Posts Tagged ‘correct strategy’
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.
Online Casinos 320% Welcome Bonus
Tags: correct strategy, game, minimum expense, poker