Tournament Poker is different from the usual ring game and you may need to change the style of play as the number of participants decreases and stack increases in the tournament. This is the second article in a series about playing poker in tournaments.
It is during the middle phase that we have to gradually build up our stack by selective aggression at the same time we must keep a watchful eye on the ever-increasing blinds in order not to be blinded off. At the same time, we will be forced to gamble against the short stacks, keep close track of our opponents' tendencies and strategies, make sure that we steal enough blinds to keep us floating while we can not allow opponents to steal our blinds lightly. We must also be prepared to make re-Steal preflop with the two cards at any time to avoid being run over by aggressive opponents.
Does that sound complicated?
It is. My phase is the most difficult and most complex phase of a tournament. Cut stack will often be about 20-30 times the big blind and pre-flop game is becoming increasingly important - Steal and re-Steal becoming increasingly important the longer the tournament suffering.
What is left for general advice to give?
If we have a big stack so we can be more liberal when it comes to steal the blinds. Small stacks know that they will jeopardize the entire poker tournament if they want to go up against us, which makes them more inclined to meddle. Obviously, we need to exercise caution - a tight strategy is a must in the middle phase. We can not open too many pots, then other players will notice it and raise the back and force us put your hand. Does this happen too often, we will slowly to bleed chips. With a large stack, our objective is to obtain chips by stealing blinds or make well timed re-Steal. We keep ourselves away from large pots against other big stacks (unless we have a good hand), but we can gamble a part against small stacks.
The same applies when we have about the cut thanks. However, we may not be as aggressive and put the pressure on the opponents, then even a small loss sharply decimating our stack. We need to be more selective. In early position, we are the small pocket pairs without thinking about it. In late position, we are very careful with what happens, we open the pot with. At the same time we must not become too passive and let our blind walked away.
Middle Stages of a poker tournament is a balancing act in which every decision can prove fatal. The only way to get really good is to practice, to play as many tournaments as it can. With experience comes wisdom, too.
In the case of games with a small (10xBB or less) stack:
As soon as our stack falls below 10 times the big blind, we must act. We have to wait in a decent (AT, all couples) hand and set up before the flop first-in, hoping to steal the blinds or double up. When we reach down to 6-7 times the big blind, the situation is critical. In late position, we need to set whatever short, otherwise we are blind away from the tournament. By pressing and set up, we give ourselves in all cases, the chance to get anywhere.
Read the first strategy article on how to win poker tournaments:
- Tournament Poker Strategy Part 1
No comments:
Post a Comment