| |
| |
|
Casino & Gambling Information brought to you by casino bonuses and top online ecasinos |
|
|
|
Evaluating Starting Hands In No-Limit Holdem Tournaments
There are three main factors that influence how you should play your hole cards in No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments. They are: your position, the size of your chip stack, and the size of the blinds. As a basic rule you need to avoid marginal hands that appear playable pre-flop but which can lead to huge losses in a single pot. The classic starting hands that fall into this category would be any Ax lower than AQ where both cards are unsuited, any Kx unsuited lower than KQ, and low suited connectors. The tricky aspect of no-limit hold'em both in a tournament structure and in a regular cash game is that these hands can also lead to the greatest rewards. They are extremely volatile, however, and much of the skill of no-limit is knowing how to recognize when that starting hand is a liability and when it could potentially break an opponent. This requires a great feel for the game after the flop. Naturally beginners lack this experience and nuanced understanding of the game, and so it is far safer for a novice to limit himself to playing premium cards only before the flop. The problem then becomes one of predictability - if you only raise with big pairs you are unlikely to get any action, and when you do get action you're in trouble because the rest of the table clearly knows what you're holding to begin with. If you are one off the button or on the button you should loosen your restrictions and play more starting hands, including those marginal ones, provided no one else has entered the pot showing obvious strength. To vary your play effectively you should also consider raising with these hands as a semi-bluff tactic, but no more than one in four times. Keep most of your initial raises down to between 75% and 100% of the pot. If you make it 3 times the size of the big blind to go that typically equals an 80% pot bet. This will protect you in case you get re-raised or called by stronger holdings. If there are limpers in front of you and you are going to raise then you need to make a significant bet, especially in no-limit where you have to make it punitive for other players if they intend to draw out. In that case you could raise as much as 6 times the big blind. Have a healthy and watchful respect for strong-tight players who are rarely in hands, particularly if they play the hand out of position. If a player like this raises in early position you should fold all those marginal hands, and small pairs as well. When weak players have entered the pot, you should be happy to call and take flops with them provided you can do this inexpensively. Slow playing big hands has a higher expected value in No-Limit than it does in Limit games where it is rarely the right way to play. That being said, it is a skill that takes a lifetime to master, and can easily backfire on you. As the blinds increase in tournament play you must be flexible with your evaluation of starting hands as you have to keep your chip stack well ahead of the pace set by the blinds. In tournament play you cannot wait for the perfect starting hand, and frequently you need to make your own luck. Be selectively aggressive, especially in the later stages of the tournament. Initially you should be tight at least until you have a good read on some of the opponents at your table. Try to avoid coin-flip scenarios where all your chips are at stake. This happens all the time in online tournaments where players feel comfortable going all-in on AK and equally comfortable calling that hand with any pocket pair. The winners of tournaments at all levels are usually those players who pace themselves early on, make a move in the middle stages of the event, and then start all over again at the final table by once again playing strong-tight. Ryan D. is a poker fanatic and regular poker tournament player. For more interesting articles about playing online poker, visit http://www.online-poker-insider.com. Online Poker Insider guarantees online poker room deposits up to $500.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Receipe to Success FreeAdGuru Steven says it is all about pre selling. Do not sell the product Do the preselling. An Easy Way to Become a Good Blackjack Player Learning to play the game of casino Blackjack reasonably well is not rocket science, regardless of what the dozens of books on the subject would have you believe.Playing professionally at the expert level, as is true of any game, is indeed complex and takes years to perfect. The Secrets of Cold Tables The CrapshooterThe Secrets of Cold TablesPssst.. The Joys Of Playing Internet Poker I started playing poker on the internet about six months ago and I must say I absolutely love it.I had had no real interest in poker until I watched it at a friends house on satellite TV. The Secrets of the Outside Numbers Pssst.. Bingo - It's Birth and Beginning The true origin of bingo dates back as far as the mid 16th century and is connected, strangely enough to the unification of Italy in 1530. This unification saw the introduction of a National lottery system, known as "Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia" held each week. Gambling Comps 101 or The Ask Game Gambling Comps 101 or The Ask Game I don't know who did it or when it happened, but someone shortened the word complimentary to comp and made it an industry standard. In casino language, comps are cash or gifts (freebies) that the casinos give to their customers as a reward for gambling with them. Just The Best Online Gambling, Casinos, Poker, Sports Book BlackJack, Slots, Roulette, Video Poker, Bonus Slots, Stud Poker, Texas Hold em Free Money and Freerolls, All types of sports betting. Does this interest you? Read on!Is lady luck with you? Vegas, Atlantic City Etc. Expected Value in Texas Holdem Poker A successful Texas hold em player is one who maximizes his return or minimizes his loss with each decision he makes. Expected value (EV) is essentially the amount one would expect to win or lose if this decision were to be repeated millions of times. Handicapping the NFL Pre-season It never ceases to amaze me just how many sports bettors pass when it comes to wagering on NFL preseason games, the reason probably has more to do with past preseason wagering losses than anything else, in the big picture most simply do not understand that you can not handicap the NFL preseason using the same methods that you use when handicapping NFL regular season games.You must approach NFL preseason handicapping from a totally different perspective and actually pretend that you are the head coach of the team that you are handicapping, as a head coach in preseason action you must have pre-defined goals of what you want to accomplish during the preseason. FSBO: For Sale By Owners - A Novel Fiction Work Preface We are For Sale By Owners, "FSBOs." We spend our time trying to sell ourselves and others on what we are doing or what we want to believe. Casinos Popping Up Leads To Negative Impact on Economy Casinos and other forms of gambling are popping up in almost every state. Every other day you hear of a new Indian Tribe that is looking for recognition. A Beginners Strategy Guide to Online Micro Limit Hold Em It's hard to miss the fact that the last two winners of the World Series of Poker were not professional poker players and the fact that Chris Moneymaker (2003) and Greg Raymer (2004) are online players. It's no wonder that online poker is exploding. Online Poker Are you a poker player? Can't get the guys together but still want to play? Try online poker. You can play from the comfort of your home right on your computer. The Slot Machine The very first slot machine (called 'Liberty Bell') was created by a man called Charles Fay from his workshop in San Francisco in 1887. Slightly smaller than today's average slot machines, Liberty Bell contained 3 reels and 20 symbols and operated pretty much in the same way as today's slot machines. World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit On October 25, 2004 Harrah's announced the creation of the World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit that marked the beginning of the 36th annual World Series of Poker season. And with it began their efforts to evolve the World Series of Poker from a month long frenzied rush into a year long sport. Video Poker - Choose the Best Machines There are three basic types of video poker machines:* Jacks or Better* Deuces Wild* Jokers WildTo keep things basic, we recommend you play only the Jacks or Better machines. The payouts are usually better and the draw strategy is more straightforward. Senior Citizen's Have Lost Their Life Savings Due to Their Inability To Stop Gambling A senior citizen who worked for the past forty years lost everything she had saved in under twelve months. Seniors are the heart of our society and something needs to be done to stop the many predators. You Can Make Poker Less Painful (or--A Pain in the Arse can be Removed ...without Surgery) As you will read in this article, the removal of a pain in the arse, from the poker table, can be accomplished without going under the knife, if you are diligent and persistent.At the 2005 WSOP, there were couple of players who acted objectionably and (See our 2005 WSOP Views) they received penalties due to this objectionable behavior. Want to Know the Roulette Bet With the Best Odds? Play on European Tables OnlyRoulette wheels can divided into 37 (European) or 38 (American) numbered slots depending on whether there are one or two zeros on the wheel marked 0 and 00. 37 numbered slots give the house a 2.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
