Final Table
General Strategy
Poker Lifestyle
Introduction
Early Stage
Middle Stages
Late Stage
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| Evening Up the playing field |
| Written by John Fava |
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Did you ever finish playing a hand in a tournament and think “boy did I get outplayed there!” For me, as soon as I recognize a good player I make a note of it for future battles that may occur. There are a couple ways to balance this playing field somewhat even if you think the player is much better than you. As I have said in several articles I think I am a good player (not great) always striving to be better, to match up better to players I think are great. I always try to learn why I’ve been outplayed. For one thing it helps me not to go on tilt if I think about the hand and where my mistake may have been so I don’t make it again. As a good player I have come across many weak players but I have also seen and played much better players. Let’s assume for the purposes of this article that I am a good player at a table with a split of weaker players and better players and let’s talk about the early stages and playing the better players. First off you should try and avoid these players as much as possible. That is not to say be afraid of them when you have a hand but just don’t play any pots with them on their terms. So it’s the early part of the tournament and you have identified a couple weak and strong players. You should always strive to have position on any player you think is very good but if you do not and your raise gets called going into a hand I think you should play aggressively. If you hit the flop hard you should not only bet it but put 1 extra bet on what you would usually do. I would not try to trap as it probably won’t work anyway. Strong players will not chase any draws early and probably will not call you. They will reraise if they feel they have the nuts or fold. Like you they want the pot without showing their cards so in my opinion calling is not an option for them. If you play it aggressively your opponent might wonder if it is a continuation bet or do you really have something. Let your opponent decide. Continuation bet or not if your opponent missed the flop he/she will not call you as you were the initial raiser. That is really the basis for my strategy is when you play opponents who you think are stronger than yourself put the ball in their court to make the decisions. If they reraise you can fold knowing they most likely had the better hand. Even when you get down to heads up I still deploy the same strategy. I like to opt for more preflop action because your opponent may out play you post flop and beyond. Unless I know it is a weak player I seldom see flops heads up. I like to put in big raises with any ace, any 2 paint cards, pairs, even K10, K9, K8 look good. I try to ratchet up the pressure on my opponent and put him/her to the test preflop. If your raising big or pushing they might second guess playing one or two hands which, heads up means a lot because the blinds are so high. To me the size of the stacks are of no consequence if you feel you are playing a better opponent. If I have the chip lead I will aggressively try to put him/her away. If I am on the short stack I am definitely not playing any flops and will push with the hands mentioned above as well as including any connectors and any queen. I think there is evidence of where my strategy holds true. Its when you see the pros complain of certain tournaments that don’t start with a deep stack and the blinds rise a little more quickly then they like. I once read an article that Todd Brunson liked playing in his fathers tournament because of the structure, big starting stacks and low blind levels for a longer period of time. Mr. Brunson had the following to say about tournament structure and how some current structures (low starting stacks, quicker blind level raises) are not to his liking. “This is what I hate about contemporary tournament poker. Any idiot who is aggressive enough can win a tournament with minimal poker-playing skill. Ever notice that many of these tournament champs get eaten alive in the side (real) games? Hopefully, tournaments such as this will set the bar; slow down the tournaments and let us play real poker, instead of just moving all in.” I think he is correct but I also feel it confirms my strategy to try and level the playing field. I would love to be at Todd Brunson’s level of poker but that may take sometime so I have to do something to limit his advantage on me should we ever meet in a tournament. You can really substitute any player you feel is better than you are for Mr. Brunson and put yourself in my place. In poker I don’t think there is any one player that is number 1. I think there is a group that are at the top but even that is constantly changing because there are always new up and comers that play just a bit differently, maybe use a different strategy that works for them. As I said I think I will always be learning how to play the game of poker and will always try to learn from players(like Todd Brunson) who I think are better than me. I have purchase a great many books to read about different strategies and how some successful players approach the game. I think there will always be better players and when I meet up with them in a tournament there are a few things I can do to try and even up the playing field. |
| Poker Room | Review | Play Now! | Score | |
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Full Tilt Poker | Read Full Review | Play Now |
9.3
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Titan Poker |
Read Full Review | Play Now |
9.0
|
|
PokerStars | Read Full Review | Play Now! |
9.3
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