Tournament Play II

This article is Part 2 of 5 Parts and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Basics of Tournament Play

The two basic tournament formats are those allowing re-buys and those that do not. One thing to remember about low buy-in tournaments is that, though you are playing with lower stakes, most people do not see them that way. In the later levels of the tournament, players may have stacks in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in chips. Though not actually equivalent to dollars, the huge number of chips is the only time most low-stakes players are going to play for such high-stakes, and they make bets accordingly.

Multi-Table Tournaments

Multi-Table Tournaments (MTT) are those where two or more tables are in play. Most small buy-in tournaments consist of four to ten tables. In some super-satellite tournaments—especially those for WSOP or WPT events—two to four tables make up the field. Prize payouts are a function of the number of entrants. Multi-table tournaments have a posted start time and require advance registration.

Starting Off

You can’t win a tournament in the first round, but you can easily lose it.

- Pokerism

Before the tournament starts, you mustdetermine several factors: You must be aware of the starting chip count, the type of the blind structure, the time of each level and the structure of the prize pool. Most low buy-in tournaments run more quickly than high-stakes tournaments. The blind levels increase more frequently, and the blind to chips ratio is much higher. Because of this, it is crucial that you track how many blinds remain in your stack and when the levels will increase. It is also important to know if there are re-buys and add-ons. If there are, know how many they allow and at what chip levels they are available.

The next thing to think about during tournament play is that it is fast. When the tournament begins, the cost of the blinds is low in comparison to your stack size. You can play much looser, with hands that are not as strong. Setting up a looser table image initially, without as great a cost, will benefit you when you adopt a tight-aggressive style in later rounds. It is worth risking a small portion of your stack to see the flop—with small pairs, suited-connectors and other minor hands—in order to double your stack if you hit big.

If you keep running into conflicts in the early stages of tournament play, chances are that you have exposed some kind of weakness in your opponents’ play. Do they call raises or check-raise out of position, thereby becoming vulnerable? Are they playing passively from the button, allowing you to take a few more chances? Do they bluff too much or too little? Have they established a tell in the way they respond to your play in certain ways? Are they raising too much or too little, letting you into hands or ruining the dynamics of their game? All of these are weaknesses you can exploit through the course of the game, adjusting your play accordingly.

"The cardinal sin in poker, worse than playing dead cards, worse even than figuring your odds correctly, is becoming emotionally involved."

Katy Lederer, author of A Girlhood Among Gamblers

Tournament poker should never get personal. It is not a battle of egos, with two players trying to see who can make the most dangerous moves. It is simply a question of who gets all the chips in the end. In no-limit Hold’em, one big mistake can cost you everything. Make sure it is your opponent making the mistakes, not you.

Don’t leave a tournament by calling off your money with a drawing hand.

- Pokerism

In the early stages of a tournament, playingpremium hands less aggressively pre-flop can be effective. If you hold Ah–Kc in late position with several players calling, it is often better just to call. Even though Ace–King is a premium hand, it is still only a drawing hand. Slow playing reduces your losses should you miss on the flop, while giving you the advantage of disguising the strength of your hand if you do hit on the flop. Do not try to steal the blinds early in a tournament. Your chip stack to blinds ratio is very high at this point. If you start getting a bad reputation as a blind thief, it can adversely affect the players around you. Players often get upset when they feel someone is stealing their blinds, and they may decide to challenge your plays more often—when you actually have a hand—and potentially hit their marginal hole cards, knocking you out early.

There are two ways to approach tournament play: You can begin quickly building your chip stack by being aggressive, or you can take a conservative approach and watch your chips steadily grow. Both approaches are correct and the one you choose depends on your personality and style of play. The more aggressively you play, the more likely you are to knock yourself out early. In the opening levels of play, you should not concern yourself with knocking out other players. Instead, you should try to establish your chip stack for after the first break. In most low buy-in tournaments, as many as 90% of the players are still in the game after the first break, especially in tournaments with re-buys and add-ons.

Continue to Part 3 of 5 Parts