Whether I am playing a single table Sit n Go or a Multi-Table Sit n Go tournament there are three principles that I always adhere to and you should too.

1. Patience – You cannot win the tournament on the first hand. Wait for good cards and you will be rewarded accordingly. Do not take unnecessary draws for your entire stack early in tournaments. Get in with the BEST hand and make your opponent draw to make there hand.
2. Persistence – If you bet out before the flop be prepared to make a continuation bet after the flop. Especially if the board has all low cards and you raised pre-flop heads-up.
3. Position – Position is your friend so use it accordingly. You’d be amazed at how many hands you win uncontested when you raise or re-raise weak players in position.

If you are able to incorporate these three principles into your game you will be cashing and winning more than your share of Sit N Go’s.

If there is one thing you need to know when playing poker it is your outs. How many outs do you have and what are your percentages of hitting your out(s)? An out, put simply, is the number of cards in the deck that can make your hand. For instance: If you are on a flush draw you have 9 outs. You have the 2 flush cards in your hand and there are 2 flush cards on the board. That leaves 9 cards that can make your hand remaining. Of course this does not take into account how many of those nine have been dealt to other players. You may now want to calculate your chances of hitting one of those nine outs. That is fairly easy to do. Simply multiply your number of outs, in this case 9, times 4. You will then have the percentages of hitting your hand. In this case it’s 36%.

Let’s calculate an open ended straight draw. In this case you have 8 outs that can make your straight if you hold JT and the board is KQ. That makes for any Ace or Nine in the deck knowing that there are 4 Aces and 4 Nines in the deck you have 8 outs. Now we can multiply our 8 outs X’s 4 to get our percentages of making the hand which is 32%.

It is critical that you know your outs and be able to perform these calculations on the fly. To a good player they are second nature. You wanna be a really good poker player? Always know your way out.

You just doubled up for the second time and your still only midway through the second level. How do you play with the big stack early in a poker tournament?

You call, call, call and call. That’s how. Suited connectors and small pairs become your very close friends and you will call any small raises with them when in position. You will also raise with them when in position as well. The concept of playing your stack early in the tourney is simple. You want to see as many flops as is humanly possible so that you give yourself an opportunity to get “lucky” and win a big pot.

No, you cannot win the tournament in the first hour but you sure can put yourself in position to make a run at the money. You can shoot for the Final Table from there. So, if you have chips early in a tournament put them to good use. Raise and re-raise with the nut flush draw after the flop. Raise and re-raise with that open ended straight draw. Raise when you see the table limping to your button with any two cards if you know your opponents are weak and likely to fold. You’d be surprised how many hands you win uncontested. You also enhance your table image as an aggressive player which makes it easier to steal blinds later in the tournament.

The key to seeing a lot of flops when you’re the chip bully is POSITION. Folding a hand out of position is perfectly acceptable whether you have a stack or not but you want to take advantage of your position as much as possible and your having a stack makes for an intimidating proposition to your opponents when they see you raise and re-raise there mediocre holdings.

So, if you have big chips don’t be afraid to raise it up. It’s sound poker strategy for a big stack. You will be glad you did.

I know we have all been confronted with the big stack or an aggressive player early in a poker tournament that will not stop raising your blinds. It can be unnerving and extremely annoying. Here is a well known play that you can use to put a bully in-check and keep them in line when you are in the blinds.

The Stop and Go play is a great poker strategy to use to stop players from raising your blinds. Typically this play is used when you are short stacked in the later parts of a tournament. However, I like to use this play at any point in the tournament when I feel that someone is trying to push me around and steal my blinds on a regular basis.

Usually, I will not make this play early in a poker tournament with anything less than pocket TT’s. However, in reality, any pocket pair will do. The object is to simply call the raise and then push the rest of your chips in no matter what hits on the flop. Yes, it is a ballsy play and requires nerves of steal when you are not short stacked. However, if you have a good read on your opponent you can take advantage of the situation and send a very clear message to your opponent “My blinds are NOT FOR SALE! BACK OFF!”

Usually one good shot will do it and you have re-established your image at the table as far as your blinds anyway. Use it at your discretion and be sure you know who you are playing against and what they are capable of.

The other way of handling these kinds of players is to simply push pre-flop with any pocket pair of TT’s or better along with hands like AQ, AJ, AT. The same message is sent and most likely you still have the best hand pre-flop.

Now go punch that bully in the eye the next time he trys to steal your blinds!

We have all been there in poker tournaments at one time or the other. You took a bad beat and now your monster stack got chopped down to one-third of what it was one hand ago. The blinds are crashing down on you and you need to double up quickly.

Now what?

Well, being short stacked is familiar to anyone that has ever played a poker tournament. It is particularly familiar if you play Sit N Go tournaments where the levels are fast and the starting chips are low relative to the blinds. Here are 3 things you can do when you get short on chips and the blinds are coming your way:

1. The basic rule of thumb is if you have less than 10 Big Blinds you are in major trouble. That is true but I will go a step further and allow for 8 Big Blinds instead. This allows me one more orbit in an attempt to pick up a hand just in case I am absolutely cold decked. Sure it may cost me an extra few bucks when I do double up but at least I have a better hand and don’t have to push with just any two cards.
2. Any pocket pair, Ace Suited, King Suited, Queen Suited or Jack Ten will do. Some will say you should at least have pocket Fives or better. To me when you are short it really doesn’t matter how small the pair is. You need to double up NOW! Take a shot and hope for the best because it’s very likely you will have the best hand pre-flop.
3. Try to be the first in the pot. It gives you just a little bit of an edge. Even with only 8 Big Blinds left you can still do a little damage to the mediocre stack and most likely they will need a decent hand to call.

So, the next time you get short stacked don’t be afraid to get your chips in the middle. You’d be amazed at how quickly you are back in the game after a couple of double ups.

Lately I have noticed an influx of pre-flop All-In plays in the early levels of my Sit N Go tourney. This poker tournament has 180 players maximum with a $4.40 buy-in. These players are making these kinds of moves from the first card usually until the first break. I take very careful mental notes of what hands are being shown by these players and most times they are turning up middle pairs and lower. So how do you deal with this kind of aggression?

You trap that’s how!

Laying down pocket tens or worse is one thing but if I pick up pocket Jacks or better there is a good chance that I will be calling against this kind of player. It takes a bit of heart to do that early in an online tournament but if you have a good read / profile on a player you are likely to be well ahead pre-flop and that is exactly where you want to be. So, once you have flagged a player as being “over the top” with his All-In pushes don’t be afraid to call him down with Jacks or better. Somebody’s got to do it and it might as well be you.

Yes! Your pocket sevens just flopped a set with a rainbow board. Now what? You bet that’s what! Bet your set! One of the most common poker tournament mistakes players make is not betting there hand when they flop a set. Why should you bet? Because it can become very obvious when you call a large bet by your opponent post flop when he has an over pair. He may then slow down on the turn and you may not see a dime on the river.

Not good!

If you bet out your set, especially with a raised pot pre-flop, it is likely your opponent will not put you on a set, particularly with low cards on the board, and ultimately pay off your value bet on the river. This allows you to maximize your profit on a well played hand and that is what poker is all about. Maximum profits! Bet your set and you will be glad you did.

Still looking for a poker tools that makes sense? Well look no further. Poker Academy Pro has all the bells and whistles you want and more! I’ve tried them all from Hoyle Casino to WIN Texas Hold’em and none of the others compare to Poker Academy Pro. Poker Academy Pro is the best poker simulator on the market. With Poker Academy Pro you can simulate any tournament or cash game structure. Poker Academy’s AI is modeled after the world renowned “Vex Bot” created by the University of Alberta’s Poker Research Team. Poker Academy also allows you to choose from several different bots of varying degrees of aggression to customize your poker tournament or cash game table for the maximum poker challenge. Poker Academy also comes with an “advisor” that will tell you what your best play is at that time against your opponents based on there history and tendencies at your table.

How many programs can do that?

The software is easily down loadable via the Poker Academy site.

System Requirements: Windows ME, XP, 2000, NT or MAC OS 10.2.8 (Jaguar) or higher. 128MB RAM, 200MB Hard Drive, and 800mhz CPU or better.

Once you are done installing the software you will then be able to enter your registration code and you are ready to go. Poker Academy automatically downloads any updates necessary and will continue to do so as updates become available.

Another feature that makes Poker Academy a very useful tool is it’s endless ability to analyze your play. The more you play Poker Academy the more it learns about your game. It actually will adjust it’s AI to maximize it’s strategy against you. Those other programs can’t quite make that claim.

Still want more?

How about importing your cash game hand history so you can really see where your tendencies are taking your game? That’s right. You can import hand histories from the most popular poker hosts directly into Poker Academy and get instant feedback in a matter of minutes. Poker Academy breaks down every hand for every player at your table giving you useable information to maximize your profits every session. If your having a few guy over for a home game it even has a built in tournament clock to help manage your game. You setup the structure and Poker Academy will do the rest!

If that isn’t enough you can try out Poker Academy online and test your newly learned skills against other Poker Academy owners for FREE! Want to sharpen your heads-up game? Play against the advanced heads-up specialist bots.

So how much does this power package cost?

Well, Poker Academy only run you $129 (US) and is well worth the price. Consider the money you spend entering tournaments and playing the typical session at a ring game and it is a nominal fee compared to what you will earn and learn with this product. I highly recommend Poker Academy Pro. It has improved my game and it will help improve your game too. I give this product an 9 out of 10 overall. Excellent buy for those looking for quality poker analysis software.

Poker legend Chip Reese has died of pneumonia at the age of 56. Chip recently won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E tournament at the WSOP in 2006 and was considered to be the best High Stakes cash game player in the world. Reese was found by his son in his Las Vegas home after suffering from symptoms of pneumonia. He will be missed.

R.I.P

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Poker “bots” are becoming more and more reality than poker forum lore. Most online players have heard of them and even discussed them in passing. But now they are becoming more of a reality at various online poker sites and pose a potential threat to the integrity of the game if they are not stopped soon.

So, just what is a “bot?”

A bot is a poker software program developed to play automatically based on a set of user based rules. In other words it can plug right into your host software of choice and Raise, Call, Fold, and Re-Raise automatically without human interference. Most of us online poker players have had some experience with poker simulators such as Poker Academy Pro or Win Texas Hold’em each of which has artificial intelligence built in to provide realistic tournament or cash game play. However, these new fangled home grown “bots” have an entirely different purpose. Unlike the poker simulators, which are intended to improve your game, bot’s are created to play the game for you instead which creates some serious ethical issues as well as stirs up the pot when it comes to online cheating.

The fact of the matter is that a poker software application removes a several variables from the human element.

• A bot NEVER gets tired and therefore is not subject to making mistakes from fatigue as is a human.
• A bot has the ability to instantly recall exactly what took place with every hand at the table. Humans have this ability too but we also have the ability to forget which in-and-of-itself makes us vulnerable and adds an intangible to our play.
• A bot can process larger amounts of information and compile hours of play flawlessly unlike the human mind which is subject to error and fatigue.
• A bot can learn a player’s style of play and consistently make optimal adjustments with minimal error.
• A bot does not have the element of fear and will make the optimal play no matter the scenario it faces.
• A bot program cannot be intimidated by table talk or large stacks.

Each of these factors gives the bot a major advantage over human players in the long run. The fact of the matter is that the memory of a human being and our ability to process information are indeed variables that are unique to each and every player. Some players are faster than others in processing information. Some players can recall more information than others over the same period of time. Now consider playing against an opponent that can and does remember everything that took place in every hand and NEVER forgets and you are likely to find yourself at a serious disadvantage. Some would suggest you are at no more of a disadvantage than playing against a very skilled player. Again, even very skilled players have a limited capacity to process information and store that information over long periods of time. A software application does not.

So who created all of these bots?

Well, the Vex bot was created by the University of Alberta’s Computer Poker Research Group as part of its project on Artificial Intelligence. The Vex bot is designed to learn as it plays against its opponent and can beat the average poker player consistently in a heads up scenario. The Vex bot is designed to play at the Master level of play. As of now it is not designed to play in a Multi-Player scenario but the developers at U of A are working on this facet of the Vex bot as we speak.

Unfortunately, some believe that the Vex bot model is being used by bad guy developers to spawn prototype bots that are capable of playing and winning ring games on various poker sites. There is little doubt that this kind of behavior by the rogue developers is now part of the online poker world. Just how successful will they be? Well that is a matter of opinion. Some believe it is just a matter of time before someone creates the ideal bot that is undetectable by network sniffers and is capable of raping unsuspecting players. Others believe the bot technology will never be able to avoid the scrutiny of the network poker room security techies. Either way it will be very interesting to see just how far the bad guys go with this. A scandal like this could put a site out of business if not detected early enough.

So, think about it real seriously the next time you see a player in your online ring game on what looks like a ridiculous rush.

Is he real or is he a bot?

“Danger Will Robinson Danger!”

Two years ago I was finally beginning to have some success as an online player. I was doing well and hadn’t deposited for over 2 years at that point. However, I was also very frustrated because I had yet to place high or win a tournament that was not a Sit N Go. Time after time I would cash and bust. This happened over and over again until I had just about concluded that I was going to be a perpetual “break even” tournament player.

Then, the poker gods blessed me with the book that would change my world of frustration into utter bliss. Harrington on Hold’em took me from being a mediocre tournament player to a winning player in a matter of days. Two weeks after reading both volumes I took 3rd place out of 2200 players for $1500+. The very next week I made another final table for 4th place and took down $1000+ with a field of over 1500 players.
Harrington on Hold’em helped me fill in the leaks in my game and since then I have consistently cashed over 18%+ in large Multi-Table Tournaments while winning several of them.

Let’s take a look at what these books are all about.

Harrington on Hold’em is a two volume series that covers the ins and outs of No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament strategy.

Volume 1: Strategic Play covers the following:

• Playing Styles
• Reading the table
• Pot Odds and Hand Analysis
• Betting pre-flop and post-flop
• Betting the Turn and River

Volume one can probably be skipped by advanced players but I still recommend reading it just to gain a perspective into Dan Harrington’s thought process and methodology. The book gives clear cut examples along with detailed explanations as to WHY you are playing the hand in a particular way. Harrington also supplies several scenarios’ which invite you to think through every situation and hopefully come up with the most viable solution to extract the most profit from the hand or get away from it entirely. He explains various holdings and why you should play them and whom to play them against as well as position at the table and how to exploit it along with how to avoid being exploited. Each scenario usually has 4 to 5 different potential answers of which Harrington shows how he derives the best decision for the situation. This first volume is an excellent read for beginning No Limit tournament players that are looking to gain an understanding of how to best approach Multi-Table tournaments and No Limit Hold’em in general. There are well thought out exercises at the end of each chapter which provide excellent tutelage to new tournament players.

Volume 2: The Endgame covers the following:

• Making Moves
• Inflection Points’
• Multiple Inflection Points
• Short Tables
• Heads-Up
• Final Thoughts

Clearly this volume is intended for the advanced player. It assumes you know the fundamentals of good tournament play and takes you into the more complex thought processes of the game. There are two chapters in particular that talk about inflection points and multiple inflection points. Certainly a skilled tournament player may be aware of these things by his very nature and experience but for someone that is not quite able to get over the hump they would be well served to read these chapters and understand them thoroughly. Dan also introduces the concept of M. M being how much it costs you to orbit the table relative to the blinds and antes in relation to your chip count. There are also chapters on Heads-Up play and a section on making deals. Both of which are areas in which even the most skilled players can improve.

Had enough?

Well, if you still want more Dan Harrington you can pick up his Harrington on Hold’em Volume 3. This is a workbook that takes you through scenario after scenario and puts you in the driver’s seat as he challenges you to make good decisions and evaluates those decisions with his analysis within the solution. This book focuses on evaluating the player, playing after the flop, and playing the bubble.

Overall, no book can make you a great poker player. You still must incorporate your own style along with the knowledge you gain from any study aid and this series is no exception. However, Harrington on Hold’em is the best tournament study book series on the market BAR NONE! If your game doesn’t improve after reading these books then you might want to cash out and try Monopoly instead.

Anyone have a get out of jail free card?

With the advent of online poker there have been many schemes devised to enable players to cheat the system. Well, over the next few days I will be taking an in-depth look at some of these schemes and just how effective they are or are not. Obviously, collusion is the most apparent scheme both online and live. But what if the player sitting next to you at your online table was a robot or “bot” program that played hands automatically? To say that would be a bit disturbing would be an understatement. Can a program play as well as a human? Can someone design software with artificial intelligence to out play human players? The game of poker, No Limit Hold’em in particular, is in and of itself a game of variance. Not just the cards but the players themselves are living and breathing variables with different styles of play, aggressiveness, and reactions to each and every event that happens at the tables.

So stay tuned as we explore the plight of the poker bot.

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Just a reminder to those that like to chit chat with bad players. Talking at the table is fine but giving lessons is a bad idea that can come back to bite you. Sure, we all see the poor player that makes the bad call or raise at the wrong times and ends up losing chips and wonders what happened. But you should never give advise during a session. The last thing you want to do is make the weak stronger. So, reserve your tips for after the tournament or cash game is over. It will be appreciated by the other players and you will continue to reap the benefits of being one of the better players at the table.

Deuces,

CIII

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