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.

Here is a Poker Hand Rankings chart. Just click on the thumbnail and print it out in your browser for a reference.

Good luck at the tables!

CIII

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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.

Deuces,

CIII

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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 agressive 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!

Deuces,

CIII

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Tough beat last night in the $5 (360 Max Player) tourney. Maybe next time.

Deuces,

CIII

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After a marathon Day 2, the final table of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Harrah’s Atlantic City went by in a whirlwind. Day 2 took 18 hours to settle on a final table, but it took less than five hours for eight of those players to fall once play resumed, leaving 22-year old John Racener the WSOP Circuit Atlantic City champion.

(Courtesy of Poker News)

Deuces,

CIII

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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.

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I am getting familiar with my new Screen Recording software so that you can see me in action up close and personal in REAL tournaments! It’s one thing to blog about what you believe to be the correct play but showing it provides tangible information that enhances our blog posts even more.

Stay tuned!

CIII

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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. It might as well be you.

Curtis III

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.

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This site allows you to add your poker blog to there database for free with very little effort at all. Once you are setup you can be specific in what search words are used and how your blog is categorized so that users can find your poker blog quickly and sign up to your feed. It’s as simple as that. In less than 5 minutes you are up and running.

Deuces,

CIII

Andy Beal is the Millionaire banker that plays poker against “The Corporation”

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) said today the 2008 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light and televised exclusively on ESPN will – for the first time ever – begin and end with $10,000 buy-in World Championship events and feature a total of eight $10,000 championships. In addition, the 55-event schedule for 2008 includes a total of eight $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, which traditionally draw the largest fields except for the Main Event. The WSOP has also added a second start day for the first of the $1,500 no-limit competitions to accommodate the expected number of entrants.
“This is our most exciting schedule yet,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP. “Both amateur and professional poker players will have new opportunities to compete for a WSOP bracelet and can choose from the widest variety of games and buy-ins ever offered in one poker tournament and certainly at the WSOP.

“We’re holding steady at 55 events this year,” said Pollack. “But, we’ve mixed it up a bit to keep it interesting for our players and fans.” The 2008 WSOP starts May 30 with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold’Em and ends July 16 with the Final Table of the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em – best known as the WSOP Main Event.

The six other $10,000 buy-in events – all World Championship competitions – include: Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’Em; Seven-Card Stud; Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low Split Eight or Better; Pot-Limit Omaha; and a new Mixed Event. The Mixed Event will feature eight variations of poker: Limit and No-Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low and Pot-Limit Omaha; Seven Card Stud;
Razz; Seven Card Hi-Low Split; and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

The second event of the 2008 WSOP is a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament with two starting days – May 31 and June 1. Pre-registration for the 2008 WSOP can be made beginning in February on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas or at http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/. In addition to the largest cash prizes in poker, winners of each of the 55 events will receive an exclusive World Series of Poker gold bracelet crafted by the luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM. Last year, 54,288 entrants who ranged in age from 21 (bracelet winner Steve Billirakis) to 94 (Main Event contestant Jack Ury) competed for the poker world’s largest total prize pool of nearly $160 million.

The 2008 WSOP will be staged inside the Rio Convention Center from May 30 through July 16. WSOP officials plan a “soft opening” of the tournament room on May 28 and 29 for players to register early and play in satellite tournaments and cash games. “The poker tent is gone,” said Pollack. “We heard folks loud and clear last year, and there will be no tents used for tournament play at the 2008 WSOP.”On July 2, and in conjunction with the WSOP, Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke will host the second annual Ante Up For Africa charity tournament at the Rio.

Last year’s AUFA event featured dozens of Hollywood celebrities and poker professionals and raised more than $700,000 for charity. Ante Up For Africa is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Cheadle, Duke and Norman Epstein and is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need. July 3 is the first of four start days for the 2008 Main Event. Last year, a total of 6,358 entrants competed for a Main Event prize pool of $59.8 million. Players may choose their Main Event start dates as long as seats are available on the selected dates.

More information about the World Series of Poker is available at the Web site http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/.

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, nearly 70 years ago, Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The Company’s properties operate primarily under the Harrah’s, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah’s also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah’s Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.

For more information, please visit http://www.harrahs.com/.

(Courtesy of Poker Source Online)

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