07-20-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

Online Multi-Table Tourneys

Question:I have been playing the odd multi table tournament recently and I have some questions for you.

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Normally, when playing in a 10 or 6 seater game I will try and take some time to create a table image, by playing very tight early on and then gradually mixing my play. This allows me some time to wiegh up my opponents. By the time this happens, several of the other players have gotten themselves out and I will have normally played very few hands, depending on the cards I've been dealt. This means that I am at a slight chip disadvantage though, which doesn't particularly worry me.

However, in multi-table tournaments, I do not have the time to create a table image. The rapidly increasing blinds prevent any sort of deliberate delay and you are almost forced into playing hands, just so you don' bleed out. Also,the fact that you may be moved several times, throughout the duration of the tournament, compounds this problem. Do you have any tips on Tournament play? Should I try and play a more open game from the beginning and get involved in more hands? Any advice you could throw my way, would be appreciated.

Answer: I assume that the tourneys you are playing are no limit holdem. When the blinds increase so quickly in online tournaments you are faced with one of two problems; one, playing tight and not getting any hands which leads to you bleeding out; two, you playing too many hands and getting nailed by someone who does have a real hand. Sometimes you will be lucky enough to get some good starting hands in good positions at the beginning but that is rarely the case.

Remember that in no limit holdem, unlike limit, you don't have to have the best hand to win -- you can just bet the other opponents out if you are aggressive enough. They don't know that you don't have AK or pocket Aces. If you can pick the right times to do this then you can maintain a decent amount of chips until you do get some good cards. I'm sure you are asking, "how do I know when to do this and how much?" The answer to that question is what makes great players.

I can't tell you exactly when to push hands or who to try it against but generally speaking having position and seeing that the other person is weak before you make a move usually has the best results. Obviously getting a person to lay down AA preflop or a flush post flop isn't going to happen. The faster a tourney increases limits, the faster I play. If the tourney lasts days then you can kick back and wait for cards more but if you know you only have 15 minutes per level then you'll need to play a crash and burn style. The person who is going to win will have a combination of decent cards, aggressive play and a little luck.

You can't control your luck or the cards that you are dealt but you can control your aggression and when you apply it. So my advice is work on trying to pick up some of the smaller pots where you think you're opponents are weak. You'll have more chips to work with and you'll get more value for your good hands because people will see you are a betting machine. An expert poker player is the guy who has the right balance of loose and tight play -- we all struggle daily to achieve that and when we do we win a lot.

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