This guide is intended for No Limit hold em poker :
First of all I would like to thanks and give credit to Ripptyde, a
strong successful tournament player who helped me improve a lot by
teaching me some of the important aspects of tournament poker. He
watched me play games and give insight on how
to think like a player and analyze situations, not just play the 2
cards you are dealt .
Second thanks go to Rich and Dustin, two great
poker players who taught me a lot about ring game, and helped me
become a better overall player, especially at the long term
mathematical part of the game, with usually gives you an edge ^_^.
The first thing to consider about this guide, it is intended to play Tight Aggressive, with means, you will be risking a lot , it will be an attitude of play to win, even if it means busting out of a tournament . Why you might ask ? Because its geared at having huge chip stacks by middle tournament, where we ( the chip leader or a very big stack ) will bully every player at play, we are going make a living out the blinds.
First , lets define the style we will use. Tight Aggressive, the perfect style some might say. A Tight Aggressive player is a player who has high standard in hand selection, with means we will enter the pot post-flop as a slight favorite, adding every bit of little advantage we can think off. Second is , we bet Aggressively, like there is no tomorrow, we need to protect our premium hands, and we also want to extract the maximum value from them. Considering this approach , this is a chart I use throughout the tournament . Before reading the chart, lets explain some important concepts ( this guide is intended for every level ) .
Table Position : This is how I refer to table position ( This is meant for new players who don't know the position, is a little system I use to explain my friends about position. This is how it runs; P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, Button , SB, BB. Before the flop, P1 is the first man to act, while the BB is last to act, with gives the BB and SB the best position post flop, but after the flop SB and BB act first )
Position : Position affects the round of betting. But other than that, position is one of the most important aspects of playing NL poker, whether its ring game or tournament and the reason is quite simple, the earlier you act, the more you have to give away about your hand, also is quite hard to know where you stand when you are first to act and haven't seen the other players act. With brings us to one of the important aspect that you need to engrave in your mind, Late Position , the position of the gods. LOVE LATE POSITION , treat it well, and it will regard you greatly. In late position you seem how the action unfolds, and this might will help you chose the best action based on early players action. For example, you hold A8s on the button . , P1 raises 2 times the BB and P2 called everyone folded, you are in the button with your A8s and decided to call. The small blind folded and the BB checked. Flop is AsJd5c . The BB , who limped, bets the pot , P1 calls and P2 goes all in , what's your move here, easy , fold!. You are most probably beat, you kicker is weak, there is a lot of action before you , letting you know someone has a strong A, someone maybe has 2 pair, even a set. This information was available to you thanks to being on late position, in early position, if you where to bet your A, you would of fallen victim to that all in , because you didn't know where you stood. This is just one of the great aspect the button has and we will discuss more and we advanced through the guide. Now that you understand a little more about position, we will move on to the hand chart that I use in relation to the tournament level .
Early stage chart :
s = suited
x = any card
AA ( raise to 5 the BB in any position )
KK ( raise 5 times the BB in any position )
QQ ( raise 5 the BB in any position )
JJ ( raise 5 the BB in any position )
1010 ( raise 5 the BB in any position )
AKs ( raise 5 the BB in any position )
AK ( raise 5 times the BB in any position )
AQs ( raise 5 times the BB in any position )
AQ ( raise 5 times the BB in any position )
AJs ( raise 4 times the BB in middle position or late position )
AJ ( If 2 or less limpers, raise to 4 times the BB in late position )
A10s ( Limp in late position. If 2 or less limpers, Raise 4 times the BB in late position )
KQs ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind ) ( Raise if 2 or less callers )
KQ ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind )
KJs ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind )
KJ ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind )
K10s ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind )
QJs ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind )
QJ ( Limp or call a raise with is 2 times the big blind in late position only )
Q10s ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind )
Q10 ( Limp or call a raise with is 2 times the big blind in late position only )
J10s ( Limp in any position, can call a raise with is 2 or 3 times the big blind )
J10 ( Limp or call a raise with is 2 times the big blind in late position only )
99 ( Limp in from late position , raise if 2 or less callers )
88 ( Limp in from late position , raise if 2 or less callers )
77 ( Limp in from late position , raise if 2 or less callers )
66 ( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
55 ( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
910s ( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
910( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
78s( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
78( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
34s( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
34( Limp in from late position , fold everywhere else )
Axs ( Limp from any position )
Middle stage chart :
s = suited
AA ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
KK ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
QQ ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
JJ ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
1010 ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
AKs ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
AK ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
AQs ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
AQ ( Raise 4 to 5 times BB in any position )
AJs ( To play you raise 3 times BB from middle or late position , if someone raised before you fold )
AJ ( To play you raise 3 times BB from middle or late position , if someone raised before you fold )
KQs ( Call up to 3 times BB raise, in late position with 2 or less callers, raise 3 times BB)
KQ ( Call up to 3 times BB raise , in late position with 2 or less callers, raise 3 times BB )
QJs ( Call in late position with 2 or more callers )
J10s ( Call in late position with 2 or more callers )
99 ( Limp in , in late position with 2 or less callers, raise 3 times BB )
88 ( Limp in , in late position with 2 or less callers, raise 3 times BB )
77 ( Limp in , in late position with 2 or less callers , raise 3 times BB )
Late stage chart :
s = suited
AA ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
KK ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
QQ ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
JJ ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
1010 ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
AKs ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
AK ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
AQs ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
AQ ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
AJs ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
AJ ( Call in late position only )
KQs ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
KQ ( Raise 5 times BB in any position )
QJs ( Call in late position only )
99 ( Call in any position , in late position with 2 limpers, raise )
88 ( Call in any position , in late position with 2 limpers, raise )
77 ( Call in any position , in late position with 2 limpers, raise )
With experience and understanding of tournaments ( with comes with time ) you can tweak the last stage chart greatly , adding a bigger number of hands to your repertoire , but for now I use this general guide for straight playing purposes. For blind stealing you can use any hand you like .
Lets explain the charts a little, you might notice some hands are colored blue, this hands are very strong hands, that are very good heads up, and there is another reason for our blue color. When you raise with any of the blue hands post flop , and someone raises you, you will go ALL IN, and yes I said that . We want to take this hands heads up, we want to isolate our opponent and give this premium hand a chance to win . And you might be thinking, wont I get knocked out ? Sometimes you will but these are strong hands and we are playing to win, we are playing to double up and add chips to our stacks, and for that you need to take risk . Lets consider this any unpaired hand vs. any unpaired hand is at worst a 65% to 35% underdog, with means its only a 3-1 . For example, if we take AKs vs. 72 off suit its a 3-1 . Can you see the little magic, that 72 off suit is going to beat the AK 1 in 4 times so you must be willing to take risk, and at the same time, we want to minimize the risk, that's why we go all in , to have only 1 hand to fight, and increase winning chances . Another scenario, we have AKs and we move all in and our opponent has JJ , how do you feel now, its an almost coin flip , you have 6 outs ( AAA and KKK ) that will make you a winning hand, plus going from flop to river the chances of getting a A or K are very high . you could bust out of a tournament, but you could double up and be on your way to a cash out. It is this attitude of play to win and nothing else that will get you the money .
Another concept in the guide is Limp in. To limp in is to enter the pot by calling the BB only, or entering the game as cheaply as possible . Consider this scenario , you have J10 off suit are on the button, the blinds are 20/40 and no one raised, you call. You just limped in, you paid the smallest price to enter a pot with a good multi-way hand .
You must take into consideration this is the way I play the hands. You don't need to be 100% accurate at playing the hands like I say , with experience you will find your are playing maybe a little bit more hand, but i only use this cause my repertoire consist of strong premium hands .
One of the last concepts might be , that some hands have a certain use, and if you don't meet that use or requirement you might need to fold them , for example low pairs like 6 or less, are used to hit sets, if you don't hit a set, you can fold if its bet to you. hands like 78 are for straights and 2 pairs, if you miss and someone bets strong, you might consider folding , unless you have a good read on the opponent and put him on paint cards that didn't hit .
Now for players who want some explanations of the hands, here it goes, the why of the hands :
AA - the strongest post flop hand, you can be pretty sure with it, if you cant raise post flop with them , what can you raise with ? Only problem is some people don't know went to let go of their A's . Another huge mistake I see people do is the following, they don't raise with AA, thinking they can trap an opponent, only to find themselves trapped when flop is 367 and someone limped in with 37 off suit and beats them. You need to raise to protect your hand . AA is made for heads up or 3 or less players play.
KK - Almost as good as AA , only fears an A on the flop, other than that very strong . Like always a raise hand who doesn't like a lot of company on the flop
QQ - Strong starting hand, but now has to fears A and K , raise with this hand always, and if the flop doesn't bring a A or K you will fire again, you cant give free cards, cause a A or K on the turn might scare you .
JJ - A rather middle strong starting hand I don't personally like . It can fall victim to the A K and Q , other than that , a hand made for heads up play .
AQ, AJ, KQ, - Strong hands , when they make a pair, they usually have a strong kicker to back it up, they also have good straight possibilities, with makes them good multi way hands .
K10 - a troublesome hand, if you flop a king you need to be careful of your kicker, plays well multi way pot though .
QJ, J10, KJ - the multi way hands. you see cheap flops with them going for straights, 2 pairs, open ended draws .
78,34,910- the hands that need to flop 2 pair or open ended straight draws. this are multi way pot hands.
Pocket Pairs ( PP ) - pocket pairs are special kind of hand, I only use them to try and hit a set, and if I sense weakness and I am in late position ill fire with some of them , to usually take the pot right there ( the odds of hitting a set are 8-1 or 11% approximately )
Early tournament :
Before we begin, you must engrave in your mind and system the key to playing MTT tournaments, PATIENCE. You will be playing the early part of a tournament to double up, with means you will be folding a ton, and I mean a ton of hands. But when you play and hit, you can be almost 100% sure you hold the best hand. In this part of the tournament , you can follow the guide 100% , you cant go wrong, players probably don't know you, with means you can play tight and most likely they wont take notice. When i say you will play tight, i mean it. You will FOLD all hands not listed on the chart. When you are in the SB , if its not a suited connector , or a connector, or a gap connector ( a connector with a space , example; 35 ) you will fold . In the BB , you will follow the same rules ( but since you have already the price paid to enter , you might see a flop for free ) . When you enter a pot and flop brings you top pair, you will make a pot sized bet. We wont be slowplaying at this level, people with junk might get lucky and outdraw you , we must prevent this, by betting the pot, you cut everyone's odd 2-1 making it incorrect to chase any type of hand. ( only time when you slowplay is when you flop the nuts and no other hand can outdraw you, example you flop the high end of a straight and the board has no card of the same suit ). For playing the drawing hands you will follow this guidelines, the price must be very low, and you must have at least 8 outs. for example you have JhQh and flop is Kh10h6d, you have 13 outs ( four 9's will make a straight, 4 A's will make a straight and 9 other hearts will make you a flush ). When you flop a set, you will BET, you don't want hands to outdraw you and you will be surprised at how many people will call your bets with a set. At this stage of the tournament you cant be bluffing to many pots, as weak players will call you down, only time bluff, or semi bluff , is as you will see in the next scenario. You have AKs , raised 5 times BB, got 1 caller and I am last to act. You miss the flop with brings 429 and he checks to you, this is a bet , you have position and he checked ( essentially putting up a flag that says: "I don't have a hand mister, take it away from me with a bet" ) if he raises, then you most likely need to fold, as he checked raised showing strength ( if you have a read on the opponent and think you have him beat you can go all in, although I would recommend this type of risky play unless you are pretty sure he will fold, or that you have him beat ) Keep in mind, when you are heads up with someone, the chance of you or your opponent hitting the flop is like 30% percent meaning he could of missed the flop, just like you did .
Middle tournament strategy :
This is where the tournament begins to heat up, as you saw in the chart, most hands are raise hands. We don't come in with a limp showing weakness . We open raise , suited connectors go down on value , but premium hands go up in value, as the blinds increase. This is where we will begin stealing those precious blinds, the same blinds that will add to our stacks, we will begin to see less flops at this level also, once again PATIENCE is the key to everything . ( There is a little idea I that caught my eye, it came from aokrongly, . He states that if the blinds represent 5% to 10% of your stack you can safely play monsters only, if it represents 15% to 20%, then you need to get active, you keep this in mind in case you came with a low stack and you need to play more hands than recommended ) In middle stage you tournament is where the fun begins, blinds are getting larger and larger, and it present the best opportunity to begin stealing. Some players try to use the button almost always to steal, its ok, but it is a little obvious, so I recommend you steal from P5 and P6 also, since it will be less obvious. Some players recommend 3 times a BB raise to steal, it all depends on your style, I usually do 3 times a BB raise , although u can raise 6 times the BB when you have a stack to afford it. Now say you raise 3000 chips, and a short stack who has 6000 chips goes all in, and you had 89 in your hand, what do you , fold ? NO!. this is a call, for 3000 more chips, of course considering you can afford it, you have a chance to knockout a player, and you must keep in mind , any unpaired hand is at worst a 3-1 underdog, so you must call. At this level, bluffing becomes an important ( although overrated ) tool. When you are going to bluff, keep in mind, you need to have as less competition as possible ,preferably 1 player and if you decide to bluff, you must mean it, if the pot has 5000 and you bet 1000, you cant expect to have a successful bluff, you need to bet 5000 to 10000 into that pot, you need to make it count, but don't over do it. When you win a hand through a bluff, you might chose to show it, I personally don't like this practice, as it might backfire when I want to bluff again, I prefer to keep it a guessing game.
Endgame strategy :
So you made it to the end , to the final table, first of all, congratulate yourselves, second of all, get ready for some fears competition, in here hands like A8 off suit go up in value, and deception plays a major role in the final tables, most battles are decided post flop and slowplaying is welcomed here, and blind stealing is a must, as many players will be folding to big raises. I couldn't come up with some concrete way to play this part of the tournament, since its up you and your style of play, although I must say, the Losse Aggressive player will have an edge at this table, meaning you need to change gears at the end of the tournament . One of 2 things can happen here, you are the big stack , meaning you will be raising a lot with junk trying to get some blinds, and if you are a shorstack , you must go all in post flop and with a small stack, keep in mind, it will be harder to blind steal .
Afterthought information :
BIGSTACK : If you happen to have a big stack early in the tournament and by the middle of the tournament, you need to know , you will turn into a chip bully, not to the extend that it will become obvious, but you must steal blind at least 2 times per orbit. One of the mistakes many players make with a big stack is, they just sit back and relax, thinking they are good as won, chances are, the blinds will quickly get to you, other players will get big stacks and then your lead is going to mean nothing, so when you have the big stack, remember be very aggressive, and now things change. You can add more hands to your repertoire since you can afford to see many flops, you can lean on the small stacks , who are scared of busting out, easily taking their blinds, and you can chase more hands , if the price is low and you can afford it .
Bluffs and position : I recommend you pay good attention to opponents, especially online if players check it to you, most likely they didn't hit, so you can bet and try to take down the pot. This move , the bluff, is stronger as you are farther down the board, position is the key to success here . Don't try and bluff in early position, its way to risky , especially with 2 or more players to act behind you .
Blinds : Sometimes you will notice the player in the button always leaning on your blind, when you smell a steal, and you have a marginal hand ( A10 , AJ ) you can raise him to all in , letting him now, you wont give up your blind and you wont stand his steals .Be very selective of this move, since it can backfire, you need to have a good read on the player or the table, and this works when everyone folds to the button and he raises.
Pair vs. flush draw : This is a tricky situation and you must keep in mind, a pair is a slight favorite to a flush draw 55% - 45% almost, with means is almost a coin flip, keep it in mind when going all in against a flush draw, more often than what you think, that flush will hit, you need to be very careful of draws and giving them proper odds . If you bet and someone calls, and you put him on a flush draw, you need to push you cant let him see the last card for cheap, you need to make him fold or pay for his draw . And keep this in mind to your advantage, for example , you have AK of hearts, flop is 4h9h10c and you are short stacked, the blinds are huge, you know your opponent has a pair, you don't have time to waste push all in, and pray to the poker gods, that the coin flips goes your way, the way i see it, if your going to lose, lose fighting, like a real poker man, don't lose because the blinds ate your chips away ^_^.
Raising hand raised ? : You might ask yourself; what if a raising hand is raised before I get a chance to raise ? , well if its one of the blue hands you can re raise, if its any of the other hands, I would recommend you use judgment, although you must keep in mind, in the second stage of the tournament when someone raises he probably has a strong hand like yours, so you should most likely fold, I don't like to cold call and you shouldn't either, you need to be the one raising, thus taking control of the game.
Any comments on the guide, or anything you would like to discuss, or you think should be removed , just let me know at
TiteritoClasico69@hotmail.com, with is my email and msn handle . Good luck at the tables .
