153 This hand makes me think of the data a major Casino put out about the actual results of all Hold�em hands for the first six million games played on their site.
The hands that lost the most money were not the ?worst? hands possible. The biggest money loser (not coincidentally) is 32s. It lost more than 32s or 72s. Then also, A2s lost more than 32s.
Most players overvalue garbage cards. It�s the kiss of death.
Insider Tip Hands that should do better than other hands (32s should do better than 32o) end up doing markedly worse because people play them and think they ?have? something.
23 is the single most costly Hold�em holding in the hands of 90% of the players . . . and it holds that distinction by far. 234 is a big improvement, adding the 7 helps, and adding a suit does too, but 154 anyone who thinks this is a ?good? hand is surely going to lose a lot of money with it.
Again, this scenario is about the best possible for the hand (besides a Free Ride in the blind of course), but the hand is still highly speculative and will be a money loser for non-good players.
Contrast this to A347 and even a non-good player will have a profitable hand on the button.
The pursuit of available information, even if it takes a bit of work, is largely what separates winning (and breakeven) players from losing players.
Certainly most players lose, but the combination of the winning players and the smallish losers is in the ballpark of half the players. ?Bigtime losers? is a smaller percentage -- especially among players who play more than five Sessions in their life. Also, the whole concept of ?bigtime losers? is fallacious because while plenty of players lose 100% of what they deposit that 100% is often $100.
LIMIT TEXAS HOLD�EM TOURNAMENT GUIDE uch of the popularity of Texas Hold�em recently is based on televised Texas Hold�em Tournaments. If you�ve followed the Cage Food Chain Theory of regular game play, you will be happy to know that Tournament play progresses in a very familiar fashion � from �fish� to �barracuda� to �shark� as the Betting Limits increase.
In the beginning, the rule is to play very conservatively. Play very tight Fish level rules. Some players become very reckless in the beginning of tournaments, feeling they need to build their Stack.
This is completely wrong. A very conservative style will keep you alive longer.
Playing Limit Tournaments First off, all advice on tournament play here should be taken with a grain of salt. I don't claim to be some tournament guru, because M 156 if I were, I'd probably be somewhere making much more money.
However, I do seem to be placing in the money in half of the single-table tournaments I play, so maybe there's something to be said for that.
The next chapter is for you if you've already played a few tournaments and want to figure out why you are ending up short Stacked into the mid levels (3-5) and then end up getting ran over by the loose betters who seem to hold nothing. If you're a maniac and find yourself loosing more often than not, you may find this section useful too.
Remember � players are eliminated when they run out of chips.
That�s the key survival technique at this stage. Make it to the sixplayer level by holding on to the chips you have.
At mid-point in the game, once the table is reduced to six players, revert to a Barracuda strategy. Follow the pre-flop strategy carefully.
Once you are down to three players, Shark strategy is the rule of the day. Aggressive play is an absolute requirement to win in tournaments.
The most important thing to understand about tourney play online is that it is fast. I'm not talking about the speed at which players play, but I'm referring to the blinds structure. You only have 10 hands before the blinds go up a level. The limit levels look like this: � Level 1: 15 / 30 � Level 2: 30 / 60 � Level 3: 50 / 100 157 � Level 4: 100 / 200 � Level 5: 200 / 400 � Level 6: 300 / 600 � Level 7: 400 / 800 � Level 8: 500 / 1000 � Level 9: 600 / 1200 What this means is that when the deal has gone around the table four times, you're already betting a significant percentage of your starting Bankroll (800 chips to start). Let's say you played ultratight to level 4, that is like playing a $1/2 game with $7, not really fun! But critical to successful play in tournaments.
Level One to Two There are a lot of theories floating around regarding a play strategy for the early rounds. Some experts claim the secret is to play loose and hope for a monster pot at some point to shore up your Stack. (You won�t find the word �hope� in our Poker dictionary at the end of this book � so I can�t really help you there.) All the latest research we have looked at supports playing super tight, staying under the radar and saving all the money you can for the later levels when it really matters. The idea behind the first strategy of seeing as many flops as possible, is based on the sad truth that tournaments go by very quickly. We�ve all seen the guy who manages to win chips early on with garbage hands based on the fact that the rest of the players are playing very tightly. He obviously ends up in a much better position into the later levels.
158 In the long run, this person will lose, but in the short run, it can be frustrating to see such loose play rewarded. Don�t let these shortterm gains affect your style of play. Stay tight. Keep to your plan.
The Cage Food Chain School of strategy says play tight in the early rounds. With 7 or 8 callers in a pot, many of whom are novice players and will draw on you, it's very difficult to win pots in the early rounds with mediocre hands. The top pocket cards are what you need to win. Facing a straight or flush draw, you can almost be sure someone is going to chase after you. Bets to get people out and careful checks on the river will Pay Off.
Note: Bluffing at this stage in the game is nearly impossible.
Don�t waste your time.
The most important thing you should be doing in the first two rounds is taking notes on your opponents. Note what hands people pre-flop Raise with, what hands they play, do they re-Raise flush/straight draws, anything that will help you out later. If you do this often enough, you'll find that you'll naturally form your own player profiles and realize how you should play this individual.
If they're tight, then they can be Bluffed. If they're a Bluffer or liar, you'll want to call down questionable bets or re-Raise them if you have anything. Common sense stuff, but most people just hunker down and play their hand. Don't do this! Pay close attention to everyone's betting habits when you're not in a hand. Be intense about your poker, don't watch TV on your off hands.
Level Three and Four The big change once the game hits level 3/4 is that Bluffing now becomes an option. As the stakes become higher, you'll find your 159 opponents less willing to draw on you unless they truly are weak players.
This is a double-edged sword as aggressive players will become much more dangerous into these rounds. This is why player observation is absolutely key. Against a tight table, with a major threat on board (possible straight, flush, trips), betting out under the gun or near last position are very possible options. Betting out early usually signifies some kind of strength when tight players do it, so if you have a tight table image (established in the early rounds), most players will respect that and fold.
Remember looking at the pros and cons of Bluffing online? In a tournament game, your big advantage is a captive table. (Sure, players are leaving but at least new players aren�t coming in.) There is an opportunity here to �train� the other players and set them up.
For instance, if the board shows Q/Q/6 and you come out betting, most people will figure you for a Four Of A Kind.
Tight players won't want to draw in this situation and fold. If they call, you should figure them for a Four Of A Kind, pocket pair and of course, the possibility of Queens.
A Raise should easily make you realize know they have it (or are out-playing you), which in any case should be an easy fold.
160 The turn is very difficult to play after someone has called your Bluff.
You will have to assess it on a case-by-case situation. Another tough decision. If you feel the other person is drawing or has a weaker Kicker on his four, then you will want to bet and hope he folds. If it took him a medium amount of time to call your flop, he's probably got a Four Of A Kind, because he's trying to make a decision on if you have a queen or not.
If it took him a long time, you can expect him to have pocket pair (again, has to think about if you have queens or not) or he has Queens and he wants to suck you in. If you do end up betting the turn and don't get re-Raised, you pretty much have to check down the river as you can no longer get him out by then obviously.
While on the subject of trips, I have to say that it's better to Bluff on smaller trip threats. For example: 2/2/J vs J/J/2. Someone is far more likely to be holding a Jack as opposed to a 2, simply because average-strong players will rarely hold a 2 except for A2s, K2s, Q2s. In the SB or BB, this is a good Bluff as others will be more apt to believe you are holding a 2. If you Bluffed on the button, most people will put you on the Jack for the very same reasoning above.
So in short, Bluffs high trips in late position. Bluff the turn if needed, but almost never the river because by then they'll usually call.
Now that Bluffing has somewhat been covered, realize that other players will also try to make moves (be aggressive) in these levels.
You'll tend to see mid-pairs betting out, or flush draws bet out even. This makes it a perfect time to trap people yourself if you hold a strong hand. Top pairs will usually be reluctant to slow 161 play in these levels, as they don't want anyone drawing on them.
So if the board doesn't have any kind of possible straight/flush threat that can develop, you may just check/call the flop then check-Raise the turn. It'll help your image if you win, as others won't be able to bet all over you later in the game, which is important.
In late position, if the board is non-threatening, you may even check it down to give others a free card and hope someone pairs on the turn. Being check Raised on the turn after checks on the flop is a really scary scenario for most players. Ideas of Two Pair and trips usually develop in this situation, as many people automatically don't even begin to think of someone checking over pair on the flop.
When you are short-Stacked and make a play, players are more apt to call you down on your Slow Play. They will view your play as a desperation move and are far less likely to believe you.
The rest of the general strategy for these levels is to just play tight, make a few moves when you can, but otherwise hunker down and take cover.
Level Four and Up Now comes the fun part! Now that the limit is 200/400 (blinds 100/200), you need to change gears very fast. Half, if not more of the table should be gone now and more will follow quickly. In a short-handed game, semi-strong hands become strong and strong hands become monsters. A9s for example, a playable hand with 10 people becomes very playable with 4 people. K9o, weak in a 10-person game, is very playable with 4 people. The same rules of poker in regard to position still 162 apply though! The earlier you play, the stronger your hands needs to be. The later you play, the less strong it needs to be, as you don't need to worry about it being Raised.
However, you should be the one doing the raising! At this point in the game, you do NOT want to go to showdown with your opponent and should be happy with winning the pot.
Blind stealing becomes critical at this point, because each set of SB and BB is worth so much. Strong hands need to be Raised and weak hands need to be folded quickly. You need to be able to switch quickly between aggressive and non-aggressive betting. Be the aggressor. Bet the flop when it comes down if you Raised preflop.
Remember, it's not about what you have, but what your opponent doesn't have! You hold AQ and the flop comes KT7. You're in last position, but the BB, who bet pre-flop, comes out and immediately bets out 400 on the flop. Do you call? It's a very tough decision because you have to try to figure out what he has. If he's got Kings, you're all but dead as you have a gutshot or Overpair Ace draw. Even if he has nothing, is this maniac going to bet 400 on the turn and then another 400 on the river? Are you willing to pay 1200 to see this down? You don't want to be in this position! You want to be the one putting OTHERS to this decision! In the above scenario, you may have held A9o and Raised the caller. When the flop came, you bet out your high card ace- scary as it is. Guess what? He ends up folding and you won with the weaker hand. That is why taking the charge is vital at the later 163 levels, because it turns info a mind game instead of a card game.
All he has to do is think you are stronger is that he is too weak and you've already won. It doesn't matter what you hold.
You'll find in the lower buy-in tournies that the solid, tight players make it to the later levels, but most of them will hesitate and fold their way into oblivion to the crazy better. You need to outaggressive the maniacs at this point in the tournament. Sure, when you're aggressive and in charge, at some point someone will make a move against you, whether it be a Raise, check-Raise, trap or they're stealing back against you. Don't be overly aggressive and Raise like a maniac on everything that comes your way. You cannot simply Raise your way out of every situation.
Just remember that while tight players can make moves against you, as long as you can make more moves against them, you will win. And when you are the aggressor, you WILL make more moves against tight players. That's because you always have more info than your opponent. When they Raise into you, you know they have something. When you bet into them, they aren't sure what you have.
Eventually, even they will trap themselves when you DO have something and they bet a weaker Kicker or pair into yours and you can come right back at them.
I know someone out there is saying: Yeah, this is great and all, but what about when the tight player is on to you and just re-Raises everything you have? I can almost guarantee you that it does not happen at the lower levels. Once it has become a mental game, poor/average players are no longer thinking very logically, but with emotions. They will be scared and in most cases do not have the courage to stand up and challenge you with blanks in their guns. If they do indeed just go on Tilt and hit bet/Raise for every 164 hand they have, you just need grit it and play right back at them.
Re-Raise strong hands pre-flop, call with weak hands. Re-Raise pairs aggressively, call with A/K high, fold low high cards.
Make more money when you win. Lose less money when you lose.
Insider Tip You need to be able to take off like a rocket and stop on a dime in terms of your betting. Be the aggressor. Bet the flop when it comes down if you Raised pre-flop. Remember, it's not about what you have, but what your opponent doesn't have! Imagine this: You hold AQ and the flop comes KT7.
You're in last position, but the BB, who bet pre-flop, comes out and immediately bets out 400 on the flop.
Do you call? It's a very tough decision because you have to try to figure out what he has. If he's got Kings, you're all but dead as you have a gutshot or Overpair Ace draw. Even if he has nothing, is this 165 maniac going to bet 400 on the turn and then another 400 on the river? Are you willing to pay 1200 to see this down? You don't want to be in this position! You want to be the one putting OTHERS to this decision! In the above scenario, you may have held A9o and Raised the caller. When the flop came, you bet out your high card ace- scary as it is. Guess what? He ends up folding and you won with the weaker hand. That is why taking the charge is vital at the later levels, because it turns info a mind game instead of a card game. All he has to do is think you are stronger is that he is too weak and you've already won. It doesn't matter what you hold.
You'll find in the lower buy-in tournies that the solid, tight players make it to the later levels, but most of them will hesitate and fold their way into oblivion to the crazy better. To give you an idea of what your goals should be in the tournament, you should analyze the following: Jane has been a tight player for the first half an hour. She has taken a few pots and folded most of her hands. Now the that limits are up, the three other players have noticed Jane Raise pre-flop nearly half the hands she's in. Knowing she's a tight player, a few hesitantly call her Raises. It doesn�t slow her down. Most of the time her opponents fold and Jane ends up taking down most of the pots. Finally, Fred, another tight player, gets his pair of aces, and when Jane pre-flop Raises, Fred re-Raises her immediately. Jane folds and Fred takes the pot. The next hand, Jane comes out and aggressively pre-flop Raises. Fred, not believing any of it, comes back and re-Raises. Jane re-Raises him right back. Fred hesitates and then folds his hand.
The moral of the story there is that you want to be Jane.
166 Sure, when you're aggressive and in charge, at some point someone will make a move against you, whether it be a Raise, check-Raise, or they're stealing back against you. Don't be overly aggressive and Raise like a maniac on everything that comes your way. You cannot simply Raise your way out of every situation. Just remember that while tight players can make moves against you, as long as you can make more moves against them, you will win.
And when you are the aggressor, you WILL make more moves against tight players. That's because you always have more info than your opponent. When they Raise into you, you know they have something. When you bet into them, they aren't sure what you have. Eventually, even they will trap themselves when you DO have something and they bet a weaker Kicker or pair into yours and you can come right back at them.
I know someone out there is saying: Yeah, this is great and all, but what about when the tight player is on to you and just re-Raises everything you have? I can almost guarantee you that it does not happen at the lower levels. Once it has become a mental game, poor/average players are no longer thinking very logically, but with emotions. They will be scared and in most cases do not have the courage to stand up and duke it with you on garbage. If they do indeed just go on Tilt and hit bet/Raise for every hand they have, you just need to take a deep breath and play right back at them.
Re-Raise strong hands pre-flop, call with weak hands. Re-Raise pairs aggressively, call with A/K high, fold low high cards.
Make more money when you win. Lose less money when you lose.