I have made a big deal out of the differences between the ways a good player will approach live action and tournament play. What are the major differences? How can you become proficient in both tournament and live action?
In this post now I am talking about tournament play. This in itself is a marvel because there are so many tournaments being played all across the country. Could it be the other poker writers out there don't want to let anyone in on their secrets? Hmmmmm.
HAND SELECTION
Well, my secret is out now. One major way to improve your win ratio in tournament play is one of the basic ones hand selection. What kind of hands should one select? In the early stages of play, my answer is to not play a draw hand. In taxes Hold Em. This means big pairs only. Usually just aces and kings, and sometimes queens. If the pot has not been raised, I will play and raise with queens. If the pot is raised in front of me, I will muck a pair of queens. If I have the aces or kings and at he pot, provided it isn’t a real dangerous flop (three of a suit or ten-jack-queen), I will get if it is checked to me. If I have the aces and it is bet into me after the flop, I will usually re-raise. The reason for doing so is that I want to define the hand at the lower betting limits.
In a Seven Card Stud tournament, I will only play trips, aces, kings and queens. I will raise with all of them unless I am behind a good player who has raised with a bigger door card than my pair. For instance, if I have queens and a good player raises with a king or an ace showing, I am done with it. Again, I will not playa draw hand like three parts of a flush or a straight. I certainly won't play three picture cards.
WHAT ABOUT A PAIR OF JACKS OR TENS?
What I will do with a pair of jacks or tens depends on the situation. If I am last (or next to last if the player on my left is a bit timid), I will raise with them, provided, of course, that the pot has not already been raised. If I get called, I will be very cautious. If any door card is paired, I will check. If an ace or king should fall, I will bet once and hope my opponents fold. Unless I improve those jacks or tens real quick, I don't want to invest any more money in them. Remember that the payoff in the tournament is not proportionate. Your medium-strength hands are suspect, so don't attempt to bet for value with them. Survival is the most important consideration. Play tough, tight and smart.
GET OUT EARLY
One bad carryover from live action play into early action of tournament play is continuing to play when you have marginally correct pot odds. Suppose you get caught is a situation where you are a slight favorite to catch the winning hand, but it will cost you some checks to call. Don't risk it. Get out early. Save those chips for a better situation when you are a much stronger favorite. This is a very important concept to remember as you switch from live action to tournament play. Survival is far more important than percentage play.
In this post now I am talking about tournament play. This in itself is a marvel because there are so many tournaments being played all across the country. Could it be the other poker writers out there don't want to let anyone in on their secrets? Hmmmmm.
HAND SELECTION
Well, my secret is out now. One major way to improve your win ratio in tournament play is one of the basic ones hand selection. What kind of hands should one select? In the early stages of play, my answer is to not play a draw hand. In taxes Hold Em. This means big pairs only. Usually just aces and kings, and sometimes queens. If the pot has not been raised, I will play and raise with queens. If the pot is raised in front of me, I will muck a pair of queens. If I have the aces or kings and at he pot, provided it isn’t a real dangerous flop (three of a suit or ten-jack-queen), I will get if it is checked to me. If I have the aces and it is bet into me after the flop, I will usually re-raise. The reason for doing so is that I want to define the hand at the lower betting limits.
In a Seven Card Stud tournament, I will only play trips, aces, kings and queens. I will raise with all of them unless I am behind a good player who has raised with a bigger door card than my pair. For instance, if I have queens and a good player raises with a king or an ace showing, I am done with it. Again, I will not playa draw hand like three parts of a flush or a straight. I certainly won't play three picture cards.
WHAT ABOUT A PAIR OF JACKS OR TENS?
What I will do with a pair of jacks or tens depends on the situation. If I am last (or next to last if the player on my left is a bit timid), I will raise with them, provided, of course, that the pot has not already been raised. If I get called, I will be very cautious. If any door card is paired, I will check. If an ace or king should fall, I will bet once and hope my opponents fold. Unless I improve those jacks or tens real quick, I don't want to invest any more money in them. Remember that the payoff in the tournament is not proportionate. Your medium-strength hands are suspect, so don't attempt to bet for value with them. Survival is the most important consideration. Play tough, tight and smart.
GET OUT EARLY
One bad carryover from live action play into early action of tournament play is continuing to play when you have marginally correct pot odds. Suppose you get caught is a situation where you are a slight favorite to catch the winning hand, but it will cost you some checks to call. Don't risk it. Get out early. Save those chips for a better situation when you are a much stronger favorite. This is a very important concept to remember as you switch from live action to tournament play. Survival is far more important than percentage play.
1 comment:
Your comment is good but it needs to precisely delineated
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