Archive for May, 2009
After playing in my first tournament, I knew I could be competitive. I decided to play in more of these. I felt that my play was solid; I had made it past the first break, and further than many of the other players who had entered the tournament. I picked up a book about tournament play and began searching for information about winning low-limit tournaments.
During my first tournament I played very tight. I was just trying to get the feel for the game and thought my best chance for lasting was to play only the best hands. After doing some reading, I discovered that I had inadvertently stumbled upon the correct strategy for playing the early rounds of a tournament.
In low-limit tournaments, there are many players who are out to have a good time for a fixed minimum expense. In the opening rounds of the tournament, many of these players will play with the any two-card mentality because the betting limits are low and they have a lot of chips. You will also find many of the maniacs who will raise with any hand hoping to get lucky in the early rounds. As the betting levels escalate, they continue to play in this fashion and soon find themselves out of chips.
The proper strategy for these early rounds is to play tight while everyone else is playing very loose. By limiting myself to the premium starting hands, I was doing just that. It is what enabled me to make it through to the higher rounds. Since I was not playing many hands, it also gave me time to study the other players at the table. I was able to determine who was playing solid hands and who was not. This information would help in the later rounds.
During my second and third tournaments, I was able to make it past the second break, but not much further. I went back and did some more reading and I tried to analyze my game to determine what I was doing wrong. I discovered two problems. I was continuing to play too tight during the later rounds. I was also not playing as aggressively as I should have. I was limping in with hands that I should have been raising with. As the limits get higher in the middle rounds, players become very tight. A raise will narrow the field or even win outright, as players become more cautious.
I made some adjustments to my play and, during the fifth tournament that I played, I made it to my first final table. I finished ninth but was "in the money." I was paid $45 for ninth place less my $30 entry fee giving me a profit of $15 for the match.
The money, however, did not really matter to me. I am a competitive person by nature and the feeling of accomplishment that I experienced meant more to me than any money involved. I felt that I was making a significant improvement in my game. This was confirmed a month later when I accomplished the goal I had set after the first match.
I have adopted the following strategy for the early rounds of the tournament. It is tight and aggressive and has worked in getting me into the later rounds after many of the other players have busted out. Here are the hands I play in raised and unraised situations, (s) denotes suited cards.
Early Position
Raise and reraise with: A-A, K-K, A-Ks Play: Q-Q, A-Qs, K-Qs, A-K
Raise with these hands or call one raise in a raised pot. Middle Position
J-J, T-T, 9-9, 8-8, A-Js, A-Ts, K-Js, Q-Js, A-Q, K-Q
Raise if the hand has not been raised. Fold if pot was raised.
Late Position
Call: A-Xs, K-Ts, Q-Ts, A-J, A-T, K-J, Any Pair, and Suited connectors—with four or more players. If raised, fold.
During the later rounds of the tournament you will need to shift gears and loosen up a little. Space does not permit going into the complete tournament strategy. There are several good tournament books for those wishing to learn more. Using this strategy for the early rounds will get you started on your way to solid tournament play.
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Tags: correct strategy, game, minimum expense, poker
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After entering the low-limit tournament it was time to put it all together. I was ready to play my first live game in the cardroom.
I chose to play my first session at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. It is a little smaller and more intimate than the larger Foxwoods where I had played in the tournament. I had previously done a little railbirding there and liked the cardroom.
The Mohegan Sun has a sign up desk. When you enter the poker room you must sign in and tell the host what game you are interested in playing. If there is an immediate opening, you will be seated immediately. If the table is full, they will take your initials and call you when there is an opening. They don't have a board for the names. I chose the $3 / $6 Hold'em game and was told there was an opening. Before sitting down I purchased my chips at the counter to take to the table with me.
The minimum buy-in for the $3/$6 game is $30.This is not very many chips if the betting gets aggressive. The last thing I wanted to do was be short of chips when I had a good hand. I chose to buy-in for $100 which is about 15 times the largest bet.
At the Mohegan Sun, when you first sit down at the table, you must post a bet equal to the big blind if you wish to play immediately. If not, you wait until it is your turn to be the big blind and enter the game then. I chose not to enter right away. By waiting it gave me a few hands to watch the other players and see how they were playing. Had I not gotten a seat right away, I would have watched the action from the rail while I was on the waiting list.
Once in the game, I was cautious to observe proper table etiquette and was careful not to make any of the common beginner mistakes that would give me away as a novice. I had decided on my game plan before I ever sat down at the table. I would play a tight game using mostly the early position starting hands that could be played from any position. I chose to limit my first session to an hour and a half to make sure I practiced discipline and maintained my concentration.
As I sat down at the table and waited for my turn to be the big blind I watched the other players. After participating in the tournament I felt comfortable enough with the table protocol and was not intimidated by the other players. The first 20 minutes at the table all I did was fold hand after hand. In between I just kept my eyes open and my mouth shut. Finally, I was rewarded with a suited Ace-Queen. I bet and was called by three other players. The flop was A-7-4 and I bet and was called again. The turn brought a King and I had one player call me all the way to the river. He turned his cards showing a King in the hole giving me my first win with a pair of Aces. I have to admit to a little adrenaline rush as I scooped my first pot. I was feeling pretty good but, a few hands later, my over-exuberance cost me some money as I chased everyone out of a pot early.
I had K-Q suited and the flop was K-Q-Q. I was second to act with a full house and instead of slow playing by calling the bet that was made before me, I raised immediately. This caused everyone, except the original bettor, to fold. He checked on the turn and then folded when I bet. If I had not been so impatient, and just called, I probably could have kept a couple players in the hand and collected a little more on the end.
I played a tight game and won a couple more pots during the game. I was ahead when I made my second and more costly mistake. I was the big blind with J-8. There were five callers. The flop was J-8-7 all different suits. This is known as a "rainbow." I had two pair and bet. I was called around and the turn brought a 9. I bet and all the players folded except one who raised me. I was only looking at my two pair and called the raise without hesitation. The river was a 3 and I checked. He bet and I called again. I was not paying as much attention to the board as I should have. He turned over his Q-T suit-
ed giving him a straight and leaving me wondering why I did not notice the straight possibility especially when I was raised on the turn. It was my mistake and put a little dent in my stack of chips.
After a few more hands my hour and a half was up. I collected my chips and headed for the cage. I cashed out with a $10 profit. I was a winner in my first game. I also learned a couple lessons that would stick with me.
What I discovered during my first game was that most of the players in a low-limit game are just average people. In fact, after watching some of the starting hands that were played, I would guess that a couple of them had never read a book or magazine article about Hold'em. I honestly felt that the training I had done up to this first match had proven to be a great asset for me. It was time well spent as I now felt comfortable with my play, and knew I had the ability to be competitive. I also knew that I had much more to learn but this would come in time. This first game showed me that if you can apply the discipline to wait for the proper starting hands, you will have a solid foundation to help you succeed at this game.
As I drove home from the casino I spent some time reflecting on the game and evaluating my play. I was looking forward to my next session. I was also looking forward to my next low-limit tournament.
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