Poker Tournaments Tips: Play Texas Holdem Tourneys
When you have been playing Texas Holdem for a while in online poker rooms, you'll be itching to join in poker tournaments. Be careful. You may think you are ready, but keep in mind the level of play there will be higher than what you may be used to. Here are some poker tournament tips for you.
Poker Tips 1: Bankroll
If you're a serious poker player, you've worked hard to build a bankroll playing in low stake tables either online, at home or in a live casino. No matter where you got it, you worked hard to build your poker bankroll. Don't go all-in with that just to enter a poker tournament. That is, don't spend all or most of your bankroll buying in to a tourney. There are alternatives.
You can join poker freerolls. Freerolls are tournaments you can join for free or almost free. If you are a regular poker player in a casino, you may be eligible to join in a freerolls tourney or be invited to join one. If so, take advantage of it and join. If not, start looking around for poker freerolls now. They provide an excellent training ground for future poker greats.
If you do buy in to a poker tournament, make sure you NEVER put in more than 5% of your total bankroll. This is a golden rule that must never be broken. Some players buy in with all they've got thinking they have the nuts to win, only to walk away broke and bitterly disappointed. Don't make the same mistake. Before you run, learn to walk.
Poker Tips 2: Bluffing
Let's get this clear: Bluffing in Texas Holdem works better against intelligent players than stupid ones. Advanced players can read into moves like a beginner can't, and you can use this against them. But you have to be as smart as they. For one, you have to be able to read the board and know when it's safe to pretend.
For example, say you're late in a poker tournament and you're known as a tight player. You're on the button and the flop has done nothing for you. You have K-6. You and the others check around. The turn and river come around and it's A-3-J-5-6 offsuit on the board. A straight is possible. From reading the last player you're up against, you know they haven't made a hand. Until now you have been limping. Now you raise.
If your opponent didn't know how to read the board, there's no telling what they'd do. But since they know a monster hand is possible and you are a tight player, and they hold nothing, there's a big chance they'll do what you want and fold. It's always easier to bluff a cautious and intelligent player than a fool.
Poker Tip 3: Big Stack Bullying
When you have amassed a sizeable chip stack, it's time to make your move. Be a bully. This is easier to do in a no limit game and against "starved" players. Play more hands here, but don't give the impression of being loose. If you get predictably aggressive, you might just chance on that player with a monster and they'll go all in, tired of your bullying. So raise and re-raise more often but with good hands. Dictate on the table in this way and you will win more chips.
By mixing the qualities of tightness, deception and aggression, you will be on your way to becoming a formidable poker pro. Backed with a solid bankroll, you can win some, lose some and come back for more.