 |
|
No Limit
Tournament Strategy
I thought really hard this week about what I should write about as my first article. I had to do a little soul searching and then it hit me. After looking at my internet results in the last few weeks, I noticed that my NL hold ‘em tournament statistics were through the roof. Although I only play low to medium buy in tournaments (by no means am I an internet tournament superstar), I think I’ve gathered enough knowledge to create a style that is a winning one for me. I’d like to share with you all some of my methods in playing different kinds of NL tournaments. In this article, I’d like to focus specifically on single table sit n go tournaments. These kinds of tournaments are my “bread and butter” and I think playing these are the easiest way to build a bankroll. After playing hundreds of these tournaments, through trial and error I’ve created my own formula for making the most profit. For the sake of discussion, I will be formulating analysis around the typical Pokerstars sit n go which is nine handed. We’ll assume that each player starts with 1,500 in chips with the starting blinds of 10-20. My basic strategy in the opening phase of a single table tournament is to play tight. Not just tight, but supertight! In the first three levels I will only play AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, AK, and in certain situations I might play AQ, 99, or 88. The biggest mistake that I see players make in the opening phase is that they get involved playing trouble hands like AJ, KQ, KJ, Ax suited and small pairs. In some situations it may be correct to limp with small pairs and suited aces, but most of the time I immediately toss these hands in the muck. The reason that I will not raise early with these hands is that there is not much value in doing so. The blinds are simply too small to be worth stealing in the early stage. Also, if you raise with a trouble hand then you will only be called, or worse yet, re raised by a much stronger hand. Don’t be the guy (or gal) who goes broke in the first level with A10 vs. AA. I’ve had many people ask me, “Okay, the blinds are still 10-20 and I have AA in middle position. Everyone has folded to me so how much should I raise?” This is another place where I think people go wrong. Most people raise too much with their big hands. The problem with this big raise is that too many times your opponents will just fold and you won’t win much. In other words, you’re not maximizing the value out of a strong hand. The only time I might make a large raise pre flop with a premium hand is if it is a loose, small buy in tournament where the chance of getting called is dramatically higher. I suggest keeping all of your raises to exactly three times the blind throughout the tournament. This is only a suggestion and it works well for me. The reason that I always raise the same amount is because it will be virtually impossible for an opponent to read my hand. One other point here that I should mention is that I size my raises differently if there are limpers in front of me. For example, with the AA in middle position (blinds still 10-20) and one limper, I would raise to 80 instead of 60. With two or more limpers, I would raise to at least 100 and probably a little more. This way, you’re giving your opponents worse odds to call. With many limpers, it would be a huge mistake not to make a big enough re raise as now it would be correct for your opponents to call with many hands. Ok, so now you’ve survived the first two or three levels of a sit n go. Hopefully, you’ve picked up a hand or two and have built your stack some. If you haven’t picked up a hand and are still around even, don’t fret because you’re still in a good position. Once the blinds move up to 50-100 or 75-150, now is the time to change your game a little. You should now add a few more hands to your raising arsenal. Here, I like to raise w/ any pair, KQ, AJ, A10s, KJs, QJs, etc. Notice that I said you will be raising with these hands. If there is a raise in front of you, I still would muck these hands without much thought. The key to success in this stage of a sit n go is having the initiative. You should be the opener with these hands and should open with a raise. Remember that it takes a stronger hand to call a raise then it does to open for a raise. If you do get called pre flop and miss the flop holding AK or a trouble hand, I still recommend following through with a continuation bet on the flop. I usually bet between half the pot and the size of the pot. This bet looks strong, after all you were the pre flop raiser, and most of the time this bet wins the pot immediately. Also, if you get called or raised, it’s easy to get away from. In the middle stages, you should start to take into consideration the stack sizes of your opponents. You might consider folding a hand like Q10 or 22 on the button if the big blind is getting desperate and is likely to move in. Conversely, you shouldn’t really try and steal too often against the big stack, as he has the power to re raise you off of your hand. So, the ideal stacks to pick on are the medium stacks. Attack them without mercy. If you’ve hung on long enough to make the final four or five, then you’re almost home free. Most sites pay the top three spots. Now your opponents stack sizes are of utmost importance. If you are the big chip leader, then you’ve done well and gotten lucky. As the leader, you should be on the attack. Muck your garbage hands and raise with any playable hand, including suited connectors. The table will be too afraid of going broke, so you should take advantage of this. If you are the shortest stack, then you actually have an interesting tactic working for you. You should move all in if it is folded to you on every hand. The medium stacks will actually be afraid to double you up and keep you in the game, so they will only call you with big hands. When playing four or five handed, big hands don’t come up often so attack the blinds to rebuild your stack. If you do happen to push all in with a hand like 10d 6d and get called by AQ, you’re actually not that big of an underdog so go ahead and take chances. I’ll add a good rule of thumb for short stack play. Throughout a tournament I am constantly assessing my “M”. “M” is a mathematical representation of a key number created by Paul “X22” Magriel and discussed in depth in Dan Harrington’s books. Basically, you add the total amount of the blinds and antes and divide them into your stack. The result is “M”. For example, with the blinds 100-200 and your stack is 1,500, then your “M” is 5. (1,500 / 300) = 5. When your “M” is 5 or lower, then your only move is to fold or move all in as the size of the blinds are too great compared to the size of your stack. Dan Harrington goes into more detail of how to play different levels of “M” in his tournament books. So, when you are very short on chips, start pushing all in with anything resembling a playable hand. When down to four or five players and everyone is equal in stack sizes, position is critical. Be very aggressive in position and all in plays may be your best move. Again, no one else wants to go broke, so do what you have to do to stay ahead. The reason I play the go for broke style in this phase is that one first place finish counterbalances four bubble finishes out of the money! So, play for first place and make some money. You may bubble a few times, but by playing this way, I guarantee you’ll come out a winner in the long run. This strategy has worked very well for me in sit n go tournaments. Try it out. Follow this strategy in some small buy in sit n go tournaments and see how it works for you. Add some nuances to fit your style and you should have a very profitable run. Hopefully, the only thing you’ll have to worry about is bad beats. But, hey, bad beats happen to everyone. Best of luck! -CP
|
