Texas Holdem - Strategy Plays

What to Do
There are many times that similar situations arise which leave you shaking your head as what to do. Lets look at some different hands in different situations in different tournaments. You are left to your own conclusions. A later post will give you some ideas and tips about what to do or different things to try that make the decisions a bit easier and overall some things to consider.

In all of these situations you need to do two things. The first thing you have to do is consider the player and how they have played. Not always easy to do b/c you might not have played against that person at all. The second thing you need to do is put the person on a hand. Again, no perfect science to this but after playing a lot of texas holdem you learn to do this and you better learn to do it pretty accurately.

Situation No. 1
You are dealt Kd Qd in a 50 person tournament with 10 people left and only the top 5 make money. You are 4th in chips and the blinds are at 250/500 and the persons in the persons posting the blinds are 3rd in chips and 1st in chips. The first person to act folds and you make a standard x3 raise of BB to 1500. Everyone folds to the BB who raises all-in over 7k in chips. You have 4500 in chips left minus your bet of 1500. What do you do?

Situation No. 2
You are just moved to a new table. You get Ah Jd and seated 4 away from BB. Everyone folds to you and you make a standard x3 BB raise. You get 4 callers including the blinds. The flop is Ac Ad 3c. What do you do?

Situation No. 3
You are recently moved to a new table in which you are the chip leader. You get beat on the river and now the table is pretty even in chips. You then have KK cracked after making a raise UTG and are simply called by the button who flopped an under pair set on a non dangerous looking flop and spanked you around a bit. Now you get pocket 10s and make a standard x3 bet and are called by the short stack BB. The flop comes with Qd Jd 3c. What do you do?

Hopefully all of you viewing the blog will post some ideas and comments. The only way to help each other is to do this. Remember bet to win.

Poker Cash Game Tips

As always the cash game is a bit different than the tournament and can be played a bit differently. However, there are some basic tips to make sure your game is ready and that you are always playing your A game.

I agree with every tip Deal-em gave you earlier. Some of these are simple in nature, but we have all violated everyone of them at some point. Now that you are playing as a serious player, not recreational anymore, things must change.

Never play tired:

This sounds simple but I can't begin to tell you how many people i see after work, late at night, or who have been there on a 24 hour binge playing cards. This only leads to mistakes which will cost you money. When you are tired, you will misread your hands, the board, the players, the odds and on and on. The game is not going anywhere, always be mentally and physically ready to play the game. When you start feeling tired and the effects of the long day, its time to cash out.

Do not drink heavily when playing:

Again, I always see and "hear" the drunk guy playing cards. This shouldn't be you becuase if you are a serious player (like we hope you are or at least are trying to make you) you better be protecting that bankroll at all times. When you drink to much you tend to play any 2 cards and screwing around and in the long run it will cost you.

Maximize your rebuy:

When you play no limit the tables usually have set buy-ins, 100, 200, 400, etc... Each of these games only allows the set limit on your initial buy in. However, if you want to add additional chips I suggest you ALWAYS take advantage of the short-by option.

The short buy is that any person is allowed 1 (only 1) short buy - usually half the original buy in amount during the game. When you want to rebuy chips if totally broke use this option. For example if you are at a 100 NL table give the chip person $150. For one hand (and one hand only) you are playing with $50. The very next hand you are allowed to use the extra $100 and now your stack is at $150. This is a huge difference in the ability to defend a bet or big hand with an all in move. Considering your lost $100 is sitting in someones stack you are at an immediate disadvantage when only buying in for the minimum.

Start learning your players:

Odds are you are playing at a local casino where you live. If this is the case, you will see the same people over and over and over again. Most of the never change their styles, which is to your advantage. Most of these players are locals and get to know all the other locals but are not really watching how people play or tendencies or patterns. When you walk in after not having played for a week or two you are a nobody to them. They will have no idea who you are or how you play. Again, this is to your advantage.

In cash games knowing your competition is so much more easily done than in tournaments. Therefore you must really get to know your competition. In your games, there will be two people that are so easily read, there will be a couple people you remember, one that is tight as a board, and the other one is just plain, couple wild cards who you have to pay attention to and then you. The better you know the players, the better the game will be for you.

Picking your seat:

At first you do not get the option, you take whatever seat is open. But as the game progresses seats will open up and people will move. Personally i am not a big fan of moving to a "hot" seat. I know i can outplay most of the people so the seat really doesn't matter.

However, what does matter is where the chips are and where you are. Try to get the loosest player at the game on your right and playing before you. Now there is some disagreement among people about the tightest player at the game, i tend to like that person on my left and some like him on the right. My simple reasoning to this is that i like to know if there is a big hand behind me. If i make a play and the tighest player is going over the top im pretty confident that he has a hand. Some people like the tightest player to act first so they "save money" i just disgaree with that. I like the ability to get away from the hand rather than trying to go "back over the top" to the tighest player. Lastly, try to get the big chip stack or your right. This lets you have some play at them which is what you want.

Always change your game:

Since you will be playing with alot of the same people over-time, you must remember to do things out of character. Be aware that even though you are reading the players, some of those players are reading you as well. Don't be the one to give the tell or pattern away at the table. From time to time you have to change things up so players are not sure what to put you on or what you may be sitting on.

Protect you bankroll at all times:

No ATM runs or Credit Card Advances or borrowing from buddies. If you didn't set out with it in your pocket, then it's not supposed to be played that night. Remember to set the limits for the day. Win or lose there has to be some parameters to your game and once that bankroll is gone you now are playing from a position of weakness and will play scared or stupid to try and get it back. Just play with the days limit.

Patience:

Poker is not a game when you sit down and 5 minutes later you have won thousands of dollards. It takes time to win and therefore you have to have time to play. If you are a serious player, then give yourself a reasonable amount of time to play. 8 hours is a good number. Typical work day and more than enough time to play through the dead spots. With a blinds based game, you will get many "free" hands. Therefore when you look down and see 2-7 and
3-8 offsuit for an hour, you still have time to make your money when the cards change. And they will change.

When you set your limit for the day, seek give yourself the time to reach it. If you are way ahead of schedule and over the limit, great, but don't let that go to your head and suddenly 2 hours later your down because you didn't walk away.

Overall the game is one of skill. Yes there is a luck factor to it at times, but ask yourself why you keep seeing the pros make the final tables (even if not winning it all) time and time again. Overtime the odds do work out and come into play. On any given day it may not be your night, but there will be those days when you catch everything in site. Taking away both those days, keep the game simple and remember to go over the basics time and time again. Give yourself time to learn the proper aspects of the game, time to implement them into the game and time to play the game. In the long run it will be to your benefit.

19 chips per stack.

Texas Hold’m Top 10 Tips For Your Game

You can not improve your game all at once. Like anything else in this world you need to work at it and see what works and doesn’t work for you. These tips are the are easy to implement immediately and will help you modify and fashion your game so you can take it to the next level. Each one is easy to work on so give yourself a review and make sure know these like the back of your hand.

1) Know the pot odds: I am not a math wizard like many people out there. But there
is a simple way to calculate the pot odds. Use the multiplier of 4 and 2.
The easiest way to figure out the pots odds is to do some quick and easy math. No matter what your hand is after the flop you figure out the number of OUTS (cards that make your hand) and times it by the number 4. This will not give you the exact odds but will give you very close odds to help you make a better decision. After the turn again figure out the total number of outs you have and multiply that by 2 and you will again have a very close percentage of hitting your hand.

One thing to remember, just because you know the odds of hitting your hand this does not mean you win. Sometimes hitting your hand does not give you the nuts so be careful.

2) Position is your friend: Late position is always the best position to have. This was
you get to see the other people act first which gives you more information. This is always crucial depending on your hand. Its much easier to play 8-8 from late position than it is early position. Quick examples, if everyone folds to you and your on the button with 8-8 play it aggressive and raise. If you are the 1st or 2nd person to act and have 8-8 raise and get 4 callers your hand has been substantially weekend. Unless you have an 8 on the flop you are forced to check just about every time.

3) Betting patterns: Remember everyone is watching you and what you do. DON’T change your PRE-FLOP betting pattern. Always raise the same amount so people can not get a read on the strength of your hand. Don’t change the multiple of your raises depending on your hand strength. Don’t raise x3 with A-A and x5 with 8-8. Make your raises the same every time so people can’t read the strength of your hand. Overtime this will show a pattern.

DON’T slide the chips in when you have a strong hand or slam the chips in when you are week. The way you put your chips into the pot is a sign so watch yourself.

DO Change you POST FLOP bets and raises. Don’t be afraid to over-bet, then simply call, or do a minimum raise on people. Whatever you do, don’t do it the same way every time. Don’t minimum raise every time you have the nuts and can’t be beat. Or don’t over-bet at the end when you not entirely sure if have the winning hand and make it look like you don’t want to be called. There are many more examples but just remember


4) Raise or fold when 1st entering a pot: This is a rule that over time you can play with but at first, never be the first person to limp into a pot. This is a recipe for disaster. This is a tip that has been posted in other articles and for a good reason, this is a way to get crushed. If you limp with AA you are looking to get cracked. Plain and simple.

Without a pre-flop raise you have no idea on what kind of hands to place a person on. At least with a raise and after seeing a flop you can start making some logical decisions on the hands people play.

5) Playing Multiple player pots: This is a tricky situation in that the more people that are in a pot the more likely someone has something. It is obvious that if 5 or 6 people call a flop not everyone could hit the flop. The one main factor to consider is again tip number 2 which is position.

One way to limit the field is with a raise pre-flop. But be careful, because if there has been 2 or more people in front of you that have called you need a VERY big hand to raise pre-flop. This goes right back to tip number 1 and pot odds. The more people on the pot, the more money and the better chance there is of people getting better odds to call to see the flop.

If you are in late position and have a multiple player pot and everyone checks to you, the situation calls for a bet no matter what you have. This allows you to cut the field and take control of the hand. Also affords you the opportunity to get away from the hand if you get re-raised. The best way to play multiple player pots is by position.

6) Always Pay Attention: This has been said time and time again because it is so important.
If you watch the table at all times you are gaining information. You may not know it, but you are. Because as sure as day turns to night, the same situations will arise at a poker table while you play. Watch who is always raising, or limping into a pot. Watch what hands they show and are calling with. Listen to what they say.

This tip allows you to gain information about the strength of a persons hand. This helps you make a better informed decision on whether to raise or call or fold. The more information you have the better you will become and the better chances you have of succeeding.

7) Defend your blinds: This is not to say that you play every time from the blinds. But do not let people see you are a pushover and an easy way to make money.

Depending on who raised and from what position is the biggest factor to help you determine whether or not to call the raise. Obviously an early position raise or a raise from a tight player is more dangerous than a raise from a late position or loose player. But typically you are getting 3-1 on your money and AK vs any two random cards is typically only a 2 and ½ favorite. Don’t forget on a standard raise you have 1/3 of the bet already in the pot.

8) If you think you have the best hand bet and raise: Sounds simple but many people are scared to do this. They want to reraise or there just not sure. In multiple player pots, if you think you have the best hand BET or RAISE. If you are the first to act, bet your hand. This does many things for you, first gives you a chance at taking down the hand right there. Second, gives you control of the hand. I will take either of these options. If someone bets out and you think you have the best hand, RAISE. Again this gives you control of the hand and allows you to take the pot right there. The simple premise for this is that you want do not want to give people free cards. On a personal note, don’t play scared.

9) If you are bluffing firing more than one shot: If you intend to bluff, be ready to go all the way. If you raised pre-flop with 3-8 and get called. You have to bet the flop. If you bet the flop and get called you have to bet the turn. If you get called on the turn then you can decide on what to do with the river. Generally, the only way you can win the pot is if you bet, however there are things to consider as well, if you put the person on a draw and it missed then bet, if the person has been reluctant to call or they seem weak bet. Just remember, a bluff needs to be played out and you can not take a one time shot at it. Also, don’t bluff on river with multiple players.

10) Don’t go on tilt: No matter what happens, do not go on tilt. Once you do this you have lost no matter what. Everyone one of us has taken a bad beat, trust me I have taking some of the worst you can think of and lost a lot of money while doing it. When you have taken a bad beat, the best thing to do is walk away from the table and clear your head. Settle down and do not play the hand immediately after that one. You can not play this game mad or with complete frustration because you will make a mistake and go broke.

Good luck at the tables and remember bet to win.

Texas Hold'm Strategy - Fold or Play Part 2

Part 2 of a 2 part article (Part 1)

Ok you know the scenario, and if not go back and reread it once again.

The actual hand played out like this. The chip leader who pushed all in and had Ad-Kd. The player second in chips called and has JcJh. Now the decision is to you in the big blind third in chips and facing a call or fold for your entire stack with QQ.

The person in the BB folded. The flop came down Ah - 6c - 10d. Turn 9h and River was a harmless 2c.

As for me, I always play to win, not survive, not eke out a place in the money, but play to win. Obviously I would have lost here and gotten zero. The person who folded made the money and ended up no better than when he started the hand in 3rd.

Now when I say I play to win that means just that. There will be times when you have to take a risk (yes gamble) and truly hope for the best. To win a tournament, satellite or SNG or whatever, there will be times when you are 50-50 and need to get lucky. Obviously you want to minimize these spots but the larger the field the more likely the scenario.

Some responses from some friends of mine and a hint from the person who won the whole thing. First of all one of my friends said " To me the only move was to fold. Top three made money and there is a chance that the 2nd in chips gets knocked out (which he did) and you get paid for folding. Besides even if the smaller stack won the other guy would be short stacked and in risk of being knocked out the next hand or so.

Now for those of you who frequent other blogs you have heard and read about $EV, cEV, -EV fold EV and +EV. Another friend stated. "The cash equity move is to fold." There is a valid argument for that but then I revert back to the way I play and another friend said.
"Considering I'm playing every tournament to win, not cash, I make this call. I get the hole guaranteed money and all, but that's not playing to win in my book. Most likely first place is taking home 50 percent, I'm not looking for the 20 percent third-place money."

Now for the analytical aspect from my conservative friend. You have to try to determine what the other players at the table could have here. Would the 1st player move all-in with aces or kings? Most likely not. I would put them on a weak ace. Now the 2nd person would be calling with what? He obviously couldn’t raise so he most likely had a high pocket pair because why risk everything on mid to low pp? To me I would have originally put the 2nd player on 10s or 9s figuring the guy was either trying to steal or really did have a weak ace putting me in about a 60-40 situation. I still would fold since i would be gauranteed money if they 2nd place chips gets knocked out.

Finally, the man who made the play and his thinking. Since I know the guy who made the move this is what he told me. I took a risk no doubt, but I kinda had the image of a wild man, which I set up by showing some weak hands but had really been playing conservative overall. I figured they would think I was trying to steal and there are only 2 hands im really worried about it Aces or Kings, otherwise im 50-50 at worst or im dominating someone with any ace or king in there hand. Sometimes, especially online players, just get overly aggressive and fail to consider possiblities and think everyone is trying to steal at all times. I try to use this to my advantage and move all in at times when its not called for hoping for a call with a marginal hand to my powerhouse.

Some will say that in the long run folding is the right move. I can not agree with them more. However as always it really depends on your situation. I refer you back to Paul of Poker’s posting on bankrolls. The right move to make if you play for the long run and in terms of protecting your bankroll is folding. However, if you are in with a minimal bankroll you do have to take some risks and this is one of those places where it’s not that bad to do. Also, sometimes you just have to risk it. Remember, bet to win.

Crazy Cash Table - What To Do?

Texas Hold’em Poker Tip

Crazy Cash Table - What To Do?

I went and played some poker over the extended weekend ( a shock I know) and ended up at a crazy out of control table. When I say out of control I mean truly out of control. Which lead me to think about if I wanted to change tables and if not, how to best approach this game.

As you already know (or will and should know after reading this) if you are at a very loose table you have to play tight and if you are at a very tight table you have to play loose. The reasoning behind this is simple, if you are at a loose table and get a prime hand, your still going to get a lot of action when you raise, and the converse of this is true in that at the tight table you will only be getting called by people with solid hands, and still they have to hit the flop to continue to call you or they will fold. But what do you do when you are at a table that is just simply out of control.

Now, what do I mean by out of control table, very simply this, if a person raises x10 the BB and gets 5 or 6 callers every hand, that’s a crazy table. And this is what I was faced with the other day. Now this is both a good thing and a bad thing. After watching a couple of rounds (folded every hand) I sized up the table to figure out who was who.

Now here is the trick. The one person who is constantly raising and calling with draws and low pair and absolutely nothing, be careful of this person for two reasons. The first is very obvious, in that he might get lucky and draw out on you. But you have to take your chances with this. The most important reason is the second one and this one is not so obvious. The fact is that this person is setting up the table. Since I was lucky enough to be sitting next to this person (on my left unfortunately) I got him to talk. When I told him I knew what he was doing he simply laughed and told me to be careful.

When this happens to you, watch your table. The fact remains that when you play at a table game such as 100, 200, 400 NL, or whatever your limit is and walk up to play and a few people at the table have 1-2k or more, you are at a huge disadvantage. You only get to buy in at what the table is listed as and you are am immediate short stack. The odds of people callin with marginal hands and cracking you increase because of the relative size of stacks.

Now, however, there will undoubtedly be a couple of people who will play very tight and if they are in the hand look out! As for the rest of the table, some of them will get very frustrated and do everything in their power to get that one guy who is costing them money on BS calls and getting lucky. Those are your targets. Why?

Simple, they are playing the person not the cards anymore. If you raise or call a pot in which the wild card person is in you have the best opportunity to catch the other players. They simply forget about the other players at the table and are fixed upon cracking that one guy. This is where you have to make your money. If you get them in the pot, you have to maximize your profits and go in for the kill.

Now this doesn’t always work of course because there is the luck factor. I unfortunately ended on a bad note when my pocket kings were cracked by a moron calling with 8-10 offsuit and hitting two 8s on the flop. Obviously there is nothing you can do about that, however for him to see that flopped I raised huge and just got unlucky. However, it just proves that the players no longer are playing the cards but playing the game and the person. They are so use to calling such big bets that they think that is the natural bet and will call with less that marginal hands. This is exactly what you want to happen. Just put the money in the pot and hope the odds work out as they are suppose to. Your only other alternative is to play a different table.

19 chips per stack.

Texas Hold’em Poker Tip - How to Improve Your Game Cheap & Easy

Ok so you have read your books, your reading our blog and others, and your saying to yourself there are some good tips out there. Now you are thinking to yourself, well how do I incorporate them into my game without getting killed?

Every poker site has free games, points you earn that can be used to play games, as well as penny games. Make use of them. You may say to yourself well those people call every hand, every card and call down to the river with nothing, so how can that help me with my game? Well you have to look at it two ways.

First of all, say you want to incorporate the getting involved early or the aggression part of your game into the fold. How do you do it without going broke or giving away a tournament? Play the free, points and penny games. Although the caliber of player is not what you are accustom to, it will hone your game in the long run.

Trust I have tried many new facets of my games at these types to see how it works. You still get players that want to win, especially at the penny games, who want to show how good they are and what brilliant players they are. You will get all the name calling, donkey playing, stupid move I know more than you players at those games as well. Even when you lose, and you will lose at times, your not getting killed and you get to experience real action and game situations which nothing else can compare to.

The second and also very very important thing that those games can help you work on is predicting hands. As always you really have to be honest with yourself. I suggest that you keep track at first. Use a piece of paper and log the situation and what you think everyone has, especially the hands your not playing.

Most sites allow you to take notes on a player. DO IT. And the next time you play them see if those notes are accurate of if the player stays true to form. Watch betting patterns, hands they tend to play over and over and the position they play from and finally what type of bluffs they like to try and pull. Patterns will develop and the more attention you pay to this the better you will be in the long run.

Most importantly, you get to see what type of game works for you and what doesn’t. Some people just are not good at being overly aggressive and it shows. Others give away their hands at the first sign of trouble and get bullied. The most important thing you can do to improve your game is play it. Use the free, point and penny games to try new things and not go broke in the process. Have fun with your game, but remember you are always playing to win and always paying attention. As always, bet to win.

Poker Strategy 201 - Fold or Play

Here is your situation, WHAT DO YOU DO?

There are four players left in a single-table tournament with three getting paid. Sitting in the big blind, you look down to see Q-Q and your happy. You have $3,200 and third in chips. The blinds are at $200/$400. The other players chip counts: $5,000, $4,000, $2,800). The chip leader under the gun moves all-in and is called by the player who is second in chips. What should do you do?

You can make an argument for the call and the fold. This situation is frequent for online players at SNG’s or Satellite players trying to win into a bigger event. These plays often play over and over so the question is what do you do?

Post your opinion and I will give you the results of the actual hand. As well as my opinion on what I would have done.

What? I'm not crazy!

Although I play tournaments, I still prefer to spend most of my time playing the cash games. If I only played tournaments, I wouldn’t get to use all of my skills. When you play a cash games, odds are you will be playing with the same players so you have to use a lot of different skills.

In Texas Holdem poker tournaments, you're constantly moving, they have to balance tables, or your table may break. Unless you make it to the final couple of tables, you can play a cash game short handed and that’s an entirely different game as well. So, even if you've been attentive to your opponents' tendencies (as you always should be) you usually don’t get to take advantage of that information for the long run. In a cash game, however, you have far more time with a set of players. When I play a cash game in a casino, I might spend eight -10, hours with the same players. This affords me time to study them and pick my spot to go in for the kill. If I'm going to be playing with the same people for hours, I can create a table image that will benefit me over the time. Believe me, your skilled opponents are doing the same.

When I first enter a game, I like everyone else try to size up my opponents. I will try to watch the table to see if they players are really loose or some of cast off stones from the Rock of Gibraltar . To begin, I might make a series of losing or even unprofitable plays, stupid or strange bets and of course the ever popular bluff. I may lose some money at first, but it does affect how the players think of me, hopefully for rest of that playing session. Even after I change my game back to my so-called smart/solid mode, some players will think I'm a easy for the pickens. But the problem with doing that in a tournament is, you can spend an time getting everyone to believe you're a nut case only to be switched to a different table. You now pissed away your stack and have nothing to show for it.

In cash games, you also have the chance to watch your opponents' over time and notice any mood shifts or tells. Over time a players get tired, frustrated or just hopefully go on tilt. If you are paying attention like you ALWAYS should be, you will notice this and that is when you can move in for the kill. That is just hard to do in a tournament. Usually, the hand that gets a player steaming either get em’s knocked out or leaves them with very little left to go after.

While tournaments can provide for some good pay offs for limited exposure, its just not the same over a long period of time. When playing cash games you'll develop a completely different set of skills that are needed to be a successful player.

Paul of Poker
19 chips per stack.

Poker Tip - Keep Them Guessing

19 chips per stack?????? Here is what it means to me.

Most all commercial racks are sorted into 5 rows of 20 chips, that equates to 100 chips total. This makes it easy for everyone to count. And by everyone, I mean your competition too. When you first sit down at a cash table, the dealer will call for "chips on 5". This just means that we need some chips for player on table 5. You give them your money and they bring you a rack.

When I play, I try and keep my stacks of chips in direct contrast to the style of play that I plan to use that game. You will hear the professionals talk about how if a person looks sloppy, and their chips are all over, then you can expect them to be playing loose and fast. If the person is neatly dressed and their chips are in perfect stacks, then you could expect them to play tight. Why not gain a slight advantage by playing the opposite part. This ruse will only last as long as your play lets everyone know what you are up to. But once again, you need to milk every last advantage out you can when you are playing Texas Holdem or any other game of skill.

Another reason to keep your stacks varied is to keep your current balance hidden. A player might count your current amount in order to make a calculated play against your hand. Of course they can always ask for a count (in the games it applies to) but alot of times they just try to count on their own. If they have a little more trouble estimating your roll (and hence the odds), then you have gained a slight edge.

At the same time, when you know that a player has just taken a large pot, keep note of that and how many high value chips they have just taken. Do they leave their stack of $100 chips out in front to show their prowess, or do they hide it under their stack in the back. All of this information is meaningful and should be noted. If they bury that high value chip, most likely they are playing tight or wish they were playing tight.

So, the 19 chips per stack line is just a reminder to keep them guessing. Learn the tell tale signs of a player and their style. I am all for reading a book, but more importantly, take a look around, make mental notes, use a pad if necessary to start, (worked for Greg Raymer at 2005 WSOP) of how people looked, acted and stacked. Compare that with their style of play and see if the signs matched the play.

Keep them guessing with 19 or 22 or 31 chips per stack or even a messy pile of chips. No one said you "have" to stack them up.

Paul of Poker

19 chips per stack.

Poker Strategy 101 - Getting Involved Early

Tournaments are a very tricky breed. Have you ever noticed that in the major tournaments you see a lot of pros go out very early or make it really deep into a tournament? They usually do not play for a couple of hours and then get knocked out unless they run into a monster or take a bad beat, why is this? Well it’s the ultimate Catch 22.

Well many pro’s will tell you that they like to play a lot of hands early while the blinds are small so they can amass a huge chip stack to use later. Sounds easy and most of all sounds smart. Well this is a good thing and a bad thing. I agree you have to get involved early but for more than just because the blinds are low. You get involved early more importantly because you want to take control of the table.

When I played my first MAJOR tournament I was like a deer in headlights. I sat at my first major tournament table and saw a pro 3 seats to my right (was happy he was there and not my left) and from the very first hand he let everyone know who was boss. How? Well first of all he was a pro and everyone believed he had a hand every time. But more importantly he was raising and reraising everyone when he was in a hand and just bullied the table like you were back in grade school.

Why get involved early? Well as noted the blinds are small so you can see a lot of cheap flops and hope to hit a monster. This does two things for you. First it will let people know that you will not just sit back and wait for a Aces or Kings. Secondly, it will set your table image for later in the game for bluffs and steals.

But it also affords you the opportunity to amass those big chip stacks. Remember in a tournament chips do not have the same value as they do in cash games. (More on that in a later article) Be careful when you do this. Yes you can see a lot of cheap flops with marginal hands. But you also have to get away from them. Remember you are looking to hit the monster flop and crack a solid hand. So when you partially hit or miss entirely or are on a big draw BE SMART.

If everyone checks to you and you partially hit or on a big draw or something of that nature, you can make a feeler bet and see where you are. If everyone calls, you need to do some serious calculations and reconsideration on what people have and what you do and don’t want to hit that turn and river.

That’s the tricky part. When you get involved early you also set yourself for taking a big hit and putting yourself into a big hole and making it easy to be knocked-out. Hence the Catch 22 aspect. When you play the marginal hands early and get some, you set yourself up for being out-kicked, out-drawn and outplayed. But if people are scared to get involved early and don’t want to risk a lot of their chips at the very beginning, you have a great opportunity to start building that stack for later. As always, remember Bet to Win.