Early weaknesses and multi-table tournaments
Looking back its amazing I didn't go broke really quickly. In fact I have gone broke only twice. Once was after my first deposit, and once after about 18 months playing. Maybe even two years. I'll talk about going broke another time.
The amazing this is how bad I was. Really bad. I played Single Table Tournaments exclusively in those days, and I just didn't have a clue about bubble play. I remember folding hand after hand, whilst looking on in amazement at these other people putting all their chips in the middle with alarming regularity. They, of course, were rarely called, so I didn't see the garbage they were no doubt pushing with.
Now its I who is prepared to push with any two, and even if it doesn't come off I know that its the right thing to do. At least sometimes.
Playing on a cryptologic skin I also ventured into Multi-Table tournaments. Amazingly with some success. They had a £2+0.25 tournament (which runs to this day, although the blinds go up faster now) which I won a couple of times to give my bankroll a considerable boost.
I quickly discovered a sensible strategy for these.
1) Early: Try and see a few flops hoping to flop a monster. A monster in these tournaments would probably include TPTK. Usually if your hand is reasonably well disguised (sets are your friend here) you can slow-play it and double up. People are ludicrously aggressive early, and if you show weakness (think for a while before calling) people would put you on a weak hand and bingo!
(NB: Sadly its not quite this easy any more, it appears people are more happy calling all their chips off with second pair these days).
2) Middle stages: Steal blinds. One of the most obvious strategies in tournament poker, and at the levels I was playing, one of the easiest. Looking back this was a skill I developed all on my own, and I've only improved marginally as I've developed as a player. On the kind of tight-passive tables you found then you could normally steal 1.5 to 2 times an orbit and you were in. Very rarely did anyone play back at you. I found I was able to raise with any two on occasions, but I was also smart enough to not raise with decent hands (AJ/A10s from middle position, say) if I'd been quite active in recent hands. It may sound like I'm boasting a bit here, and I am I guess, but this was the only part of poker I really figured out for myself. Except I didn't follow it to its logical conclusion and become a maniac at the bubble. I, like everyone else, tightened up. Still, no too bad.
3) Late stages: I'm not sure how I did so well in the late stages, I think it was that I observed players more than most of my opponents, so I was spotting betting patterns, and playing back at LAGGY players (like myself).
Sounds easy doesn't it. Well, online poker has improved generally since then, but it really was, and it you wanted to play for 3 hours and win the grand total of £5.50, for 11th place, then those tournament were the place to be.
The amazing this is how bad I was. Really bad. I played Single Table Tournaments exclusively in those days, and I just didn't have a clue about bubble play. I remember folding hand after hand, whilst looking on in amazement at these other people putting all their chips in the middle with alarming regularity. They, of course, were rarely called, so I didn't see the garbage they were no doubt pushing with.
Now its I who is prepared to push with any two, and even if it doesn't come off I know that its the right thing to do. At least sometimes.
Playing on a cryptologic skin I also ventured into Multi-Table tournaments. Amazingly with some success. They had a £2+0.25 tournament (which runs to this day, although the blinds go up faster now) which I won a couple of times to give my bankroll a considerable boost.
I quickly discovered a sensible strategy for these.
1) Early: Try and see a few flops hoping to flop a monster. A monster in these tournaments would probably include TPTK. Usually if your hand is reasonably well disguised (sets are your friend here) you can slow-play it and double up. People are ludicrously aggressive early, and if you show weakness (think for a while before calling) people would put you on a weak hand and bingo!
(NB: Sadly its not quite this easy any more, it appears people are more happy calling all their chips off with second pair these days).
2) Middle stages: Steal blinds. One of the most obvious strategies in tournament poker, and at the levels I was playing, one of the easiest. Looking back this was a skill I developed all on my own, and I've only improved marginally as I've developed as a player. On the kind of tight-passive tables you found then you could normally steal 1.5 to 2 times an orbit and you were in. Very rarely did anyone play back at you. I found I was able to raise with any two on occasions, but I was also smart enough to not raise with decent hands (AJ/A10s from middle position, say) if I'd been quite active in recent hands. It may sound like I'm boasting a bit here, and I am I guess, but this was the only part of poker I really figured out for myself. Except I didn't follow it to its logical conclusion and become a maniac at the bubble. I, like everyone else, tightened up. Still, no too bad.
3) Late stages: I'm not sure how I did so well in the late stages, I think it was that I observed players more than most of my opponents, so I was spotting betting patterns, and playing back at LAGGY players (like myself).
Sounds easy doesn't it. Well, online poker has improved generally since then, but it really was, and it you wanted to play for 3 hours and win the grand total of £5.50, for 11th place, then those tournament were the place to be.
posted by PP at 8:29 PM
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