i don't know what i'm doing...

i've never given much thought to tournament play because i thought short term luck was just too much of a factor. but recently i started playing no limit HE freeroll tournaments online for the hell of it. after a couple of final table appearances out of 200 or so players i'm thinking maybe i should try some small buy-in tournaments in the real world.


so here's the question: what is basic NLHE freeze out strategy. i've read that one should call speculative hands early when blinds are still afordable and i've read you should be a rock, wait for high pairs and then maybe speculate once you have developed the rock image. any suggestions?


and what about the luck factor. i had a guy raising my JJ pre-flop with 2d,5d. the flop comes 2,2,5. at a live game i'd laugh it off, in that particular tournamet it took a chunk out of me.


would appreciate any advice...

First, you would laugh it off at a live "limit" game. Second, I think everyone has a different strategy concerning aggressiveness and card selection, but it is important to consider the limit and time structures. Fast limit increases means you need to play and win more hands to stay alive. If you want to see loose aggressive play, play a one table limit satellite at the WSOP. The eventual winner usually plays a lot of hands. Conservative play gets eaten alive by the blinds. If limits go up gradually, you can play solid ring game poker with minor tournament considerations and still stay ahead of the blinds.


You also need to consider your ultimate goal in the tournament. If you want to just make the money, you can probably play more conservatively than if you want to win or place in the top three. To try to win you can and should play more aggressively but this increases your risk of getting knocked out early. Getting knocked out first, or one out of the money pays the same.


Of course it would be nice to get good cards often and get paid off the whole way and never play against a stack bigger than yours, but good luck with that.

Early in a NL tourney while the blinds are low compared to your stack you can play a lot of the typical ring game hands. Understand how the table is playing and if there is a lot of pre-flop raising going on, you need to tighten up on smaller pairs or drawing hands. If there are not a lot of raises I will limp with a lot of low/medium pairs, suited aces and suited connectors. The reason of course is if you hit a set you can double up. Be wary of chasing flushs and straights that cost a lot of chips. With big hands I am going to raise. I like raising 2x or 3x the BB and increasing it if there have been limpers. I try not to cold call raises. Usually it is a re-raise or fold.


As the blinds increase compared to your stack I limp less often and I usually come in for a raise. Smaller pairs and drawing hands are rarely played. At this point stealing blinds is quite important. The other important thing is to monitor your stack size compared to the blinds. Don't let yourself get too small. Also know when the blinds are increasing and by how much. A decent stack is cut in half if the blinds double.


As far as short-term luck, yeah it happens. You can do everything right but if someone flops a set versus your AA you are most likely done.


Hope this helps,


Ken Poklitar