My Tournament Strategy Guide!!!

[KidPoker]

A Bit of NL Holdem Tournament Strategy

Hope You Like It!

Well, I would like to write about a strategy I use lately in 10/ppl winner takes all tournaments (or 2nd, 3rd place get paid also). I have no clue if it is a common strategy or if it is my own , however I believe it is very effective for homerun hitters and aggresive players who can only afford tournaments, but want to win big. I would also like to note that I am only writting this from experience and that some players might believe that this aproach to the game is rubbish.
Suppose that if you play 5 tournaments a month, week or wotnot, and you win at least one of them you make 5 times whatever the buy-in is, which is exactly the amount you'll need to buy in to the next 4. Of course it will be wise to take big risks at the begining of the tournament if it is a risk where your chances are at around 50/50 on winning and losing. If you win big like this at the begining of the tournament it will be very easy for you to make the remainder of the chips, whether you want to continue attempting to knock out players or want to use diferent strategies such as bluffing,slowplaying, semi-bluffing, trapping and so on. The idea behind this strategy that it is better to risk losing the tournament to increase you chances of winning it, so that in the long run you win more tournaments. Of course if its a tournament where the players are willing to play tight until they get paid in 2nd and 3rd (maybe even 4th) place, then you can use this all in manouveur to steal blinds very effectively.
The reason why I say it is important to be at around 50/50 on your bet if you follow this strategy and want to double up at the beggining of the tournament is that you want to double at 1 out of every 2 tournaments so that you win 1 out of 3 which will make you lose 2 buy in's but then will repay you 5 on the third tournament.
So let's say you are playing online and are playing on 3 tournaments at the same time. If you go all in on all three of the tournaments at the same time, odds are that you will win at least one of them, and if on top of that you doubled up early in the tournament, youll probably win the tournament as well. Of course, I do not advise you to go all in on all 3 at random times because there is a rule that you should follow (or at least that I follow). My strategy early in the tournament (and perhaps later too), believe it or not, is to go all in with any 2 cards higher than 10. If you do as such early in the tournament you will probably double up on one of the 2 all ins.
After this you will not be risking your tournament life anymore because it will be you making others risk their tournament. After you have doubled up early in the game you will want to knock more players out before anybody else does therefore you should follow the any 2 cards above 10 rule since you will be getting the right odds to call even against A-K. I mean a 10 is just as likely to come on the board as an Ace. Of course if you are holding a pocket pair, so much the better. Remember you will get paid off in the long run by going all in with premium hands, since your bet will narrow the field of players remaining in the hand.
It is also good to check with hands like pocket Aces because later players will believe that you want to increase the amount of players in the hand when you have hands like kings or aces, therefore after youve done this a few times you will be able to do this with a hand like 5 6 off-suit and eventually make your opponents believe that you are simply slowplaying the hand.
After you have doubled up and have over 2 times everybody elses stack size, of course you will be able to play conservatively until you make it in the top 3 and get paid for sure, but it is better to stick to going all in with any two cards higher than 10 when you have the chip lead, because if you lose the second all in, you will still have a bit above the starting stack and you will be able to play conservatively until you make it in the top 3, otherwise you can always give it another shot with the both cards above 10 rule. On the other hand if you win the second all in you will have knocked out or almost finished 2 of your opponents and will have an amazing 3 times everybody elses chip stack and will then win the tournament for sure. Remember! Even if you lose the second all in, you will have enough chips to give it another shot or play tight until you get paid, so either way the tournament is not over for you.
Of course you do not have to follow this strategy word for word. It is necessary to fold hands in the right situations, such as if you have 2 raises in front of you. Remember it is always better if you are first to act, but you will call all in bets of course if you are holding A K or such.
I will make list of all the hands to go all in with and hands to be more cautious with to help you.
Hands to go all in with so you can be disciplined in your craziness:
10 10, 10 Q, 10 K, 10 A,

J J, J Q, J K(but can cause problems),J A,

QQ, QK, Q A,

KK , A K

AA and most pocket pairs.

Well, that about seals the whole strategy up. This strategy has been very effective for me in the last couple of days, when I won about 3 tournaments out of 10 I played and made one of them in second place and made it to first place in 3 tournaments out of 10 about one month ago. Remember. It is worth risking your tournament to increase your chances of winning it.

And Btw I aint a POKER APPRENTICE!!!

[HAMILTIME]

although this strategy has worked for you, the majority of people who go all in at the start of the tournament lose. usually on the first 2 or 3 hands the tournament loses a player a hand. as the "all ins" drop out which usually leaves every around the 800 or high 700 mark except one or two players (if the pot splits) who are around the 2000 mark, this plaer usually keeps up this erratic behaviour exiting from the tournament 5th, 4th or 3rd (not always but mostly). and although you arent new to all this poker lark the above strategy is one new players often tend to use in tournaments!

[BAZULTRA]

I can see how this strategy could work and obviously has for you Kid Poker. I Can see some positives in what you say and some negatives. If the strategy works for you then good on you m8

Baz

and btw I am not a POKER KING lol

[TheTexan]

OK, first, Poker Newbie is a rating for the amount of postings you have on the board. It is not a slam on your skill or position on the rankings.

Second, as to your strategy, it is easier to do this once you have some chips in your stack. The biggest thing is to remember this is a training ground and to develop the least respect for the chips.

Win or lose, if you learn something from the play you won. Going all in on the first hand can work for, or against you. I have seen pocket A's lose more often than win, so it's all about playing the cards. Establish our reputation and play to your strong suit.

For a newbie, I would suggest patience. Play the lowest ante tables to get your feet wet and grow your pot slowly. If you have to go back to the cage to get more chips a couple of times while you are learning, that's ok.

Learning is what it is about.

Talk on the tables; ask questions in the forums, read the posts.

Will your strategy work, the answer is MAYBE. It all depends on the cards.

Looking for a quick thrill, then go all in, by all means. But also understand that most of the seasoned vets will call an all in early just to make you be honest so you better have the cards to support it.

Looking to build your stack? Shoot for third and anything better is gravy.

Most third place finishes on the higher tables pays 5 to 1 on your buy in.

Also, for newbies, WATCH the tables. Take a chance, after all it not real money and when the real stuff comes your way you can concentrate on the body language and table attitudes because you will have the cards down pat.

Thanks for the posting.

Texan

[TheTexan]

Originally Posted by BAZULTRA

I can see how this strategy could work and obviously has for you Kid Poker. I Can see some positives in what you say and some negatives. If the strategy works for you then good on you m8

Baz

and btw I am not a POKER KING lol

Nah, Baz is The Alimighty Poker Potentate

[KidPoker]

Originally Posted by CJ.HAMILTIME

although this strategy has worked for you, the majority of people who go all in at the start of the tournament lose. usually on the first 2 or 3 hands the tournament loses a player a hand. as the "all ins" drop out which usually leaves every around the 800 or high 700 mark except one or two players (if the pot splits) who are around the 2000 mark, this plaer usually keeps up this erratic behaviour exiting from the tournament 5th, 4th or 3rd (not always but mostly). and although you arent new to all this poker lark the above strategy is one new players often tend to use in tournaments!

well you say each 1 to 3 hands a player gets kicked out of the tournament but keep in mind that a player doubles up in that hand and has enough to dominate for the rest of the tournament =)

[HAMILTIME]

Originally Posted by KidPoker

well you say each 1 to 3 hands a player gets kicked out of the tournament but keep in mind that a player doubles up in that hand and has enough to dominate for the rest of the tournament =)

yes but yesterday i played patiently still had over 700 chips and it was down to five players from ten, i was short stack on the table and then got dealt a decent hand played it well flat called pre flop, bet on the flop, bet on the turn bet on the river and won a sh*t load. good things come to those who wait.so although the strategy may work for you i'll stick to my own.

[KidPoker]

CJ i aint saying that patience is a bad strategy...when i play important tournaments i always wait for premium hands ,see flops concentrate on what other players do. Im not saying that this strategy is better than waiting patiently for premium hands and winning little by little. I mean whenever I see this player from online66 called woodman play in a tournament he always makes it first second or third because of his outstanding patience and that is a great gift. Im just saying that its gd to change styles once in a a while.


Btw Ill also write an article about Tournament Strategy for Tight/Aggresive players with many ways to outplay people out of the flop by introducing the smallball strategy xD and an article about cashgame strategy xD

[Hotlips1]

Kid as you know i think your a muppet - but if it works for you who can blame you for going for it. I do however tend to avoid you as i too am an agressive player but only with chips & i hate to fold cards because someone has gone all in off the starting block. luck is part of the game but it still takes skill. can you really tell me that if were playing with cash that this would be your stratergy?

If so have fun living in yr cardboard box.

[Mac46]

I've only been playing Poker about 2 weeks but have played quite a few tables and hands.. I personally cannot see the logic in going all in before the Flop (unless everyone goes all in when the odds become good for everyone even the 7, 2 unsuited guy who went all in to start with!) However this is more like "spin the bottle" or Russian Roulette than Poker.

In some tournaments the field is reduced by half after about 3 hands, which is good for us who want to play some hands and possibly win, but that normally means its 5 small stacks against one huge one which has been gained purely by luck and balls rather than any kind of skill.

It's obviously a great strategy if you win but it does mean that you will almost definately lose more than you win.

On the other hand some people play so conservatively that it gets a bit painful.

Cheers

Mac_46

[asher2]

kids strategy is about as useful as a 3 pound note but he is a good bloke.we had a good laugh last night when we found a player whos even dumber than kid.is name is burnie.& if you come across him make sure you have been to the toilet beforehand because he will make you wet yourself.he goes all in every hand no matter what hes got

[KidPoker]

Originally Posted by asher2

kids strategy is about as useful as a 3 pound note but he is a good bloke.we had a good laugh last night when we found a player whos even dumber than kid.is name is burnie.& if you come across him make sure you have been to the toilet beforehand because he will make you wet yourself.he goes all in every hand no matter what hes got

rofl i aint a dumb player cuzi this is only a mathematical strategy...dude i also tend teh see flops and outplay ppl...but guys...ive played with BURNIE AND HES THE BIGGEST RETARD IN THIS SITE

and btw a three pound note can be very useful if you use it wisely

and btw I WON THE 10K DOUBLE STACK AND IM ROLLIN
YEAH BABY!!!!!

[asher2]

Originally Posted by KidPoker

and btw I WON THE 10K DOUBLE STACK AND IM ROLLIN
YEAH BABY!!!!!

hey kid congats but im surprised you had the patience to play for that long

[KidPoker]

rofl!!!!!!!!!