatches. As people begin to realize their stacks are dwindling and they can barely afford the blinds, they begin to loosen up. Just last week I saw a player who had barely played a hand shrug his shoulders and say "let's do it" when someone raised his big blind. He turned over K-3 after his all-in reraise was called ("But they were sooooted...").
Bubble. Hopefully players have noticed your cautious play for the last few levels and you can open both barrels again. The majority of your opponents will hang on for dear life in this stage, just trying to get their money back. Passed to you one from the button with J10? Push all-in. The few times you run into a big hand will be overshadowed by the valuable blinds you pick up.
Final Table. Here is where play starts to even out a bit. By now most of the chip stacks have a fair amount of play in relationship to the blinds. Pick out who is just trying to move up the money ladder and raise their blinds. Your next goal is to get to the final three players where most deals are made.
Again, the key concept is to practice selective aggression. When you enter a hand, you will create far less problems for yourself if you are the one driving the action. In some stages, this may be looseaggressive, and others tight-aggressive, but pick your spots and don't be afraid to bet. If you follow this general pattern, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other at a final table sometime soon. Next, we will look at two more key concepts: a big hand equals a big bet and when to quit raising and start pushing.
Fox Sports..
