Re: Tournament Adjustments
These observations are my own and not necessarily from any book or poker pundit even though there are some common things that everyone touts.
1. Play only with a premium hand.
2. Do not slow-play a high pair.
3. Limp in with a low pocket pair. If you get lucky and catch a set -- milk the table for all it is worth.
4. Don't play suited or unsuited connectors. In a tourney -- they are a losing proposition.
5. As a general rule do not chase a flush draw, a straight draw beyond the flop unless a> the pot is big giving you enough odds AND b> the cost of continuing on is not too damaging to your stack.
6. From the SB do not put in that extra chip(s) just to see what the flop is and hope to get lucky. More often than not you will feel yourself tied to a pot that you had no business being there in the first place and damage your stack.
6. Careful of games you get into because you happened to be in the BB. More often than not you will end up playing in pots you had no business of being in the first place. Statistically, it is proven that SB and BB positions lead to involuntary participation resulting in bad plays and significant damage to the stack.
7. At the late stages of the tourney you must steal the blinds at least once every two hands. This is best accomplished from mid-to-late positions. There should be no bets before you and the stacks that act after you need to be moderate-size stacks. The reason is because a low stack who is waiting for any hand will take this as a cue to go all-in and now you are faced with the prospect of actually fighting it out with this guy. A high stack is likely to take you on if he/she has even a semi-decent hand. Stealing blinds means just that -- "stealing" w/o a fight. Oh, yes, to not invite a fight your bet needs to be between 2.5 to 3X the BB.
8. Arrogance will damage your stack. A bigger stack does not mean that you drop your guard and start playing questionable hands.
9. Develop that instinct that gives you that queasy feeling you are beat even when you seem to have the upper hand. Lay it down and wait to fight it out in another hand. If you are wrong use that experience to fine-tune your instinct.
10. Lastly, there is such a thing as a run of good cards. Sometimes you are starved of decent hand for what seems like an eternity and you start thinking about dropping your standards and start playing sub-standard hands. Fight this temptation. Lady luck will smile at you and when you get your run of cards you can double/triple your stack in just a few minutes. Preserve your ammunition because you need in in these times.
11. Lastly, badbeats will happen and you have to take it in the proper spirit. In a game of chance anything can happen. Also, there are times when in spite of your best play you just don't seem to get anywhere. Be happy that you played a good game. This happens to the very best of the poker players.
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