What do I need to know to become a good tournament player?

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politude

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Hey guys, just tried to do my first challenge and I feel like to some extent I failed myself. I think that as of this moment I am a borderline average poker player with the potential of a good, profiting one.

I think that I have kinda lost respect for my ability/non-ability and am taking time off from poker to focus on learning the game again. Specifically SNG and MTT styles for NL Holdem. I guess this is where you guys come in, there are many murderously good poker players on this site and I want to learn from you.

Hopefully by answering some of my questions you guys can lead me on a path of success in this shark-tank of a passtime.

1. What is some of the best literature available on SNG's?

2. What is some of the best literature available on MTT's?

3. Are there any videos that you think are mandatory to learn the nuisances of the game?

4. Holdem Manager, what is it exactly and how good is it if I want to become better at poker?

5. I had some success with Tournament Indicator software, is it a good thing to own for SNG/MTT?

6. Is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks in advance to anyone that bothers to read this, I hope I see some of you at the tables in the future.
 
tomh7795

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That's asking someone how to build a spacerocket. Firstly try reading harrington on hold'em which is very very good book for mtt. Try reading colin moshmore book for sng. If your looking to become a decent player then you will need either poker tracker 3 or holdem manager. Both programs let you have trials.
http://www.pokertracker.com/
http://www.holdemmanager.com/

Holdem manager or pokertracker keeps your hand history to find any leaks in your game. You can use it's filters to find certains areas where you might need improvement. The HUD lets you have stats on your opponents. It is a very powerful tool that any poker player will need. If you want to muti table then no player can do well without it. Ask anyone on this site.
This is a link to watch a basic tutorial on holdem manager.
YouTube- TightPoker com Holdem Manager Basic Tutorial Part 1 of 2
YouTube- TightPoker com Holdem Manager Basic Tutorial Part 2 of 2
There is a way to bring the whole video to the thread but i don't know how to do that. If anyone could answer me on that then i would appericate it. I never used tournament indicator but i think it only tells you very very basic stats for your opponents (unlike pt3 or holdem manager which can give you hundreds of stats on your opponents).

Make sure you keep practising and keep reading and the good results will come. Just expect bad swings and good swings.

good luck at the tables.
 
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Grinder101

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Hey guys, just tried to do my first challenge and I feel like to some extent I failed myself. I think that as of this moment I am a borderline average poker player with the potential of a good, profiting one.

I think that I have kinda lost respect for my ability/non-ability and am taking time off from poker to focus on learning the game again. Specifically SNG and MTT styles for NL Holdem. I guess this is where you guys come in, there are many murderously good poker players on this site and I want to learn from you.

Hopefully by answering some of my questions you guys can lead me on a path of success in this shark-tank of a passtime.

1. What is some of the best literature available on SNG's?

2. What is some of the best literature available on MTT's?

3. Are there any videos that you think are mandatory to learn the nuisances of the game?

4. Holdem Manager, what is it exactly and how good is it if I want to become better at poker?

5. I had some success with Tournament Indicator software, is it a good thing to own for SNG/MTT?

6. Is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks in advance to anyone that bothers to read this, I hope I see some of you at the tables in the future.

1. Collin Moshman. Period.
2. Don't know, don't play them a lot.
3. Just watching videos won't improve your game, but cardrunners are pretty good.
4. I don't use it, but very useful (especially the HUD) when multitabling.
5.Never used it, but I'd think you don't need anything more than HeM.(maybe tableninja or some other tools)
6. Play a lot.

All of those are useful things when you want to improve, but really for starters, try to finish Moshman's book on sng's. Other than that, play a lot. If you don't do anything too out of the ordinary, your losses will be marginal. Review your games and learn from your mistakes.
There's no miracle recipe for becoming a steady winning player, but one thing is sure. You need to play a lot.
 
dwolfg

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At first, do not multi-table.

Get Phil Gordon's Little Green Book. If this book cannot improve your game if you are just starting out, give up poker.

Practice
Practice
Practice
 
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smwentum

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At first, do not multi-table.

Get Phil Gordon's Little Green Book. If this book cannot improve your game if you are just starting out, give up poker.

Practice
Practice
Practice

what?
 
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tookie21

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Don't take too much time off. I quit playing for about a year, and when I went back it almost felt like I was starting over again. I'd lost my feel for the game.
Instead, I'd recommend practicing what you learn in freeroles where you won't lose a thing trying and you can't care that much if you lose because they make a lot of bad calls. If been trying to work on a more agressive side to my game and freeroles have given me the confidence to try things in money games that I didn't even try in the past.
Good luck!!!
 
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politude

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I have read both the Little Green Book and Little Blue Book, and they have helped me immensly, before I read those I didn't play tight, aggressive poker, now I do (to an extent).

I'm reading moshman's book right now/writing a paper for a final for one of my classes. This week is going to be average at best.
 
dwolfg

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If you are just starting tourney poker

1. Only play one tournament at a time
2. Get, read and reread Phil Gordon's Little Green Book
3. No better teacher than experience, so practice practice practice.
 
The Gent

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I agree with what has already been types here.

I use HEM with Tournament Indicator on SNGs and the combination serves me well. I like to see the instant pot odds calcs as I am pretty awful at maths in my head, coupled with M for all players.

Reading STTs you have Moshman and by the sounds of it have read most good books already.

MTTs I have the Tournament hands one with Pearljammer et al (not started it yet), others have suggested Kill Eveyone books.

And yep, practice, practice, practice. I also find assuming someone is NOT bluffing is helping me out for now.

Good Luck :)
 
Poker Orifice

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Watching a few of the better online MTT players at different stages in Tournaments (pick a few winning players & watch them play occassionally... also watch how some of the higher buyin MTTs play out).

Getting the oppurtunity to hear the thought processes of a good player & picking their brain can be a great help (obviously not available to all but by checking out some decent vids. you'll get pretty close to this).
 
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luckytokenz

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1. obviously collin moshman-sit n go strategy
2. harrington vol. 1-3 for tournaments, winning poker tournaments one hand at at time by eric lynch, jon van fleet, and jon turner
3. bluefire, and card-runners
4. HEM is a hand tracker tool, that allows you to study your hands and games on the table, and off the table. It allows you to keep stats on your opponents in real time, and allows you to filter your stats in the program by anything you can imagine just about. Lets say you wanna filter by opponent having flush draw on flop when you have top pair, best kicker, you can see all the hands that you have played with that filter. There are obviously too many features of HEM to list here, but it is strongly recomended and a must have for any serious poker player. Great tool for multi-tabling where you can't study all of your opponents.
5. It is a very handy tool, if you are not that good at calculating pot odds, and the sort, but a better real-time odds calculator is holdem inspector. check it out @ holdeminspector.com.
6. obviously you need to practice alot, and if you are using a tracker make sure you take time to analyze your game off the table as well. Soak up as much information as you can.
 
Olddog21

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Just Asking....

When someone realizes that they can use some help ..and open to suggestion....that alone makes them a better...more thoughtful poker player....We all know how to play great hands ...it's the stack-biulders that are risky....what should I risk here....how much should I bet here and walk with the blind...all very good questions...If i were you , I would read PHIL GORDON....he has a great grasp of the game....probably a little "OLD STYLE" compared to today's young guns stlye of play....but the basics are there.....and theres only 52 cards in the deck! May the monster be on your deal!:)
 
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cheddachris

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the full tilt academy has a bunch of videos from the pro's with some great pointers, i would recommend checking that out sometime!
 
Drunkard912

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I would reccomend harrington on hold em as well. They are all very reading for tournament players. I also like the book poker tournament formula by arnold snyder. He recommends a looser strategy than dan does and i like using material out of both books.
 
SavagePenguin

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The best MTT literature I've read is the Harrington on Hold'em Series (Volume #1 & #2). I've read these books three times each, and I get new stuff each time. It teaches you how to approach situations, which is useful in things other than MTTs.

Programs like HEM and PT3 are nice, but I tend to do better without them (a lot better) because it forces me to pay attention.
If you are going to use them to learn though, they are a great tool. For example you can see if you're losing chips in various positions. Of course you lose chips in the small blind and big blind, but if you're losing chips in other positions you're probably too aggressive in those seats.

Really, the thing that most people miss in the game is patience. Sit back and wait for opportunities. You don't need to start getting aggressive until late in the game when the blinds are big in comparison to your stack. Harrington on Hold'em Volume II covers this well (low M situations), and this endgame strategy is where a good player shines.
A lot of people can nit their way close to the bubble, but it's the people who are willing to make big moves at the right time (even if they appear stupid to a lot of people) who tend to come out on top.
So patience, patience, patience, then aggression as the situation dictates.

Poker is about situations, not hands.
 
norriscjn

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Make a sign... put it infront of computer screen and write patience. I bet it will work. Try it and let me know
 
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suraj128

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Try some of the online training videos and just practice starting out playing a very tight agressive game
 
dj11

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-Learn how to observe whats going on.
-Learn to fold.
-Learn to raise, 3 and 4 bet.
-Learn how to lay down big hands even tho you feel pretty good you're ahead because the effects of being wrong are devastating...this is ICM related.
-Google ICM and start trying to understand it some.
-A tracker doesn't hurt any. It may cost some upfront but on the behind it covers your ass. (damn I'm witty;)).
-Get to the point where you can play big buy-in PLAY MONEY tourney's confidently. The big games are approximately equivalent to $5 or $10 tourneys.
-Read the articles here. There is enough info at this site alone to make you better than you are. Probably much better.
-Ask questions, we got a whole lot of egocentric folks round here who love spouting how smart they are. Average the answers and you'll end up playing above average poker. Probably way above average.
-Get into our buy-in games. Hell, get into our freerolls as they play better than many $20 games.
 
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