Poker Article - "Tournament Discussions 101 Part II"

Tournament Discussions Part II - by Al Spath

In Part I, I discussed playing in a one table limit sit n’go tournament and now I want to briefly compare it to playing in a NL sit n’go, as well as playing in a full limit tournament.

Single Table (STT) - No Limit Tournament

This type of tournament will have a faster pace than the limit one table tournaments, mainly due to the ability to knock other players out from as early as the first round. One mistake here and you will be looking for another convenient sit n’go to start in a minute or two later. Like the limit tournament, protecting your chips early is vital to allow you a chance to win the event or place in the money. The first 3 rounds are similar to 6 hours in a live MTT event. Electing to pass on many trouble hands (saving chips) should be your early plan and when the blind levels increase to (a minimum) of 50/100, you should then start to attempt steals (earlier it’s futile and the blind money is insignificant). Early on I’d pass on those sometimes good looking hands like AJ, small pairs and Axs hands in early position (EP). They are trouble without a very favorable flop, and you will usually be raised by someone in late position (LP). Flopping a set can really help you chip up, so in later positions it might be advantageous to take a flop and hope to make that 7.5-1 set. No set, no bet after the flop, it’s again a mistake to continue with an 8% then 4% chance of catching your card.

I do however believe it’s critical for you to chip up when you hold a monster holding like AA or KK. Don’t forget, early in the event, players will see lots of flops and it’s about more than having top pair. Should you get action (reraised), don’t be afraid to move all-in and take any race with those holdings. To double up in a STT is a tremendous advantage then and later in the event. Make your opponents realize that calling you could jeopardize their continuance in the tournament, or at best, leave them chip wounded. By raising this way, you will cause the pressure needed to convince them to play underdog hands or get out of your way (later a tactic you can also use). Don’t allow them to play small to medium pairs or suited connectors for a cheap price. Remember, if you bet is not large enough, someone may call and then that will induce others to enter the pot, lowering your advantage (% or your hand holding up). They will then chase you down if you let them. You should also notice that several players will have already been eliminated in the early rounds, so your task is to finish ahead of the remaining 5 or 6 players. Don’t get cute with AA or KK. Stick all your money into the pot and if some yahoo wants to over value and raise, reraise, or call with hands like AQs or TT, just let them. Take your chances every time with that scenario. If you think by going all-in with AA or KK your opponents will muck their hands, think again, once they 3 bet they get committed and usually don’t back away from the race situation. Today’s player (at times), pays little or no respect to your all-in bet in these tournaments, and won’t hesitate to call you with a variety of weaker hands. They believe you have a medium pair, two big cards and want fold equity by sticking your entire stack in the middle. You also will be faced with difficult decisions early on, like mucking hands like 88 and 99 under the gun. Don’t waver, stick them in the muck (don’t limp), or raise with them. If short stacked, stick all the chips in the pot, but and don’t think twice about folding them if medium stacked and in EP (know your opponents). What you don’t need is to limp and to be called, raised, or put all-in by a player who acts after you. Avoid those situations by just not playing those cards early in the event. If faced with an all-in bet to you while holding a small pair, a medium pair, or some upper connectors, give that player a wide berth and avoid the confrontation unless short stacked yourself. You really don’t need a coin flip race if not in trouble and holding a medium sized hand. When short stacked, try to be the aggressor and first in for all your chips and put the decision and pressure on the caller. Your goal is to double up and to do this you want to have a pair or premium cards against an isolated player. Eliminating others from the hand (with your early entry raise), will greatly increase your opportunities to win those hands when your hand holds up, or when you steal a pot uncontested. Others will notice your smart play and give you credit for having a hand or decent cards when you play this way.

Once you have successfully made it into the money spots, you can take a few more chances (you can play a wider range of hands against 2 opponents), and continue to pressure your opponents. There is no sense getting involved in a hand where your two opponents have bet and raised the pot prior to you acting, unless you have a huge holding. Allow them to battle and eliminate each other. Once the match becomes heads up, you must see just about every flop. Don’t be afraid to raise every time from the button and don’t be afraid to reraise every time from the blind. Let your opponent realize you cannot be bullied and in fact, appear to be the bully yourself. NOTE: Remember, you have second place locked up at this time, go for the win, and don’t be passive. You will have significant chip swings; however, if your opponent is a weaker player than you, you will pick up many pots while eventually forcing your opponents into making a costly mistake.

Major No-Limit Tournaments

If you read one of my lessons at the Poker School Online classroom, you will note that I believe discipline and patience are the keys to winning these types of events, as well as winning at anything you play. You will be playing for hours; tedious amounts of time to make it to the payout spots and you cannot afford to invest money (entry and admin fees), and all that time without getting paid off. Your first goal is to survive the early rounds and once again, save your chips for when the betting limits go up (third or fourth round or so), unless you pick up a huge pair and can add some chips to your stack (but remember, you can’t get them all out of the pots in the early rounds either). Rebuy events offer you more challenges early as the crazies will not hesitate in going all-in or wasting their chips on long shot draws. These folks are “gamblers” not poker players.

Once you reach a level where your raise can impact your opponent, you should start to attack, steal, and occasionally bluff your way to victory. Note: Bluffing in limit tournaments rarely works, especially at the lower limits. Towards the end of the event, when chip stack disparities are greater and the blinds are huge, bluffs can indeed be made more successfully. In summary, in a limit tournament, early attempts at bluffing will give you an early exit. It’s just not a good idea and should be avoided. In No-Limit events, bluffing is a must, and better when you have position and good reads. Your table image is also a consideration, if tight, when you do bet, only those with legit hands will stick around.

Limping into pots is totally unacceptable, unless several favorable conditions exist. You must be in late position (preferably on or near the button), or in one of the blinds, in an unraised pot, with a good number of limpers already in before it is your time to act, and that you are holding a hand that plays well against a large numbers of players. Small and medium pairs play well in this spot, along with suited and one gapped connectors. If these conditions exist, you are getting the right pot odds to limp. So raise if you are first to play, avoid calling other raises unless your are heads up with position and monster hand and want to trap someone, and just about eliminate calling two or three bets cold. You will notice as play continues, those who do not show the discipline and patience you show will play small pairs and other hands like ace/suited in early position will have early exits.

Many players insist luck has everything to do with sustained success in these multi-table events, and I would agree that the element of luck may play a part at several junctures along the way (you do have a race of two you will need to win). Lee Trevino once said: “The more I practice, the luckier I seem to get.” So, there will be a few coin toss decisions along the way and luck may indeed play a factor in you surviving or not. Don’t discount it; you need all the advantages that can come your way.

As the tournament enters the final phase of the event, chip stack size (who said size doesn’t matter) will factor in greatly. The advantage of having a great deal of ammunition allows you to attack smaller stacks and those playing extremely tight (in hopes of making it off the bubble and into the money spots). You should not allow a blind hand to see a flop without calling a raise if you can help it, nor should anyone else at your table. An added plus with a big stack is that you can also wait for a hand and you don’t have to make a stand or squander any chips when you don’t have the cards to enter a pot.

Once the table becomes short-handed, switch gears and play even more aggressively. A wider range of hands played is a must. Your ability to evaluate your holding and take the proper action is critical in defeating those opponents at the table with lesser skills. Hand values continue to increase as the number of players decrease. Be at ease if knocked out when you are being aggressive betting, and be bitter if you are eliminated when you are just a calling station. Be the aggressor, apply relentless pressure, make quick, sound decisions, and you will find yourself in the money more often than otherwise. If you don’t make it to the top, finishing second, third, or fourth is good money too, but set your goal at winning it all, and do not just settle for second best.

Finally, those who settle for just competing, having fun, expecting to make some money, are long term losing players. Don’t set your expectations low, think winning it all, ensure you make it into the money spots every time, and don’t let a bad beat along the way change your determination and commitment to play with discipline and patience in every event you enter.

 

Finishing top 2 (50% and 30% winnings of prize pool is most important task at hand), of course 3rd place nets you 20%, but that usually is about enough to cover expenses.

What part of a sng is the most important to you and how do you navigate it?

Do you use double up sng's to train yourself patience and discipline, so you can get into the money spots?

What sites offer double up's?

thanks in advance.

 

I play them all the time (WPN). To be profitable at them, you need to have patience, but they're great for learning and applying ICM spots.

PokerStars has them as 50/50's. 50% of the money gets paid to the survivors, the other 50% is based on chip count.

 

I find 'bubble time' the hardest to navigate. If after a few hands, if it seems that no players are going to be very aggressive and wait for others to move; It is hard to decide what hands are good enough to push hard.


Yes, I use double ups to build bankroll and then use that money to play higher dollar sng's.

BOL has a lot of double ups.