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05-08-2005, 01:09 PM
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Guide to No Limit Holdem Tournament Play
I have developed the following guide to playing no limit holdem tournaments. Rather than being based on some idealized approach from professional play, it is based on how players in small to medium buyin events actually play.
I. Preflop Play A. The Gap Principle The gap principle states that you need a bigger hand to raise than to call a raise. In general, you should avoid raising before the flop, but you can limp or call a raise. You can limp with any pair, any two high cards, or any suited or connecting cards. In general, once you have limped in, you can call a raise of any size. B. Raising If you must raise, it is generally best to make a miniraise. That way you avoid knocking anyone out of the pot. Since you think you have the best hand, you want as many people in the pot as possible. Another approach is to open raise from early position for 5-10x BB with KK-99 or AJ-AK. That way you can frequently pick up the pot right there. Plus you can build a big pot and your opponents will feel intimidated that you have such a big hand. Also, if anyone reraises you after such a big raise, you can be pretty sure they have you beat and you can fold. C. Allin raises by short stacks If a short stack raises allin rather than making a normal raise or limping that is an indication that he does not have a strong hand and is just trying to steal the blinds. Therefore, you can call with any hand you would normally limp with. D. Playing the Short Stack With a short stack, you want to limp in and see as many flops as possible. Remember, you really don’t have anything until you see a flop. However, if you are raised you can call as usual. Sometimes, you do need to make an allin move. It should usually be made from early position for greater intimidation value. When short stacked, it is good to go allin with any ace. E. Punishing the Limpers We will cover an advanced strategy known as “punishing the limpers” that is highly respected by some, although we prefer an alternate approach known as “punishing the raisers.” Punishing the limpers assumes that a limper is unlikely to have a strong hand. This approach may work against players who have not read this manual and are not aware of the advantages of limping with strong hands. Say there are several limpers in the pot. Then you can push with any two cards, since they will probably all fold, and if not you probably have as good a hand as the one you are called with. Another approach can be used later in the tournament when limping is less common. If there is an early position limper and you are short stacked with 8xBB or less in the CO position or later, you can push with any two cards. The limper cannot have a good hand limping this late in the tournament and will probably fold. If not, you probably have the best hand plus pot odds. II. Playing the Flop A. Reading Hands I will give a couple of examples which will make clear how easy it is to read your opponents hands. Say you limp with A9o, someone raises and you calls. If an ace flops, you can put your opponent on a pair of face cards and go allin. If the board comes nine high, you can put your opponent on a big ace and go allin. Similarly, if you limp with 77, call a raise, and the flop comes with low cards you can put your opponent on AQ or AK and go allin. B. Playing Top Pair You should generally be ready to go allin with top pair. C. Playing Draws Like top pair, you can generally call or go allin with any draw. A more cautious approach is to make the absolute minimum bet, such as one BB. This will discourage other players from betting while you have a chance to make your hand. If you follow the advise of this manual, that will be the same way you play a big hand, so it will be difficult for opponents to raise you. D. If You Flop a Big Hand If you flop a big hand, it is generally best to go allin right away. Another approach with a big hand is to trap with it. That involves making the absolute minimum bets on the flop and turn and then pushing on the river. E. Calling on the Flop If someone makes a small bet of ½ the pot on the flop, they probably don’t have anything, so you can call with any hand. F. Bluffing Bluffing is best made early in the tournament. If your initial bluff is called, follow up by going allin. You can usually intimidate your opponents into folding. III. Playing Specific Hands A. Playing AQ AQ has a reputation as a hand you can lose a lot of money with. While if you understand the contents of this manual you will realize that hands like A6 are much more profitable, AQ can also be profitable if played correctly. The key is to never raise preflop with AQ. If you raise and an ace or queen doesn’t flop, where are you? For example, if there are two limpers in the pot and you have AQ, you should just limp. This can be a very tricky play. Say someone in late position tries to steal the pot from a bunch of limpers by pushing with AT or KQ. Won’t they be surprised when you call with AQ. B. Playing AA If there are several limpers to you with AA or several players have called a raise, you should make a small raise or reraise, not big enough to make anyone fold. Remember, you have a big hand and you want action. If there is one player who has raised, make a very small reraise or flat call to trap him after the flop. It is OK to bet the flop with AA, but not enough to make anyone fold. If someone else bets, make a small bet or flat call. The time to make your move with AA is on the turn. You should move allin with AA on the turn no matter what. C. Playing Medium Pairs If there are several limpers to you or several players have called a raise, you should always raise or reraise with medium pairs. A small raise to build the pot is good. You can also make a large raise to try to win the pot or get heads up. These hands play much better heads up. With many players, someone is likely to flop a higher pair. After the flop, you can often play medium pairs to the river. You will be surprised how often a medium pair will hold up. IV. Miscellaneous Topics A. Adjusting to the Play of a Table You should generally follow the lead of the other players at the table. For example, you should play tight at a tight table and loose at a loose table. At the beginning of the tournament, you can play very loose, and make and call bets much bigger than the tiny blinds. However, as the bubble approaches, you should tighten up your play considerably. B. How to Play the Bubble This is easy. Don’t play any hands during the bubble period. Then you avoid busting out on the bubble and not making the money. If you have a big hand you feel you have to play, miniraise. That way, you can fold if someone reraises. In a supersatellite, you should approach the bubble completely differently. In this case, there is no money to win, so the important thing is to win the tournament. If you have a big stack in a supersatellite, you should play aggressively. Reraise people allin to use their irrational fear of busting out to pick up the pot. Call pushes to bust people out. See a lot of flops and always be ready to make a move to pick up the pot. C. Playing a Rebuy The key to playing a rebuy is gambling to build a big stack. You don’t have to worry about busting out, since you can always rebuy if you do. You should frequently go allin preflop. Eventually, people will realize that you don’t often don’t have much and will call you, giving you a chance to get lucky and build a big stack. You should generally go allin preflop with any ace. After the flop, you can generally go allin with any pair or draw. After the rebuy period, you should generally raise, call a raise, or reraise with any of the limping hands discussed in the first section. If you see a flop, you should generally take your opponent allin in stages, regardless of what cards hit. Usually, your opponents will be intimidated by your aggressive play and fold. Copyright 2005, Joseph Hammerman. 
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