Learn Texas Holdem

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

• $10 bonus at Colt Poker Free $10
• $10 bonus at Cake Poker Free $10
• $400 bonus at Minted Poker

However, I have started to play in a larger tourney style game that includes about 25 people.  I have played 5 times now and haven't finished in the money (top 5 get paid).  Here is the set-up:  25 people on three tables start, 1600-2000 worth of chips each, start 25/50 blinds and increase every 17 minutes, seems everyone is around the same level (probably intermediate players, no beginners).

I'm wondering if you could give me advice on how to best play with a set-up like the one I described above.  It seems the blinds increase so fast so if you don't come to the final table with a decent amount of chips, you will just be blinded out eventually

I have made the final table 3 out of the 5 times -- the first two times I hardly had any chips left so I just had to go all-in quickly or else I would have been blinded out. The last time I was at the final table I probably was in the middle in terms of chip stacks. From the start, the short stack players kept going all-in and I wasn't getting any hands so I couldn't call any of the bets, so I wasn't playing any hands for fear of an all-in behind me.

After a while, I was dealt pocket queens and someone had already gone all-in so I quickly called and was up against AQoff. Of course he caught an A on the flop and my night was done. The blinds were getting high so I figured this was my best shot at doubling up if I were to continue with this game. I don't think I played this wrong but I wanted to get your opinion.

So I guess I have two things:

1) Advice for playing in this type of game?

2) Your opinion on my last final table play described above?

-J

Answer: I'm going to just list some thoughts here:

1. Take on an earlier breaking point where you gamble. The point here is basically that you don't want to be one of those guys waiting for a hand to go all-in with shortstacked. Take the approach that you are here to win it or bust out. So instead of getting down to X amount of chips and thinking you need to start loosening up or the blinds will get you, do it much sooner. That will also make you a more dangerous opponent.

2. Take some shots at pots. In cash games the way to beat a bad player is to show him a good hand. Good hands take time and time isn't a luxury you have in a tournament like this. You'll need to be more aggressive. Now aggressive doesn't mean you're going all-in preflop with 55 in early position on the first hand. Aggressiveness means you'll raise some more cards in the back and then take a stab at the pot on the flop, hoping that the one or two opponents in the hand with you won't have flopped anything and will fold.

You can try this sort of thing with any range of hands from suited connectors to little pocket pairs. Don't do it too much, just every now and then to both keep you afloat against the blinds and also to give you another way to amass chips. Let me give you an example. Say you have T8s two positions off the button and two players limp in. Raise the pot to three times the big blind. Hopefully you'll get heads up. After the player(s) check to you, bet. Again the hope is to buy the pot. This creates problems for your opponents because there are lots of scare cards in the deck that come up on the flop that they won't like and will give you credit for, regardless of your true holding.

Most of the time they won't hit the flop and you'll win. Another percentage of the time you'll actually hit the flop and win with a real hand. Lastly, you'll get played back at and just fold since you have nothing -- no big deal. You would prefer doing this a number of times throughout the tournament instead of putting all your money in with AK against a pocket pair.

3. Against bad players, be careful overvaluing hands like little pocket pairs preflop and draws on the flop. These hands add variance to your game and if you know the opponents will call, being aggressive in these spots just makes the variance worse. For example, even if you know your opponent only has two overcards against your pocket pair, you would be better off seeing the flop first then putting in a large raise than going all-in preflop since you know he'll call.

Likewise, there isn't any value in putting all your money in with a flush draw against a bad player that will call with top pair; a better idea would be to just call and hope you hit or muck -- semi-bluffing against bad players isn't good strategy. Remember, part of the value of a semi-bluff is that you might win the hand outright, instead of having to catch. For example, let's say I raise my flush draw on the flop against a preflop raiser. If the opponent has nothing, I may get him to fold even though his nothing was better than my nothing.

You can't do this against calling stations; they'll pick you off all day. We like to think of flush and straight draws as good things, they aren't. You much prefer being the person with the top pair than the guy with the draw. Try to minimize drawing against bad players in tournaments since you can beat them in easier ways.

4. I don't know the texture of the game. Generally speaking, to beat a certain type of player, you counter with the opposite style of play. For example, if you know someone is loose aggressive, you call more against them. On the other hand if you know someone is really tight and doesn't play enough hands, you bet and bluff more into them. Against really bad players, you call less against them and bet less into them since you know they'll call you with anything. You should adjust your starting hand selection some based on this information.

Above you mentioned that towards the end of the night, everyone was just going all-in. In this situation, you just have to pick a hand and take a stand before it is too late. It is better to play one hand too early and have it matter than to wait too long and get AA when winning doesn't matter (not enough chips left). I would also encourage you to look at a lot of preflop heads up starting hands odds. Often times in no limit holdem against short stacks you'll be layed favorable enough odds to continue even though you figure you don't have the best hand now.

For example, let's say you have 72 in the big blind -- $1000. A player goes all-in for $2000 total. There is now around $3500 in the pot and all you have to do is put in another $1000 to play for it. You have more than enough in there to call since the 72 will win around a third of the time.

5. If you think you have a considerable edge over your opponents, it is in your benefit to play more hands against them instead of resorting to a few all-in hands. Ideally you would like to play many small pots agaisnt them than putting it all-in on one or two hands. Also, the more post flop play you can put in against the bad opponents, the better. My guess is that many new players know more about what to do preflop than postflop -- especially with hands like AK, AQ, etc.

Your rating:

User Rating: (0 Votes)

• Share on Facebook
• Print
• Digg
• Del.icio.us