Tournament Strategy Question

Hey all,

Got a question for the forum.

I recently competed in a 12 week Texas Holdem League, and was lucky enough to finish in 4th overall in the standings, which are based on points accumulated through each of your finishes in the 12 week season.

The top 9 now compete in a "Championship Table"

The catch is the guy who finished in 1st gets 3,000 in chips and each lower seed gets 250 less chips all the way to the person in 9th who gets 1,000.

Im in 4th, so ill have 2,250 chips. The main event is set up to start at 25/50 and go up every 20 minutes.

Ive never played in an event where the chips were not even at the begining. Of course the overall prizes are better the higher you finish in this event.

Was wondering if anyone here has played in an event like this, or had any strategys that might help me out next Monday Night.

Thanks in Advance

H8

I play in a poker league that does things almost the same way as yours. My best advice-start very tight.

Yea if you play tight the first round and get a high finish than you can mix up your game and the other players wont be able to pick up a read on you.

start tight, loosen up as the blinds and the field thin down.

Thanks all for the responses.


Kind of my thoughts exactly.


I was thinking the first few hands are going to be tight, as no one is going to want to be the first to make a mistake!

Out of the 8 other players, there are 2 Super Tight, 1 loose aggresive, and the other 5 are "quality players"

Should be a fun, competitive table.

Thanks Again

H8

if i were u i would come out playing aggresive and go for the win, not the better prizes, being fourth you should keep the fact of moving up on the prize ladder in the back of your head, and you should set your mind on winning

never played in anything like this...please when it is finish tell me what it was like thanks.

go all in every hand to scare people from calling you

if it doesn't scare them and they call you, then get lucky and knock them out

Me neither Youngblood and i wish i did seems very cool...where did you find a league to get involved in? They play amateur poker up at a restaurant in town (wingstop) where they give like a $20 dollar gift card to the winner but thats the only place ive ever seen organized play...

never played in anything like that, but i would suggest playing tight until get more chips or the leader loses some

The league is in Mass.

Its a "fun" league.

The entry fee is small $25, with a portion going to the end of the year championship.

Also in Mass, there are almost daily tournaments that benefit charities.

im not sure if I can post a website here, but try homepokergames.com

That is how I find many of the tourneys I play in.

Ill update everyone on the championship tourney Tuesday AM.

Be good,

H8

Sounds neat. I like the ALL IN idea!

never really heard of a tourney done like that b4 but i wish you good luck .

My advice is if you feel like one or more of the bigger stacks is doing a lot of bluffing/stealing early on, pushing people around, let them do it until you come across, a solid hand. I agree that you should start tight and wait for a good spot. 4th actually allows you the tight style, since 9th would have to more than double up in order to catch just you starting stack. Good luck.

these tourneys are getting more common.... have any of you seen the Poker Super Stars tournaments they have on Fox Sports...they have the same type of set up with the same 6 players compete in 3 rounds of tournaments and then the fourth and final round they have the leveled starting chip stacks with the overall point leader having the most... i kind of like this and would like to join a league like this, but I live in michigan and we are all lazy in my area

Not too much to add, but I have a league that I run out of my house.

I would say try to play opposite of your known style by the other players. In a league setup, the others will likely know how you play, if you throw them a curve, it may be enough to shake them and not put you on a hand or easy read.

Thanks all for the replys!

Tonights the big night, and needless to say Im Jonesing to get this thing going.

This is a solid league. We get about 40-50 players a night, and over the 12 weeks about 110 different players have played.

The league is run where the winner benefits huge, as players who cash get 1 point for every dollar they cash. Everyone else gets 10 points for playing and 10 for every player you outlast. first place is usually 2.5x more than second, and about 5x larger than 3rd, 10x larger than 4th, and 5th gets entry fee back. Amazing out of the 12 winners, only 6 made the championship table.

Im lucky that I was consistent throughout the 12 weeks! I made the final table 5 out of 12, but only cashed 2 times, and both were 4th place finishes for just a little more than my entry fee.

Ill post again in the moring, and let you all know how it shook out.

Thanks Again for the responses!

H8

sounds interesting.

like everyone said play tight, but also keep in mind that you have a decent chip stack so you dont have much to worry about. i would just stay out of ways of the big stack until build chips, but dont be afraid of small stacks if you have a good hand since they'll be desperate to build up before the blinds.

so small summary: play tight, build chips, collect chips from the low stacks, and have fun.