Boris
12-02-2003, 10:12 PM
I've been playing quite a few online tournaments lately. Although nl hold'em is definitely the tournament of choice for most players, in my observation there is alot more very bad play in limit tourneys. IMO, there are two reasons for this.
The first is that it takes relatively longer to become short stacked in a limit tourney. I think I can safely say that playing short stacked is fairly easy, desperate but easy.
The second reason is that most tourney specialists just don't play very much cash game limit hold'em; and there is a large population of European players in the Internet tournaments, who also tend not to play very much cash game limit hold'em.
As a result, I think an experienced cash limit holdem player can find some pretty good EV in limit tournaments with a few minor adjustments to their game.
1. Place more value on unsuited face cards and weaker aces (A-J, A-10). These kinds of hands of hands are notorious for making players the "live one" in a cash game when played in the wrong situation. Do not play small pocket pairs, ever.
2. Play a bit looser in the middle stages of the tournament and a bit more passive pre-flop. Aggressive play after the flop is always encouraged. As always, the line between smart aggressive and mindless maniac may occaisonally become blurred.
3. Loosen up a little bit on your standards for calling a pre-flop raise. This can be a bit dangerous so when in doubt, fold.
4. play very, very tight in the early stages of a limit tournament. IMO, this is one of the biggest differences between limit and nl tourneys. In nl, I think its OK to play a bit loose, especially in late position, in the beginning of the tournament. The implied odds of the stack sizes make it OK to gamble a bit and see a few flops. The opposite is true in limit tournaments. In a limit tournament you can easily double or triple your chips in one hand in the middle part of the tournament so just be patient. And also remember that the blinds go up relatively slower in a limit tournament.
Any comment or disagreement is always welcome.
The first is that it takes relatively longer to become short stacked in a limit tourney. I think I can safely say that playing short stacked is fairly easy, desperate but easy.
The second reason is that most tourney specialists just don't play very much cash game limit hold'em; and there is a large population of European players in the Internet tournaments, who also tend not to play very much cash game limit hold'em.
As a result, I think an experienced cash limit holdem player can find some pretty good EV in limit tournaments with a few minor adjustments to their game.
1. Place more value on unsuited face cards and weaker aces (A-J, A-10). These kinds of hands of hands are notorious for making players the "live one" in a cash game when played in the wrong situation. Do not play small pocket pairs, ever.
2. Play a bit looser in the middle stages of the tournament and a bit more passive pre-flop. Aggressive play after the flop is always encouraged. As always, the line between smart aggressive and mindless maniac may occaisonally become blurred.
3. Loosen up a little bit on your standards for calling a pre-flop raise. This can be a bit dangerous so when in doubt, fold.
4. play very, very tight in the early stages of a limit tournament. IMO, this is one of the biggest differences between limit and nl tourneys. In nl, I think its OK to play a bit loose, especially in late position, in the beginning of the tournament. The implied odds of the stack sizes make it OK to gamble a bit and see a few flops. The opposite is true in limit tournaments. In a limit tournament you can easily double or triple your chips in one hand in the middle part of the tournament so just be patient. And also remember that the blinds go up relatively slower in a limit tournament.
Any comment or disagreement is always welcome.