11-27-07, LearnTexasHoldem:

Limit Texas Hold'em Tournaments

The no-limit hold'em tournament is the cornerstone of the poker boom. It is the game played as the main event of the World Series of Poker and the most commonly televised form of poker. No-limit hold'em is not the only game that can be played in tournament format, however. Tournaments can be played with any type of poker, including limit hold'em. If you're new to limit hold'em tournaments, there will be a few tips you'll want to remember.

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Blinds Rise Fast in Limit Hold'em Poker Tournaments

If you've never played in a limit hold'em tournament before, you may have the impression that you can sit back and play your normal cash game style for hours and hours, since an opponent cannot put your entire stack at risk. However, due to the nature of fixed-limit tournaments, the blinds rise much faster in relation to the average stack than in a no-limit tournament. After about five levels, if you have not been adding to your stack significantly every round, you may find that you are in fact playing "no-limit" in that your entire stack will be at risk the next hand you play due to the high blinds.

Bluffing is Not as Potent a Weapon in Limit Hold'em Poker Tournaments

Since it only generally costs one extra bet to see if an opponent is bluffing on the river, bluffs work much less frequently in limit than in no-limit hold'em and this is true in tournaments as well. This is true even taking into account the fact that in the later rounds a player's entire stack is often at risk. Often, players calculate beforehand how much the hand can possibly cost them, and decide whether they are committed to risking their whole stack before they put in the first bet.

Aggression Pays in Limit Hold'em Poker Tournaments

This is true in no-limit as well, however a no-limit player will often limp with a strong hand in the hopes of winning a big pot later. In a limit tournament, it is almost always correct to open for a raise if you are first into the pot. This gives you the opportunity to either win the pot uncontested and not risk damage to your stack, or if you get called, to win a pot big enough to keep you ahead of the rising blinds and antes.

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