NL tournament questions

Navers · #1 07-23-2004, 11:10 PM

I play in a weekly NL tournament having usually 6-9 players. Everyone receives T500 and blinds are 5/10. Blinds, on average, double every 40 minutes. What is a correct strategy for this game? To be more specific, should I be attacking pots early in the game, or should I wait for premium hands?

Also, lots of people will raise 3-5x BB early on, and bets on the river can be 5-7x the BB. Is this normally how betting proceeds in NL tournaments? Is this too big? If so, should I be playing less hands against those who overbet?

Any input would be appreciated [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

threeonefour · #2 07-24-2004, 12:36 AM

usually all flop turn and river bets are made in relation to the pot.

betting the amount of the pot should be common, especially early on. basically you should bet enough with your made hands to prevent chasers from having good odds on calling.

jwvdcw · #3 07-24-2004, 08:34 PM

If you can limp in with drawing hands(low pocket pairs suited connetors) early, then do so, as you hope to get a cheap chance to hit and get a big pot.

Nothing risky early on at all. Remember, you can't win the tournament now, but you surely can lose it. Remember that no chip leader after Day 1 of the WSOP has ever even made a final table...goes to show you how meaningless early results truly are.

Later on...aggressive, but back off if your opponent shows agression back unless you have a very good hand. For an example of this: If you have J-Qs in LP, I would consider a 3x BB raise to try to steal the blinds. However, if someone comes over the top for a significant amount, you must lay it down. Two common mistakes are to not be aggressive often enough if nobody has made a play at the pot and to be too aggressive when somebody has shown strength.