Holdem Poker Tips
Texas Hold'em Poker Tips
#4 Join A Poker Training Website. A very simple poker tip is to find a poker training site for the game type you enjoy most. One of my favourite pieces of training is the Upswing Poker Lab which is run by the famous poker pro-Doug Polk – this course starts at the very basics of poker, and will teach you the fundamentals of Cash games MTTs and live poker turning you into a well-rounded player. Home Strategy Texas Hold'em Poker. Poker Positions Explained: the Importance of Position in Poker. April 15, 2020 Giovanni Angioni. 1 If you watch a lot of poker on Twitch or on. Jan 13, 2021 Because even most beginner poker players know they should be continuation-betting the majority of the time when they raise preflop, you can turn the tables on them with a well-timed check-raise. In this situation you can use your opponent’s knowledge of c-betting to your advantage. Top 10 texas hold'em tips for the first time hold'em player. Good starting hand selection is very important. If you structurally choose to play better hands than your opponents then you will already have a great. One of my top Texas Holdem tips is to always be aware of what type of poker player you are up against. For example, you will frequently encounter Nits, TAGs, LAGs, SLAGs, fish and so on. Here is a complete.
Newcomers to the world of poker are eager to learn the game and frequently turn to experienced players to get advice. While each poker professional seems to have his own personal playing style, based on having faced countless hands at the table, we’ve compiled a list of the tips for Texas Hold'em Poker to help you improve your game. There are tips for poker beginners and Texas Hold'em poker tips for advanced players. Some of these Texas Hold'em tips may be obvious to you from the start, while other poker game tips will give you new ideas how to play winning poker. Consider this collection of valuable poker tips a starting point for your poker endeavors.
Good Texas Hold'em Strategy Although it's possible to talk about Texas Hold'em strategy indefinitely, due to the game's subtle complexities, we've compiled three of the most salient pieces of poker advice every aspiring pro should know. Pulling off fancy bluffs and check-raising the river with a small value bet may be enticing propositions. The better Texas Holdem players will lose less, but no one can win. If everyone at the Texas Holdem poker table plays the same, no one can win. Learning Texas Holdem by playing Texas Holdem is a foolish idea. If you learn to play Texas Holdem poker like everyone else plays, you cannot have a winning edge. Poker Etiquette for Texas Hold’em. The etiquette tips in the following list apply to Texas Hold’em and to any other poker game. Sure, you can have fun while you play poker, but you can have all the fun you want without being impolite to the other players or the dealer. Basic poker etiquette includes these tips: Always play in turn. Top 10 texas hold'em tips for the first time hold'em player. Good starting hand selection is very important. If you structurally choose to play better hands than your opponents then you will already have a great advantage over them.
| Helpful Poker Tips | |
|---|---|
| Beginners Poker Tips | Online Poker Tips |
| Advanced Poker Tips | Tips for Winning Multi-Table Tournaments |
| Tips for Winning in Heads-Up Play | |
Top Ten Texas Hold'em Poker Tips
1) Don’t Play Every Hand = As a beginner you will probably be eager to play as many hands as possible, but you’ll end up losing your stack very quickly. Make sure to know the best starting hands and take your time deciding what hand to play. Folding is not a sign of inexperience. 2) Don’t Stay in a Hand Just Because You’re in It = You can’t win a pot just by throwing money in it, and if you have the losing hand, getting out will end up saving you money. Just because you’ve already bet doesn’t mean that you’re permanently committed to a hand. Fold if you can’t win. 3) Observe Your Opponents = Even when you’re not involved in a hand you should carefully watch your opponents. Their actions, tells and gameplay will serve as a valuable teacher. Even as a new player you’ll be able to pick up the signs when your opponents are bluffing, or when they really hold the winning hand. 4) Don’t Play above Your Limits = You’re not going to get rich in your first game of poker, but you can definitely get poor. Only join tables which your bankroll can afford, and only take to the table an amount of cash that will not break you. As a beginning player, you have to know not only what the table limits are, but what your financial limitations are as well. 5) Know When to Call It a Night = You shouldn’t play poker when you’re drunk, or in a bad mood, or after you’ve just had a fight with your girlfriend. Sometimes the best decision you can ever make about playing poker is knowing when to stop playing poker. If you’re on a winning streak, you can stop while you’re ahead, and if things are going badly, you should just stop. 6) Start at a Single Table = You may be envious of online poker players who are capable of turning a profit while multi-tabling all over their computer screens, but as a beginner, it’s best to start at a single table. Join a table at low stakes and build up your confidence. You can always add a second table at a later stage. 7) Muck, Don’t Show = Playing online poker gives you the simple option of mucking your cards and you should take advantage of this. There’s no need to show your cards when you win, or when you lose a hand. It doesn’t really improve things for you; instead it will open a door to your opponents and that will leave you at a disadvantage. 8) Keep Bluffing to a Minimum = Yes, bluffing in poker is a major part of the game, but as a beginner you don’t have the track record to be a good bluffer. You should concentrate, instead, on making the best and most appropriate bets with your cards, and from there you need to work on reading your opponents and learning how they act. Bluffing is a skill you should plan to employ at a later stage. 9) Learn the Importance of Position = You need to realize that your position with regards to the blinds is a key factor in winning the hand, and you should make your bets accordingly. Make sure you understand the strength of your opponents’ hands if they act in front of you. In some cases, having excellent position is more important than having excellent cards. Take advantage of your position when you can. 10) Take Advantage of Weak Opponents = As you play you will quickly learn which of the players at your table is experienced, and which of your opponents is weak. Take this into consideration when placing your bets, as the weakness of your opponents will give additional strength to your hands. |
Beginners Poker Tips
1) Not every hand is action-packed in poker = If you watch poker tournaments on television you will notice that there is a lot of action in most hands during the program with exciting all-in moves and massive pots being contested. Televised poker is edited, so the less interesting hands are not shown. Winning Texas Hold'em involves folding while you wait for strong hands. Phil Ivey has said in many interviews that he finds the early stages of a poker tournament very boring because he folds so often. 2) Take a long term view = Luck plays a part in poker. We all hate taking a bad beat but remember that bad players keep coming back to play because they think they are just being unlucky when they lose. Luck therefore gives you more chances to win. In the long term the more skills you have at the poker table the more money you can earn. Over time everyone gets dealt the same cards, it is how you play them that dictates your success or failure at playing poker. 3) Observe your opponents = Poker is a game of incomplete information. You will never be shown what your opponent's cards are during a hand so you must use educated guesswork to put your opponents on a range of potential hands and make your decision on how to proceed from there. Their betting patterns, previous play, their table talk and physical tells in live poker give you clues to their hole cards. 4) Always play within your bankroll = Before you go to sleep, repeat the title of this tip as a mantra. It is critical to Poker. Playing sensibly allows you to remain part of the game and gives you time to learn the optimal poker strategy you need to win. Never bet more than you can afford to lose. 5) Before you check your hole cards, watch = Most players check their hole cards as soon as they are dealt, but you should wait. Watch your opponents check their hole cards as many give a reaction as they look that gives you a clue whether their hand is strong or not. Remember not to react to your own cards when you look at them! 6) Watch for players trying to fool you = When a poker player tries too hard to look weak, professional players sense that they may not be giving out the true strength of their hand. Most players try and disguise their actions, so be suspicious if one player suddenly starts shaking their head, saying how unlucky they are and openly looking glum. Could they be acting and trying to trap you? Are these poker tips helpful? Download Titan Poker and take your newly acquired skills to the tables! |
Online Poker Tips
1) Choose a good online poker site Your poker site should have excellent software, good bonuses and a solid VIP program. You also need satellites into large live events, plenty of variety in what games you can play and good traffic. In short, you should play your online poker at Titan Poker, Europe’s leading poker room. 2) Sit down in a comfortable seat Make sure you are sitting in comfort before beginning an online poker session. Try sitting for four to five hours in an uncomfortable seat. You get sore, irritable and this is not optimal for playing poker and winning money. This attention to detail really does make a difference. 3) Do not get distracted The chat box is a temptation to many players. Some players can type fast and draw you into a conversation. Remember to focus on the play, if you get distracted by the chat box either change the tab or disable the chat. Winning poker, not chatting, is the reason we play. | ||
4) Hunt for Internet gold There is a wealth of free information on blogs, YouTube, random videos and e-books. Do your research online and search for information that helps things resonate in your mind. Wherever you can find it, search for that “eureka!” moment that will make you a better poker player. 5) Review your hand histories Session reviews allow you to check that hands you won and hands you lost were played correctly. Winning poker is about making the right decisions as often as possible so reviewing and critically analysing past hands teaches you what you need to gain from each hand. It is a vital part of obtaining relevant and useful experience. 6) Control your chat If you are prone to writing abuse into the chat box after a bad beat or when you've gone on poker tilt, why not simply turn off your chat facility. Not responding to a bad beat is actually quite empowering and can make you feel totally in control of your emotions, an important element of winning online poker. 7) Check website offers Keep your eyes peeled for satellite tournaments on the poker room schedule including various special tournaments you may be eligible for. Titan Poker rewards depositors and regular players in a variety of fun ways so always check to see what the current offers are. 8) Adjust the settings Titan Poker offers many different ways of setting up your table. Go through the settings and pick what you like best. We spend a long time staring at the screen playing online poker so liking what you see will keep the enjoyment levels high for longer. |
Advanced Poker Tips
1) Read plenty of poker articles There is a massive amount of free poker content around the Internet, so use it! Read different articles as the authors have differing views on how to play. Anything that improves your game is worth considering. Article reading should be part of more extensive research that you do to improve the standard of your play. 2) Do not play too tricky! Many articles and videos discuss some of the more creative plays used by high stakes pros like Tom 'Durrrr' Dwan or Patrik Antonius. Remember to practice and use your ABC poker game more often than your fancy plays. Fancy plays are good, but it is your solid game that will reap you the most reward at the online poker tables. 3) Make friends with poker players 'Texas Dolly' Doyle Brunson said that he learned more from discussing poker strategy with his friends than he did at the poker tables. Discuss hands and how you played with poker friends and you will all benefit from the discussions regarding your poker ideas with away from the table. 4) Get more from your bankroll Titan Poker gives you the chance to play with someone else’s money but keep all of the profits for yourself! When you deposit check your account, you will have a tournament ticket into the Weekly Depositors Freeroll. With a $1,200 prize pool this tournament could give your bankroll the boost it needs, without risking your own cash to begin with. 5) Read the pros' advice Players like Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson and Lou Krieger are prominent poker theorists and writers and update their personal blogs regularly. You should check their latest work and pick up as many tips as you can. These blogs posts do not appear in poker magazines so their pearls of wisdom are secret to much of the poker community, but not to you! 6) Keep stats Ask most sports bettors if they are winning and the normal answer is, 'I'm about even'. This means they are probably losing! Use a piece poker tracking software like Poker Tracker to keep very accurate stats so you always know how your game is progressing. You should also review your good and bad hands to ensure that no matter what the outcome of the hand was, you made the right play. 7) Stop playing when you're ahead We all love playing online poker and we have all played and played when really we are struggling with tiredness or even boredom. When risking money, you should only do so if you are playing your best and trying your best. If this becomes a problem, for whatever reason, you should stop playing. 8) Watch the pros Pokertube, YouTube, videos from poker bloggers and Television offer you coverage of hands played by professional players with commentary from experts. Listen closely to the commentary and try and implement the thinking and strategy into your own play at the poker tables. 9) Be flexible when classifying opponents Opponents may play a hand in a strange way on purpose in the hope the rest of the table classify them as a certain style of player only to play differently later. Every hand you see an opponent play ask yourself if this changes your view of their style. Be flexible and do not classify an opponent early in a session and then never consider if you are correct. 10) Try out different games Poker comes in various forms online with games like Razz, Stud, Omaha and Draw Poker available for you to try out. By learning the different games this will help refine various aspects of what you need to learn in order to win at Texas Hold'em, the most widely played poker variation. 11) Re-raise only with strong hands Especially when out of position in poker, re-raise the raiser with premium hands only. You should always know what you will do if he shoves after you re-raise before you act. Re-raising with very strong hands means in a flip situation you have a good chance of being ahead, presuming your opponent also has a strong hand. | ||
12) Post your results on a forum Going through statistics is definitely not as fun as playing poker at Titan Poker but here is a good tip: go to a big Internet poker forum and ask for advice on improving your game. People like doing this sort of thing and then you can send them your stats and get free advice. You can mask your username if you want to remain anonymous. 13) Cash out when you win Make sure you take a bit of money and enjoy it if you get a big win. Money is the reason we play even though we enjoy it and enjoying the money makes it all feel worthwhile. You will feel positive about online poker and keener to work to improve and earn more money. You also get to buy cool things! 14) Practice your chip tricks If you enjoy live poker make sure you practice your chip tricks before you use them in a live setting. As well as looking impressive if you can do nifty chip tricks you look equally bad if you attempt a chip trick and it goes wrong spraying chips everywhere. 15) Find a mentor Professional footballers are highly skilled yet constantly coached. Find a poker mentor that you can discuss hands and take advice from who can help take your poker game to the next level. You can only go so far on your own and this gives you the best chance of poker success. 16) Ask friends for their tips Challenge your friends to give you one piece of poker advice and see what they say. Write down all of their answers. Ten friends will give ten different pieces of advice and all will be useful in some way. Keeping the tips brief removes the confusion that comes with elongated suggestions. 17) Play to win If you are playing only to scrape into the money in a poker tournament you are not playing correctly. Aim for the win at all times. You may bust out where you could hold on for a few more dollars but do not worry. When you win a tournament it will be down to risking it all instead of coasting. The big wins make this strategy worthwhile. Are these poker tips helpful? Download Titan Poker and take your newly acquired skills to the tables! |
Tips For Texas Holdem Poker
Tips On Texas Hold'em Poker
Tips for Winning in Heads Up Play
If you’re a multi-table tournament player, your goal is to win the tourney and to achieve that you must be successful in the end game, when you’re face-to-face with only one final opponent. Perhaps you prefer heads-up sit ‘n’ go tournaments, or maybe you relish the action in heads-up cash games. In any case, heads-up poker utilizes a different set of tools. Strategy must be adapted to this special type of poker action. The tips listed below will give you an advantage over your sole opponent in heads-up poker online play.
1) Be aggressive In one-on-one play, you must control the action. This means that you need to keep your opponent cornered, following your leads, and folding to your cards. In heads-up poker you can’t afford to be passive. You should move on marginal hands, bluff more often, and stay on the offensive. If you do not raise, you haven’t given your opponent a chance to fold. 2) Don’t be afraid to bluff Bluffing in poker is more common, and quite often more successful, in heads-up play. Remember that against only one opponent, you are not usually up against a strong hand. You, however, should bet as if you’re holding a strong hand. 3) Use your position to your advantage If you’re in position, there’s almost no such thing as an “unplayable” hand. When you’re out of position, you need to make up for your disadvantage with strong play. Steal the blinds when you can. If you’re first to act, make a big raise, as this can sometimes throw your opponent out of the hand. On the other hand, if your opponent raises and you don’t have a hand, you need to get out of the way quickly with an immediate fold. | ||
4) Choose your all-ins wisely Don’t go all-in on every hand, as your opponent may elect to call you when you’re bluffing. In heads-up play you can increase the range of your starting hands, but don’t go overboard with all-in moves. 5) Pocket pairs are good While receiving pocket threes might not seem so good in the early stages of a tournament, in heads-up play against only one opponent, they serve as a very good hand. Take advantage of your good cards when you get them. 6) Read your opponent In live play you can carefully observe the person across the table from you and look for the slightest signs of poker tells. In online play you should take note of your opponent’s betting patterns and adjust your play accordingly. 7) Keep your opponent guessing Don’t give your opponent the chance to read you like an open book. This means, don’t raise every time you’re in position, and don’t fold every time you’re in the big blind if you don’t have a good hand. Occasionally you need to switch gears and play differently than you normally would. |
10 Tips for Winning Multi-Table Tournaments
Poker Tournament Tips Texas Holdem
Players flock to multi-table tournaments but not everyone knows how to win them. Finishing in the money is quite an accomplishment, but how does one go about guaranteeing a big cash-out? We’ve collected ten tips that will get you to the final table of every multi-table tournament you play. 1) Don't play too many hands Be selective about the hands you play, taking into consideration your position in the deal. A hand that can be played in late position may not be a playable hand if you're sitting in early position. 2) Take into consideration your stack As you play a tournament, compare your chips to the average stack. You should also consider your stack in relation to the blinds. The more chips you have (in comparison to the average and the blinds), the more you can make risky plays. On the other hand, if you’re far below the average and the blinds are going to deplete your stack momentarily, you will need to move quickly to stay alive. 3) Play as many tournaments as you can You’re not going to become a better online poker player just by reading strategy articles. You need to play. The more tournaments you play, the better you can perfect your skills. 4) Make sure you can afford re-buy tournaments When you play a re-buy tournament, you need to have the bankroll to make re-buys. It’s as simple as that. Otherwise you’ll find yourself at a huge disadvantage to the other players. Players with big bankrolls may play in a wild manner, knowing that they can always re-buy if their taking chances don’t succeed. You need to be on an even playing field with them. If you can’t afford re-buys, play only freezeouts. 5) Play to survive the early stage Make sure to play to survive the early stage of a tournament and go into the middle stage with an above average chip stack. With the blinds so low in the early stage, attempts to steal them won’t increase your stack that much. In the early stage, you’ll best benefit from tight-aggressive play. 6) Don’t wait around for good hands in middle stage In the middle stage of a poker tournament you need to be more aggressive. Stealing blinds is encouraged as their value has increased. Make sure to protect your chips as well, as your goal is to survive and make your way into the money. 7) Don’t overbluff You need to know how and when to bluff, but do it wisely. Never bluff more than two players and make sure your bluffs are believable. Consider bluffing a tool in your repertoire, one that you don’t want to overuse. 8) Sometimes you need to take coin flips Yes, there is an element of luck in the game of poker, and what better time to experience this than in a poker hand where the result could go either way. Conservative players can save up their chips, but at some stage, they’re going to have to commit to an iffy pot. Make the best decisions you can, but sometimes you’re just going to have to go out on a limb to win a hand. 9) Be aggressive on the bubble When the tournament reaches the bubble stage, players are going to become extremely tight with hopes of surviving just one more hand and making it into the money. If your chip stack will allow it, you can take advantage of this situation and steal blinds and antes with little opposition. 10) Play to win money Your goal in every online poker tournament you play should be to finish in the money. While winning the tournament outright is the best possible outcome, it should not be your goal. You’ll have a better chance at tournament success if your goal is to win money. Are these poker tips helpful? Download Titan Poker and take your newly acquired skills to the tables! |
Poker Tips Texas Holdem No Limit
| More Poker Tips | |
|---|---|
| How to Bluff | How to Manage Your Bankroll |
| How to Stop Losing | How to Win at Speed Poker |
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Everyday players are sitting down at the tables and consistently making fundamental mistakes because of lack of knowledge, misinformation or failing to maintain focus.
Even just a small strategical adjustment in poker can potentially save you a huge amount in the long run.
Holdem Poker Tips And Strategies
In this article we will point out some of the best live and online poker tournament strategy tips you can use to improve your game as quickly as possible.
Tip 1: Play The Right Starting Hands
Whether it be lack of patience, or an unfamiliarity with opening ranges, many tournament poker players still open too wide. This is especially true when it comes to early and middle position opens, where there are still many opponents left to act behind who can be dealt a strong hand.
The problem is when called, wide openers are often at a range disadvantage. Often being dominated by their opponents, they are vulnerable to 3 bets since they frequently won't have a holding strong enough to continue under pressure.
Furthermore, although opening a hand like 7 ♠ 5♠ might at times not be a terrible strategy from early or middle position, speculative hands like suited connectors and gappers, as well as small pairs, work best with deep stacks behind.
These speculative hand types infrequently connect strongly with the flop, so those times they do you want to have deep stakes behind to have the potential to win a huge pot. Modern day tournament structures often only see deep stack play occur during the first few levels of play. This leads us into the next tournament poker tip, being stack size aware.
Learn which hands to open raise in MTT's - Watch lesson 6.1 from the Road to Success MTT Course. A power-packed 50 minute video below, just use one of the button options to unlock it and get instant access.
Tip 2: Be Stack Size Aware
Effective stack size plays a critical role in a tournament players success.
Having a deep stack, and therefore expanding an opening range to include a lot of speculative suited hands and small pairs is a tournament strategy that is going to be punished if a number of short stacks are yet to act behind. This most notably occurs in turbo tournaments where the average stack size is quite short.
Short stacks will be in push-or-fold mode. Being short, they don't have time to wait and will be looking to take any opportunity they can to move all-in. This high rate of all-ins will leave wide openers frequently being forced to relinquish their hands, without even having the opportunity to try to hit a nice flop. Problematic hands often include; J8s , KTo and weak Ax hands.
It's not just short-stacks that can cause a problem, aggressive players will be looking to attack wide-openers. This is especially true when a player opens with a vulnerable M8-M14 (20bb-35bb) stack. 3 bets get good leverage against this stack size, since continuing in the pot represents committing a significant portion of a players stack.
Wide openers would be wise not to commit a large percentage of their stack with marginal holdings, and so will be forced to fold, or face being in a high-risk situation. Staying aware of your own stacks utility, as well as anticipating how opponents will utilize their stacks, is an important tournament poker tip to keep in mind.
POKER TIP: If you are currently using BB to calculate stack size, here's a look at why using 'M' is a better MTT strategy.
Tip 3: Be Careful Overplaying In The Early Stages
As a stack gets deeper, the less willing a competent player will be to put their entire stack at risk since they have more to lose. It's rare to see good players all-in during the early stages of a tournament with hands like AKo or JJ preflop.
Smart players recognize that their counterparts aren't going to be risking their entire stack with weaker hands like AQo . Therefore, even a strong hand like AK could be at a significant equity disadvantage facing a deep stacked opponents all-in range. Could you fold QQ here?
Rather than putting in an extra raise, often times just calling with even very strong hands in the early stage of a poker tournament has great benefits.
- Allows your opponents to continue with hands they were folding to a re-raise that you have crushed.
- Disguises the strength of your hand and keeps you unpredictable.
- Prevents you from getting all-in facing a super strong range where often times you're crushed.
Tip 4: Continuation Bet Aggressively But Not Always
Players have learnt the value of c-betting, but it's a strategy that is often misapplied. Being the preflop aggressor shouldn't lead to a mandatory c-bet and double barrels.
This is especially true in multi-way pots yet players continue to make fruitless c-bets with weak holdings into multiple opponents.
Even in heads-up situations, key factors to consider include;
- How does the flop texture interact with players ranges?
- Who has the strongest range?
- Who has nut advantage (the biggest share of super strong hands)?
- How passive or aggressive is the opponent we're facing?
- How does the stack size/SPR allow us to operate on the flop and future streets?
The following hand illustrates the effect nut advantage can have on profitable continuation betting and how it applies to this tournament poker tip:
Tip 5: Be ICM Aware
The Independent Chip Model or ICM, is a great model players use to make more profitable decisions when deep in a tournament and especially at a final table.
Hold'em Poker Tips
Unlike in cash games, chip values fluctuate depending on the stage of the tournament and the competing opponents stack sizes. At it's most extreme, ICM strategy can make A♠A♣: an easy fold preflop.
Imagine a situation in a satellite where 9 players get a World Series of Poker entry and there's 10 remaining. The action folds around to a player with 100,000 in tournament chips who moves all in from the small blind. You're sitting in the big blind with A♠A♣: and also 100,000 in chips. You look around and see a few opponents with only 1000 chips left, which is the size of the current big blind. Obviously one of these short stacks is likely to bust very soon.
Obviously one of these short stacks is likely to bust very soon. Moreover the chance that they collectively out survive your 100,000 stack is extremely remote. You'd likely be a 99% chance to get a WSOP entry, so why would you call with your A♠A♣ and risk busting next around 20% of the time?
Aside from calling too wide in spots when the most profitable strategy is to proceed tightly, the opposite can also be true when it comes to pressuring your opponents. ICM allows players when they have the opportunity to assert pressure on there opponents stacks, to go ahead and do so liberally, since thinking opponents counter-strategy is to play a tight range of hands.
Here's an example of how drastically a hand range can change when the opportunity to assert pressure at a final table exists. 5 of the 6 remaining players at the Pokerstars Sunday Millions have 15bb's, whilst the UTG player has a short 2bb stack. Since the 15bb stacks wants to avoid busting out next and missing out on a large pay jump before the immanent bust out of the 2bb stack, the small blind can adjust their all-in range. Instead of the profitably 57% all-in range in normal play, they can move all-in with 100% of hands to apply pressure on the big blind.
Whilst the big blind should adjust their calling range from the regular 36% to just 10% of hands to account for the ICM effect in play.
The PokerNerve Road to Success course teaches players how to master ICM situations, which is key to tournament poker success since ICM comes into play as the prizes become significant. If there was only one tournament poker tip that you take away from this article, it's that you need to know ICM!
Tip 6: Bet The Appropriate Size
Strong players are capitalizing on their opponents tendencies to bet too big or too small in a number of different situations. With some similar considerations to that of continuation betting, when selecting a bet size important aspects include;
- Which player's range does the board texture favor?
- Who has the greatest nut saturation?
- How does SPR influence our betting strategy
There are many great articles online about bet sizing. You should be sure to check out ThePokerBank's and the Pokerology's to learn more about this tournament tip.
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Tip 7: Take Equity Realization Into Account
Possibly due to the popularity growth of Twitch, many poker players approach to big blind play has evolved. The current trend is to defend the big blind with virtually any 2 cards, as some top pros elect to do, and the justification for this is taking advantage of the excellent pot odds being offered.
While the inclusion of antes combined with commonly seeing a small open raise size does offer the big blind generous pot odds, this has led to a fundamental flaw in the way many players approach big blind play in poker tournaments. The key concept overlooked, is equity realization.
Equity realization reflects a players ability to take a certain hand, and win their share of the pot, frequently enough, to make it profitable in the long-term. Although some top pros have the ability to win their equity share of the pot even out of position, less skilled players rarely do. This leads to a large chip loss in the long run.
It is quite difficult to realize of your equity when out of position, with no initiative and a weak range. This means them glorious odds you are being offered aren't quite as good as you think!
The following article explains this crucial tournament poker tip in more detail; Equity Realization.
Tip 8: Don't Miss Double And Triple Barrel Opportunities
'One and done' is the plight of many aspiring tournament poker players. Everyday at the tables I see players missing profitable opportunities to double, or even triple barrel. Understanding what turn and river cards are advantageous to a players range, along with opponent tendencies, are crucial parts of a winning barreling formula.
The most common scenario at the table, is a heads-up pot where the big blind calls an open-raise. And this happens to be a great spot to barrel. Big blind defenders have a wide range, and it's important to pressure this wide range, especially on only partially connected board textures with one or multiple high cards.
RedChipPoker has a great article on spotting profitable double barrel opportunities which you can read here: THE +EV DOUBLE BARREL GUIDE
Tip 9: Check-Raise More Flops
The biggest difference between the current tournament population, and the future generation, will likely be their approach to check-raising the flop. This opportunity typically occurs in a heads-up pot, after defending the big blind verse an opponents raise.
Currently, MTT players only check-raise the flop in this situation around 7-8% of the time, when closer to 20% is a more optimal strategy. On certain flop textures, check-raising close to 25% of the time is an extremely profitable strategy. And if players are getting out of line with their c-bets, then check-raising at an even higher frequency could be a profitable exploit.
By giving up too easily on a wide range of board textures, or taking a more passive approach and simply calling, c-betting can be done with reckless abandon. However, by selecting a nice mix of check-raising hands, combining some strong hands with some good semi-bluffing candidates, a check-raiser can become tricky to play against and exploit the average players tendency to over c-bet.
POKER TIP: Applied correctly and check-raising becomes a super powerful weapon in your arsenal leading to more profitable poker results. But also think beyond the flop, there's plenty of check-raising opportunities you may be missing. This video demonstrates an interesting turn check-raise situation.
We discuss check raising strategy in more detail in our post over on unfeltedpoker.com.
Tip 10: Develop A Good 3betting Strategy
Whilst 3 betting aggressively is a strategy many players employ, especially in online poker circles, failure to apply optimal 3 betting strategies has certainly led to a lot of spewy poker. Simply attacking opponents who are suspected of opening wide doesn't cut it in the modern poker world.
Players have learnt to deal with 3 bets more profitably, by mixing in some calls with timely 4 bets. Moreover, the role stack size plays when it comes to 3 betting it still largely misunderstood by much of the poker community.
Sure there are certain stack sizes where 3 bets gain a lot of leverage, but how about the role blockers play? And when is 9♦7♦ a better 3 bet candidate than K♦T♠ ? These are just some of the considerations when it comes to a profitable 3 betting strategy. See how to design strong 3betting ranges in this article by Donkr.
Bonus Poker Strategy Tip: Avoid and Deal with Downswings
As a poker player you want to earn your money as easily and as stress-free as possible right? Well, understanding ROI, variance and bankroll management can help (see TopPokerValue's article on bankroll management).
All poker players at some point experience downswings. In some cases, this can affect their play, volume or state of mind.
You'll be miserable, hating poker, playing less and earning less per tournament as your play will suffer.
Along with finding ways that work for you to keep a positive mindset, taking pro-active steps can help keep you confident by knowing you are dealing with the situation like a professional whilst at the same time taking positive action to get back on track and winning.
What is ROI and variance?
Every tournament you enter has an EV associated with it. So if you enter a $10 tourney, as a good player maybe you have a 30% ROI, so you make $3. So it doesn't matter whether you brick that tourney or win it for $5000, you make $3 in the long run.
Now, of course, you don't make $3 each time. 80-85% of the time you lose that $10, some percentage of the time you win a little bit, and some very small percentage of the time you win a lot. How small those ‘small percentages’ are primarily depends on not only your skill edge, but also the field size which is an extremely important concept that is often ignored.
Variance is a factor of two things:
1) Your edge
2) The field size
Example 1)
You play the Hot $55 which has $30K guaranteed, every day for a year on Pokerstars. It has 1600 runners and you have a 5% ROI, because turbo ROIs are small. Your average yearly profit is $605 however you will lose money on the year 55% of the time.
Example 2)
You play a $20 tourney with $3K guaranteed on a softer site every day for a year. It has 200 runners and you have a 30% ROI, because it's a normal speed tourney and you’re against an easier field. Your average yearly profit is $2400 and in this case you lose money only 12% of the time.
A lot of people would look at those two tournaments and make a decision based on the buy-in and 1st place prize money as to which was better to play, and it would be grossly wrong. Once you accept all the above, you realise that the 'up top' number is largely meaningless.
Yes, on the same site bigger fields may mean a lot of fish have registered to play, but you'll find a lot of small field, soft, non-peak hour tournaments have a great pro-to-fish ratio and hence are great value. Of course once you consider other sites that have smaller fields, you'll often find they are a better choice than what might be running on Pokerstars.
So what can you do?
When players start losing money and along with that, confidence, not only does their game deteriorate but they often compound that problem by failing to make rational decisions. Often losing players, or players on a downswing, go 'bink chasing' and decide to take a shot to win all their money back in one tourney. Or load up some quick $82 hyper-turbos to try to turn it all around quickly.
People get overly fixated on what's 'up top' and wanting to score big in one tournament. That’s a sure-fire strategy to fuel a down swing. If your house got knocked down would you try to slap it back up in a week? Take that opportunity to rebuild a better, stronger house.
Make sure you're adding in some study and keep focused (see Sky's Matsuhashi How To Study Poker series), and stay fresh and positive as you approach each session. Be smart and get back into profit quicker instead of enduring a 6-12 month variance rollercoaster!
Closing Words On Tournament Poker Tips
Poker is a multi-faceted game which makes it fun but challenging. Challenge yourself to factor in the relevant concepts, and make more profitable decisions. Tighten up from the big blind, and in general around the table. This tip often quickly improves a new players results, or those that have a got a little sloppy with their play.
Calculate stack size using 'M'. Always be aware of your own, and your opponents stack sizes so you don't get yourself caught in awkward situations. One awkward situation that often comes up is when you hold an overpair to the board and an opponent puts the heat on you. Don't be afraid to make big lay downs to preserve your stack, especially in the early levels.
Be aware of your cbetting frequency. There's no need to waste tournament poker chips cbetting every time, especially when the pot is multi-way. Pick your spots to make profitable plays. Remember when it comes to the final table, regularly profitable playing ranges might alter due to the payouts. ICM is the key when it comes to those final big decisions.
Another key to success is knowing when to fire multiple bullets at your opponents. Barreling, especially against a wide big blind range can really help increase your non-showdown winnings. Finding ways to accumulate chips without always having the best hand is what top players do. This is why check-raising and having a good 3 betting strategy is so important. Correct use of these strategical concepts and the other tips outlines will get you winning more at the tables.
Now that you've acquired some great holdem tournament strategy tips to help you achieve MTT success, go out there an implement them!
One of the quickest way to improve your poker game is to take on a poker coaching, a course or join a poker training site; if that is something that interests you be sure to check out the PokerNerve road to Success Course for some advanced poker tournament strategy or you can check out HowToPlayPokerInfo's guide on poker training & poker courses to find the right option for you.
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Any other poker tournament strategy tips? Leave them below in the comments, we would love to hear them!