How To Win At MTT Poker

{continued by soupie}

Point 50: The 4 Rules

If have been on vent recently, you know them. If you haven't, you get to learn them now. I really believe these 4 rules are the essense or the key to long term success in poker and everything else is just a sub category of these 4 rules.

1. Hold your temper.
2. Win the maximum amount of chips when you win the hand.
3. Lose the least amount of chips when you lose the hand.
4. Dont beat yourself.

1.Hold your temper. How often do you read something like this and just skip this paragraph or stop reading all together. Not another crappy pop psychology lesson for me. No way i need to read that trash. Of course i know that's important. But do you really?

Are your decisions based on whether you have won or lost a previous hand? Have you noticed people are much more likely to play the very next hand after they have lost a big hand? Are you steaming in silence because some bully is running over the table and you basically quit playing and wait for a big pair? Does the action at your other tables spill over into the play at the table you need to make a big decision at? Is the chat pissing you off and taking you off your game?

You see it very easy to say, i have not punched my monitor or broken my keyboard in at least 2 months so i now control my temper. I have arrived or so you think. How many times does a couple moments of angst cause you to bleed chips? Have you really arrived where you completely and totally hold your temper? No one can honestly say yes.

When you get right down to it, the difference between good and great players is how they play about 1% of hands. Being able to escape with pocket queens and not get beat out of the tourney. Knowing your second pair is good and making the tough call. Check raising the thief who reps every flop. Can you still make these plays if things havent been going your way?

Do you remember Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry when he said "Do you feel lucky punk" all steely eyed with no emotion. That needs to be you.

2. Win the maximum number of chips with your big hands was previously inadequately addressed in point 49. It is largely playing a lot of hands and learning from the experiences.

3. Losing the least amount of chips when you lose the hands. A lot of these types of situations involve you having a medicore hand which is likely the best hand. For example, big blind TP no kicker or button second pair ace kicker. You certain want to take down the pot but only risk a small portion of your stack. Ideally you want to define the hand early with a small bet. They type of bet which looks like an invitation to the pot, yet is just a little too expensive to draw at with no hand no draws. Somewhere around 2x BB is about right.

Here's the point though, if you run into resistance you have to lay it down. What could they possible be raising or check raising you with? It almost always beats these types of hands, 2 pair, tptk, sets, etc. Too many people marry a pot once they bet. Just last night in the 250 40max on Paradise, i built a stack on 2 hands. Both times they couldnt get away from poor hands they repped the flop with. You would think anyone with 250 bucks could get away from A3 on a K103 flop or 55 with 3 overs, not those times. Just one lead bet on the flop and they were pot committed emotionally, not chip wise.

Another way to lose the least, is checking behind on the river with most hands. If they cant call unless that rag straightened them up, dont give them the opportunity to checkraise you. This advice is intended for those obvious times when your opponent is drawing. You bet the flop, you bet the turn, call, call. Either they drawing or trapping with a set or something. Dont give them a checkraise opportunity on the river. You are going to win the showdown anyways unless they hit. Dont risk those addition chips when the only time you get called is when you get raised and are beat.

Another interesting way to lose the least and misrepresent your hand is to check a good draw on the flop from the button. Sure you could bet and take down a small pot, but what if you check and hit your draw. Suddenly you have the table confused. If he really had that flush why didnt he bet the flop? Then they will proceed to, he must be bluffing and walla, double up for you. Not really sold on this point just something to think about.

4. Dont beat yourself. How often do you get involved in pots you never should have been in? You had a big stack, 30 BB, you dont need the chips, the steal means nothing to you. Yet almost magically you find yourself stealing from the CO with squat. Then you get called by KK or something, catch a piece of the flop and promptly get dispatched from the tourney. Sure you had pot odds post flop, sure you played aggressive and put them to the decision. Blah, blah, blah, and blah, blah, blah. The thing is why in tarnation are you taking that risk at that point anyways. You are miles from the final table, you have a decent stack. You didnt build that stack playing that way and if you did, please promptly cash out your last 20 bucks and go out for dinner or something, poker isnt for you.

Another way to beat yourself is taking coinflips with crap just because you can afford them. Sure you may take out a player, but is that important at this point of the tourney? If it is not, it is a dumb play. Think about it, ideal hands and situations to play involve good to great cards, position, folding equity, and are far better than coin flip. That is how you build a stack and got to that point in the tourney. It doesnt suddenly turn into a blackjack tourney.

Wishing you all great poker. If your game is great, you have already won, the details have yet to be worked out.

"Go ahead, make my day." Win a bunch of cash.

Point 51 The importance of the early double up. An essay unworthy of consideration.

There has long been a debate whether the risk of an early double up is worth the reward of a big stack. How important is the big stack? How much risk is acceptable to obtain one? Is there even an answer considering your playing style?

A TAGGy player who is studies the table and looks for the best opportunity to get the chips in play rarely has the big stack. They are consistently ahead when the chips go but are at great risk of ruin. If they are ahead say 70/30 all in 3 times and are called they will be out of the tourney 70% of the time with 3 all in showdowns. Not exactly acceptable in my mind. I would say camping and pushing the best hand short stacked is a suboptimal strategy. You can have the satisfaction of knowing you got beat by a donk, but they are still in the tourney and you are out.

Now for instance, lets say you have the big stack and are unbustable. You have taken some chances early in the tourney, hits some rags and got paid on your big hands. Forget about their great risk of ruin with that type of play. We will get to that. What is the reward?

You are now the king of the table. Every hand goes through you and everyone knows you can bust them. A fair amount of players will change their play based on your stack. Ever heard, “I can’t pick on his blind, he has the big stack,” or “I can’t play back at him, he has the big stack.” Many times every hand for the small stacks becomes do or die, they stop playing poker with the big stack

You as the big stack can and probably have taken them off their game. You now are probably playing enough hands you are unreadable, you have shown enough aggression everyone is on notice they better be willing to bring more than a bb gun to showdown with you, the table is focused on you. The majority of the short stacks are tilted, jaded, and plain miserable. They think you are the lucky fish da jour. Just one more screw up that Lee Jones picked to win today.

You see the power of the big stack, is what you have done to their head. Poker is a very simple game to learn the rules, very difficult to learn to control your emotions when times are tough. In poker times are tough about 90% of the time. Its not fair you have a 3 outer on the river, that your aces got outdrawn by kings, that you haven’t had aces in 3 days, that your buddies have all made ten times more than you in the last 3 months, that Gator93 owns you like a cheap suit, that Wachovia always hits his small pairs, that PokerHO can play Q4o and I can’t. Waaaaaaaaaaah.

Those thoughts are exactly the type of crap that is going through the head of the majority of small stacks. Is this a good thing for the big stack? Of course, who else you would you rather play than a bunch of tilted little babies.

As an aside, the very best way to tilt someone is show a big bluff. I have seen very good players go off like a rocket if show them a couple rags played like aces. You can tilt them for months. Every time they play with you searing painful memories cripple their judgment. It would actually be less painful if you had punched them in the nose. They will never forget and take that bluff into account every time you play with them. People actually find me to talk about some play I have long since forgotten months ago. Guys let it go.

Now that we have established the big stack is desirable, how much risk is acceptable to obtain one? I have no clue, I am not a mathematician nor do I even believe the answer lies there. Poker is a people game. The answer for me is who are these people and how can I get their chips the best and fastest way possible without taking unnecessary chances. What will work at one table is a disastrous strategy at another.

Some general ideas however for chipping up in the first hour of a tourney. Raise every hand you play with position on limpers. No cheap flops for the blinds and no cheap flops for limpers.

Be willing to play for a set in a multiway pot. Small sets are the most powerful flop in no limit holdem. They are often unreadable and are paid off to the highest degree. Even the best players will pay off sets at times just because you cant fold just because someone might have a set. The play is just too weak.

Try to see the flop with the most active players. One good flop and it is double up plus. If someone is willingly to play for all their chips over and over accept the invitation if it is cheap enough to get a seat at the party.

Figure out who the smart tight players are and be willing to aggressively play post flop poker with them if the flop is raggy.

Stay alert and be willing to take down the pots no one wants. It should be a crime to not bet if someone has checked to you twice. You don’t have to wait for Christmas to get presents.

Watch the way the table plays the first couple rounds. Often peoples actions early can give you some pretty good clues how you can exploit them. The guy who just calls under the gun with QJ tells you he is a weak player looking to hit hands. The guy bets a flop instantly is very aggressive and will try to bully the table.

(posted unfinished)

Point 52 Miscellaneous

1. Dont camp with a big stack. Stay engaged and looking for opportunities. When you finally get a stack there is tremendous pressure to protect it. Continue to play smart position poker.

2. If you are going to play a pot against 1 or 2 limpers, raise with position.

3. Dont let the small blind in cheap when you are the big blind with any sort of hand.

4. There comes a point in a tourney you have to play hands, if you lose, you lose, but if you dont play you lose anyways.

5. A smaller bluff often looks more dangerous.

6. Watch out because adopt a short stack charities can get expensive over time.

7. Learn to float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The best poker is often times invisible until you destack them. Most of the time everyone is focused on the table action player and could care less what you have.

8. Learn to respect the call when you have nothing. Their "nothing" is almost always more than your nothing and often they wont release. The old monkey with his hand in the cage.

9. Never underestimate the ability of a donk to call with very few outs deep in a tourney. Make sure you punish them harshly when you hold up.

10. The odds never change. You dont have to play a bad situation, you can just as easily wait and get the same bad odds to play all your chips later. Many times be patient and give yourself a better opportunity.

11. When someone bets into you on the flop after you have raised, they are often weak and are just trying to take the pot down right now. Betting into strength is often the sign of a weak hand such as top pair no kicker.

12. Blocking min bets should be attacked for the same reason.

13. Bet your draws if you want to win big pots. You can take the chips right there, and if you get called and hit, you have effectively misrepresented your hand.

14. Small pots never win tourneys, be very willing to let them go if you are in an unraised pot. Top pair on a board full of draws and possible made hands is junk on the flop.

15. Never bet the river if you cant be called by a hand worse than yours. Dont buy a pot you own.

16. If someone insta bets a scare card, they are very likely bluffing and were going to bet the flop no matter what. Be more willingly to checkraise or reraise them.

17. Check the stack size of the raiser before calling with small pairs. You may not have implied odds to draw.

18. The next time you are tempted to just see the flop from position remember how times you have busted someone from the blinds with crap. Raise or fold there.

19. The min reraise preflop is the most likely time you are up against aces.

20. Smooth calling big pairs in early position can be a very effective way of trapping in games that are very active and full of level 1 players (ie they only think about their cards.)

21. If you are lucky enough to get an active player to your left you are playing a pot with, let him bet the flop and turn before you lower the hammer, he will not be able to release after betting it twice and often will completely bury himself with an allin steal attempt.

22. If you bet preflop and the flop with one caller in position, if the caller pushes allin on a turn scare card they are bluffing.

23. Dont contest small pots you can not bet, checkraise, or reraise in. Dont go broke in unraised pots.

Point 54 Spotting strength and weakness

Spotting weakness.

1. Guy bets the flop and checks the turn with position. Very weak.

2. A push in an obvious raise situation with deep stacks. Weak.

3. Min betting out of position into a raiser. Top pair or draw. Weak.

4. Action player bets or raises a scary board on the flop. Usually 2nd or 3rd pair.

5. Small blind pushes with stack under 3 m into BB. Random hand.

6. Big blind overplays hand into limped small blind. Very weak.

7. All in on the river when obvious draws miss. Weak.

8. When someone bets into you on the turn when a scare card comes up. This is situational specific when you have been the flop agressor with position and the player could reasonably expect you to bet. Weak.

Spotting strength

The primary way to spot strength is obvious. A preflop reraise. Very few players use this move as a bluff or semi bluff. Rizen is the only player I can think of that uses it with any frequency and I have seen him get burned bad with it. It is a very dangerous move but does come with more reward. Note the amount of the reraise is often not relevant to the read, the min reraise is aces or kings with a lot of players.

Second most common move is a limp out of position. When you get deep into a tourney and someone just limps for a big portion of their stack, this screams big hand, please give me action. Why else give up folding equity.

Another common strength move is to flat call a 3x raise out of the small blind. Many people will call more liberally from the big blind especially if they have last action, but the flat call from the small blind practically shouts I have a pair. Now of course this read is dependant on the level of the blinds but for example the blinds are 100/200 and the small blind flat calls a 600 chip raise, pay attention.

Often times, it becomes very easy to disrespect the guy who just calls a raise. WE THINK IT IS WEAK TO BE A CALLER, SO WE AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME ANYONE WHO CALLS IS A WEAK PLAYER THEREFORE IT FOLLOWS THEY HAVE A WEAK HAND. Total logic error. Often times the weak player calls with strong hands, calls with there weak hands, calls with everything. Further more they cant be run over. When they have the best hand, let them have their small pot. The only other thing you can do about it is let them have a big pot. That is your 2 choices many times.

Post flop strength is all about interrupting the code. Strong means weak except when it means really strong. Your often times better to find out on the flop with a reraise on the flop when you intend to continue to play the hand. It will save valuable chips verses calling down the turn and the river with just top pair. If they have a set or 2 pair, you want to know right now.

The most reliable tell is the checkraise or the limp the flop reraise the turn. Basically anytime someone tries to look weak then comes over the top it almost never it a bluff unless perhaps the initial bet is very weak, a min bet. When you are faced with this situation you have to give 2 pair credit if you are not pot committed. Bluffers almost always lead and overbet the pot.

The size of the bet often gives valuable information. When some one takes great pains to bet just enough to pot commit you without going all in, they want you in. When someone just goes all in, they want you out. Now they may easily want you out because they are afraid with the best hand, but none the less they want you out.

On the turn, if someone makes a larger continuation bet, they more than likely have what they are representing. 2 pot sized bets on the flop and turn indicates a big hand. Usually someone who missed the flop will give up on the turn against a cold caller. Not always but usually. Strength usually continues to make larger bets, weakness conversely will make smaller turn bet at times.

Someone who bets the flop and goes all in on the turn usually has a hand such as tptk or an overpair and is panicking. They are afraid of the draws and want the hand over with now.

Now if you are playing deep stack poker and you are betting top pair on the flop and again on the turn, both pot sized bets, and you get flat called twice, be afraid very afraid. You are more likely than usual to have just run into a set especially against a sharp player. IF A GOOD PLAYER SUDDENLY BECOMES A CALLING STATION, YOU ARE IN TROUBLE WITHOUT A BIG HAND. They know they can’t draw correctly based upon your large bets and yet they are willingly to let you bet and give you a free card or 2. Alarm bells should be going off.

On the river, strength is usually found in small value bets they hope you will pay off, especially if there is a 4 flush or 4 straight on board. Many times it is however correct to pay them off if there is some chance they are bluffing and you can beat a bluff. Just take some time and make sure there is some chance you can win the pot. Often with some reflection there simply is no way you can win the pot based upon how they played the hand and what you hold.

The other major strength move on the river is just a flat push. It is designed to look like a bluff and will catch some fish. Most of the time however, if you are going to bluff push the chips go in well before the river. Why give your opponent 7 cards before you try to take the pot?

{Restored at soupie's request}

Questions? Comments? Please post here:
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=28635

Poker Forum

Join Our Poker Community!

Poker Forum Index

Multi-Table Tourney Tactics

How To Win At MTT Poker

Poker Forum Index

Multi-Table Tourney Tactics

How To Win At MTT Poker