POKER TUTOR

Want to beat the single table No Limit online Tournaments?

The first thing to realize is single table and multi-table tournaments differ from each other. The vast majority of the players are terrible! Let’s take a $33, single, 10-handed tournament from one of the major poker sites and go through it step by step.

You receive T800 in chips. The blinds begin at 10-15 for 10 hands, progress to 15-30 for 10 hands, then proceed to 25-50 for 10 hands until finally reaching 50-100 for 10 hands.

Smart play dictates you play extremely tight the first 3 rounds.

You may want to try this as an experiment just to test the validity of what I am presenting. Buy into the tournament and push the ‘away from the table’ button. Wait for the first 3 rounds to go by and then start playing. Your stack would now be around T600. The tournament would probably be down to 6 people at this point. You have not yet played a hand, and people are aware of it.

Don't think you are now at liberty to go into the game trying to steal. You now wait, very much aware of your position. The blinds will be 50-100 and when you make your first move, you bet your whole stack. It doesn't matter if you have AA, AK or 2-2, bet your whole stack. These single table tournaments are not like the multi-table tournaments. When you open, move your whole stack in if it is small. If it is larger, play the same way because your opponents will know that if they don’t win the hand they will be eliminated. People find this is a difficult style to combat when playing these one table tourneys.

The problem most people have playing in the early stages is that the blinds are small and people tend to play too loose. Throw away small pairs, AJ and such. Don't even think of playing these hands when opening the pot. First of all, most players have no idea of how much to open with. Say the blinds are 10-15. You are dealt 10-10. What do you open with? What happens if you are called? These answers are not simplistic. Playing experience and knowledge of the game will aid in answering these, but until you become adept, just follow the program I have laid out for you.

Forget about playing these hands except in the blinds or on the button. What happens in the early stages of these tourneys means very little. Better to get the blinds than go out losing your money in bits and pieces. If you’re first under the gun with AA, bet all your chips. Many of these people call with pairs and Ax.

I have seen some of the most atrocious play possible in these tourneys. A person stacks off before the flop and is called by 3-3 or something similar. The best the person holding the 3-3 could hope for is a coin toss scenario, if the opponent is holding two over cards. If he is holding a higher pair, the 3-3 is a big underdog. So no player with any common sense would call his whole stack with 3-3. The exceptions – 1) if his stack is very small and he is forced to make a stand, or 2) his stack is large and his opposition’s is very small.

At the beginning of these No Limit tourneys, play every chip like it was your last. The tourney starts when you hit the 50-100 blind section. By this time, you will probably be down to 6 players and have a whole different perspective on the game.

Stop opening with A6s, KQs, or garbage like this. If you can't stick all your chips into the pot, don't open. There will be times when you are dealt KK in the 10-15 blinds. Obviously, if you stack off, you may (and will) run into AA. If you do run into AA, you’ll lose your stack anyway, only in a different manner.

Try the method I have outlined. It will work, and many times when you do stack off, you will be surprised at the hands that call you. Stealing the blinds comes later on in the tourney, beginning in the 50-100 segment. At the point when you are down to 5 or 6 players, you will be forced to attempt steals. But it is far better to pick up the blinds than go to a coin toss situation. Here you can stack off with Ax and smaller pairs.

Isolation is the key to winning these tourneys. Take on and beat one player. Because your stack may be too small by the time 6 players or so are left, you must save enough chips to be able to take a blind or two without a mandatory call. The number one priority is to get to the final 3 and a payoff. These tournaments are a waiting game. Wait, even if you don't play a hand for the first 3 rounds. Avoid the multi-way pots and medium pairs when pots are opened in front of you. Wait until the tourney gets short so you can stack off and get your one-on-one encounter. First make the money, then you can play.

Playing properly at the beginning of a tournament is a skill few players possess. An example - early position, you are dealt 9-9 with blinds of 15-30. What do you do? Dump them (until you have more knowledge and some success under your belt.) If you raise 60, 100 or 150, what do you think will happen? What will happen when an over card hits? What will happen if you get multi-callers? Realize that these are many scenarios that those with limited skills can’t counter. With experience and success, your knowledge will grow and your decision-making will be far better.

Calling all-in bets (pre-flop) with a small pair is a quick way to the poorhouse. Save playing these until you can stack off when down to 4 or 5 people. This is probably the best way to become proficient at these small one-table satellites. Don't gamble and play hands early unless they are premium. You are entitled to win with a premium hand (!) and double up, so, obviously it isn’t a foregone conclusion that you will be short-stacked in the later stages of the tournament. It doesn't matter what you do until you reach the 50-100 level. Just make sure you have enough chips to be able to get the blinds without showing down. Winning without showing your hand is a big benefit in these satellites. Obviously you will get nailed by a big pair once in awhile, but remember, you are also playing them, and only them, early in the tourney. Either stack off, bet half your stack or fold. Very simple.

Stop losing these 30s,15s and other small amounts. I guarantee you will have much better tournament success with this advice than with any you have ever received before.

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