12-20-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

Small Stack Play In Tourneys

Question: I play poker as a hobby and play mostly online tournament. I'm a tight player and doesnt get involved if I doesn't have good hands ak, aq pocket pairs etc.. that said.. play looser in the early stages. when the blinds are small and many callers,try to see cheap flops, especially with suited connectors and small pocket pairs. But as the blinds increase I tighten up (as most players do) Is this a good strategy? I get a lot of in-the-money finishes (several final tables) but rarely top 3. My stacks are simply too small when I get to the final stages, and I often find my self foldining just about everything in the end to wait people out, to get more prize money, since I know I would be called if I go all in, by at least a couple of players. So how should I play as the blinds go up... ??

Also would it be a good play to raise with a medium pocket pair, let say with a pair of sevens or just limp in and try to hit a set?? knowing that if you raise you have the option of everyone folding and collect the blinds,or if you are called they will have you on a premium hand like ak ad..etc what do you think???

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Answer: Because of the sheer number of players that enter tournaments, you not only have to play well but you have to get some luck to win. You have to win some race situations, catch some draws and beat better hands. Make no mistake, luck isn't a big enough factor to make you a winner but without a little of it, you can't win a tournament either.

It sounds like you are playing ABC solid poker and getting into the money; that is the strategy that many professional tournament players take. They don't play very risky, they just try to survive and make it to the final table. But what sets the winners apart from the losers at the end of the day is that the good players do well when they have strong hands but the great players do well when they have strong hands and marginal hands. It is those marginal situations where the great player can make a correct but tough call or a make a great lay down. When the heat is on they still come out on top.

What I'm getting at is that you have a good start but you need to hone your skills more, especially for how to play when the table gets down to just a few people. It's just like in other games, you can't just do well by playing in the early stages. For example, in chess you may have great openings and do well in the middle but if you have a bad end game, you're in trouble against most competition. When you have a small stack, you need to leverage its full weight if you hope to win. I would suggest that you continue to use your same style of play to get into the money but then you open up your game more and put the pressure on other players.

For example, you mentioned a 77 hand at the final table when you have a small stack. That would be an excellent time to go all-in and force the other players to decide whether or not they want to risk calling. Remember, up till this point they have only seen you play solid starting hands (not that 77 isn't but the point is they have no idea if you have AA, AK, or 77). And if they all fold, great, you pick up the blinds which at this point will help out.

On the other hand, since you raised, the chance of it becoming a pot with lots of other callers is slim. Most likely you'll just get one other caller which is ideal for your 77 hand. I would recommend that you study what hands play well in heads up situations. Flat calling hands in the last part of the tournament with a small stack is the last thing you want to do. You want to play hands that are strong enough to raise and will do well against one opponent. How loose you decide to raise depends on how close your head is to the chopping block. If you have K8 under the gun and it is your blind next where you'll have to go all-in, you'll go all-in with the K8.

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