Kasanova King
Visionary
Silver Level
Wow, the great Stu Ungar asking for advice, I'm impressed! You've helped me out tremendously on this forum, so I'll do the best I can. I'm in no way an expert in live tournaments but I have played in dozens of them and I have won a few as well.
The first thing I can tell you is that in live tournaments, you don't have a hud, so be very observant and take mental notes. When you first sit down at the table, immediately start observing all the players at the table. Things to look out for:
- When players look at their cards. If a player looks at his cards before it's his turn to act - most likely a beginner/casual player. Solid/experienced players will wait until it's their turn to act before looking at their cards.
- Listen to players talk, listen to how they bet, etc. Get a good feel for experience levels.
- Chip protectors/players protecting their cards. If they do, they've done it before, if they don't, they haven't, pretty simple.
- Try to determine who the table sheriffs are (don't try to bluff and steal from them), who the maniacs are (set them up for a trap), who the weak/passives are (steal/bluff them), who the call stations are (get value from them) and who the solid tags are (play your best game against them).
As far as strategy, tight is right for tournament play. Wait for good cards, in position. Only play monsters from early position and come in strong. Do not necessarily raise 3x, 4x the bb with good cards. Observe what the table is doing. If you see that 3+ people on average are coming in when someone raises 3x, then you obviously need to raise more if you're looking to isolate. I know this isn't what Philthy is telling you but it has worked for me.
Since the tournament is most likely what you would consider a "turbo" online with the blinds increasing every 15-20 minutes, you may need to take a "take down the pot" approach. Realize that you have a limited amount of time and chips here, this is not a 300 bb deep stack cash game. Getting a strong draw to fold in these types of tournaments isn't necessarily a bad thing and if they don't fold, you're getting plenty of value when they don't hit,
Pay attention to blind levels. As they go up, so should your agression when you enter a pot. I do recommend c betting, try to avoid double and triple barreling if you don't have at least 60+ bb. Remember, this is a live tournament, most people will be playing ABC poker.
Best of luck to you and let us know what happens!
The first thing I can tell you is that in live tournaments, you don't have a hud, so be very observant and take mental notes. When you first sit down at the table, immediately start observing all the players at the table. Things to look out for:
- When players look at their cards. If a player looks at his cards before it's his turn to act - most likely a beginner/casual player. Solid/experienced players will wait until it's their turn to act before looking at their cards.
- Listen to players talk, listen to how they bet, etc. Get a good feel for experience levels.
- Chip protectors/players protecting their cards. If they do, they've done it before, if they don't, they haven't, pretty simple.
- Try to determine who the table sheriffs are (don't try to bluff and steal from them), who the maniacs are (set them up for a trap), who the weak/passives are (steal/bluff them), who the call stations are (get value from them) and who the solid tags are (play your best game against them).
As far as strategy, tight is right for tournament play. Wait for good cards, in position. Only play monsters from early position and come in strong. Do not necessarily raise 3x, 4x the bb with good cards. Observe what the table is doing. If you see that 3+ people on average are coming in when someone raises 3x, then you obviously need to raise more if you're looking to isolate. I know this isn't what Philthy is telling you but it has worked for me.
Since the tournament is most likely what you would consider a "turbo" online with the blinds increasing every 15-20 minutes, you may need to take a "take down the pot" approach. Realize that you have a limited amount of time and chips here, this is not a 300 bb deep stack cash game. Getting a strong draw to fold in these types of tournaments isn't necessarily a bad thing and if they don't fold, you're getting plenty of value when they don't hit,
Pay attention to blind levels. As they go up, so should your agression when you enter a pot. I do recommend c betting, try to avoid double and triple barreling if you don't have at least 60+ bb. Remember, this is a live tournament, most people will be playing ABC poker.
Best of luck to you and let us know what happens!
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