I'm playing my first big Texas holdem tournament in a few days. Need TIPS

[Aquarius]

Hello people,

I know many of show play poker here, I'm playing in this big local tournament for the first time, I've never played with more than 5-6 people in the same table, I think it will be 10 players in the table. Any tips are welcome.

Thanks

[ChopperBoy]

Shoot them all and empty their wallets just kidding, i have no advice but good luck in the tournament

[Sosa]

you are going to lose!

[2477]

just play ultra tight....don't get yourself over committed to pots w/ only moderate hands......

Pretty much: Don't do anything stupid (until you have to)

[D]

Always make sure your hand beats the other person's hand.

Every time I engage in that philosophy, I do well.

[D]

Seriously, though... a lot depends on the variables in the tournament.

If rebuys re allowed, a lot of people are going to be playing loose to start - so take advantage of it.

[IllTestYourGirls]

read harrington on hold em

[fardoche27]

Win monnies!!

[Ecksent]

You gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run

[Brad]

patience is the most important thing in poker

[Aquarius]

Originally Posted by D

Seriously, though... a lot depends on the variables in the tournament.

If rebuys re allowed, a lot of people are going to be playing loose to start - so take advantage of it.

No rebuys.

[MissEve]

Is it No Limit? What is the buyin and blind structure? How many people total?

[bdld]

since its 10 players, i'd only play premium hands unless you're on the button, play + raise on the button if no one else has raised.

[Aquarius]

Originally Posted by MissEve

Is it No Limit? What is the buyin and blind structure? How many people total?

yeah, it is no-limit, everyone will have 50-60 chips or so, no rebuys. Instead of using blinds everyone puts an entrance before the flop and the first betting round.

[jimmy-3-way]

Originally Posted by Ecksent

You gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run

Ah-hahahahahah you beat me to the punch, newb!

[Wizzo]

Read Doyle Brunson's Super System!

[dirtybaker]

Patience and more patience...Pick your spots. Play good hands early but when the blinds start going up, dont be afraid to play more aggressively.

[Martin]

Go all in first hand with any 2 cards.

[Strickie]

play tight at first and let the jackals take each other out....then once it gets down to the final 3 or 4 is when you should start playing aggressive

[IllTestYourGirls]

Originally Posted by Wizzo

Read Doyle Brunson's Super System!

Not good for a tourney

[VicD]

never count your money...good luck

[madawgz]

wait for the good hands

[PornMD]

Originally Posted by Aquarius

Hello people,

I know many of show play poker here, I'm playing in this big local tournament for the first time, I've never played with more than 5-6 people in the same table, I think it will be 10 players in the table. Any tips are welcome.

Thanks

I haven't read all the posts in this thread, but based off my own experience with poker and other games, the biggest things to remember in my opinion are not to be predictable and to play the other as much or more than the hand itself. If you ALWAYS play on hand strength and NEVER take a gamble, other people will catch on to that and will play you to a T such that you will win the least amount possible when you have a good hand, and will always be forced to fold bad hands.

One thing you can do is develop like 2 or 3 strategies on how you will play, play initially for a few rounds of deals using 1 of them, then switch it up to another strategy to throw people off. Canasta may not be as skillful as poker, but most people don't realize how much skill is involved and how much you can effectively neutralize luck in how you play your cards, and I used to win about 85% of the games I played based on utilizing different strategies and switching amongst them based on how other people were playing. You simply never want other people to KNOW what's in your hand based on how you play.

Also, pay attention to how people act and react to the community cards and to other people's bets as well as your own. That's more of how you read other people vs. how they are sitting there when it's their own turn to bet, as that's where a lot of people try to bluff others based on their behavior anyways, like taking a long time and a very studious look at their hand when they've got a pair of bullets in their hand and could have raised all-in in half a second.

Lastly, if you want to drive the hand, raise the bet. If you want to be driven (i.e. letting someone think they're winning the hand when you probably are), check and call bets. Still, don't let someone get out of a hand without paying you something if you definitely have them beat...if you go through a round of checking after the flop, you'll probably want to bet on the turn, and DEFINITELY want to bet on the river...usually a somewhat decent sized bet on the turn, and a strong bet on the river (as in a case of 2 weak hands for example, usually the first to make a strong bet at the pot is seen as trying to steal it, and some people might call that bet with that thought in mind).

[EBORG9]

Sleep well, Eat Healthy, and don't drink.
You need your brain to be as pure and well rested as possible, and your instincts to be sharp.
Do not over think your first decision.
That's all I got.

[EURBottomLine]

Good Luck

[tehHinjew]

all in first hand
its the madawgz stratagy

[twinvisible]

Think of it in terms of blackjack.

If it equals 20 or 21 RAISE if it hasn't been raised yet(AK,AJ,KQ, KJ, JQ).
If it has been raised then just call if the raise is less than 3 times the big blind... otherwise fold

Pocket pairs 99 and lower just call. TT-AA raise!

This strategy is pretty general but you'll do just fine if your playing a bunch of donkeys in a donkament.

[BusterBunny]

just stay home and epass me your money

[PornMD]

Also, find charts online as far as which hands are better than others, as you may not have thought about it much before. Most normal people might think King 8 offsuit is a decent hand, but it's actually pretty lame when you consider it's offsuit, the cards don't reach each other in a straight, and it's a King not an Ace. Also, people tend to value low pairs a lot higher than they should. If you have a low pair and 5 higher cards are showing in the community, that leaves 15 possibilities out there of someone beating you with just 1 card in their hand, let alone the possibility that they're holding a higher pair, have a straight (or a higher straight if your cards make a straight), or have a flush (or a higher flush if there are 4 of a suit showing and you make a flush). In general, if someone holds a higher pair than you, you're dominated in the hand. Likewise, always consider the possibility that someone could have a hand linked to yours, like Ace King when you have Ace Jack. or Queen 4 when you have two 4s. That always screws up the odds that you might have figured out in your head, and it's dangerous especially if you have an ace and are playing off of your pair of aces, and someone else has an ace with a higher kicker. A lot of times, people just assume they're winning and bet crazy without paying attention.

[eroswebmaster]

LOL 10 people..50 - 60 chips...a "big tournament."

Sorry, this just made me laugh.

[KustomKowgurl]

Don't drink. People are stupid when they drink.

[Brandon99]

work on your poker face


All in!

Where's 2bet when you need him?

[Rankings]

its easy to call and step into hands early when you have chips and the blinds are small. Becarefull though, those chips are very valuable and needed later in the tourney. Patience is the key and bluffing is a necessity. Its hard to bluff at first, but the close to the end you get, the better chance you have of pulling it off.

PLAY THE PLAYERS, as well as your cards. Show your hands every now and then, both bluffs and winners, this will throw off your betting pattern to the players and cause them to 2nd guess what you have.

Best of luck to you

[Dirty F]

Originally Posted by PornMD

and I used to win about 85% of the games

Wow, you must be one of the best poker players in the world then! And you post on gfy!!! Holy shit!

Hows life as a millionaire?

[Aquarius]

Originally Posted by PornMD

I haven't read all the posts in this thread, but based off my own experience with poker and other games, the biggest things to remember in my opinion are not to be predictable and to play the other as much or more than the hand itself. If you ALWAYS play on hand strength and NEVER take a gamble, other people will catch on to that and will play you to a T such that you will win the least amount possible when you have a good hand, and will always be forced to fold bad hands.

One thing you can do is develop like 2 or 3 strategies on how you will play, play initially for a few rounds of deals using 1 of them, then switch it up to another strategy to throw people off. Canasta may not be as skillful as poker, but most people don't realize how much skill is involved and how much you can effectively neutralize luck in how you play your cards, and I used to win about 85% of the games I played based on utilizing different strategies and switching amongst them based on how other people were playing. You simply never want other people to KNOW what's in your hand based on how you play.

Also, pay attention to how people act and react to the community cards and to other people's bets as well as your own. That's more of how you read other people vs. how they are sitting there when it's their own turn to bet, as that's where a lot of people try to bluff others based on their behavior anyways, like taking a long time and a very studious look at their hand when they've got a pair of bullets in their hand and could have raised all-in in half a second.

Lastly, if you want to drive the hand, raise the bet. If you want to be driven (i.e. letting someone think they're winning the hand when you probably are), check and call bets. Still, don't let someone get out of a hand without paying you something if you definitely have them beat...if you go through a round of checking after the flop, you'll probably want to bet on the turn, and DEFINITELY want to bet on the river...usually a somewhat decent sized bet on the turn, and a strong bet on the river (as in a case of 2 weak hands for example, usually the first to make a strong bet at the pot is seen as trying to steal it, and some people might call that bet with that thought in mind).

Great post, much appreciated.

[g$$$]

dont be like this guy....

[GT-Omar]

don't do anything stupid until you have to, and have fun!!

[micker]

make your big moves early, you're either going to win or lose, but after you've been sitting at the table for 8 hours you're going to start making mistakes. Start out aggressive and focus on taking out opponents early. Take someone out in the first hand if you can.

[micker]

oh, and if you have it good enough to call, then you have it good enough to RAISE

[PornMD]

Originally Posted by Dirty Franck

Wow, you must be one of the best poker players in the world then! And you post on gfy!!! Holy shit!

Hows life as a millionaire?

Can't you read? I said I was winning 85% of the time AT CANASTA, not at poker. I did used to play poker in a cardroom here in San Diego and did pretty well though.

[qwe]

play low cards too, I love when people raise with AK or QQ and i go in with 6/7 suited, and nail them ... also if you build up big stack of chips, you can risk more by going all in on a guy who has 1/4 of your chips, chances are he will fold unless he has a killer hand... just DONT sit there and wait for AK/AA, people will read you easily, play alot of hands

[mikesouth]

a smith and wesson BEATS 4 aces

[Ace_luffy]

Patience

[Aquarius]

Thanks a lot people.

[Rinaldo]

I just wanted to mention that if you want to control the hand never limp in. Once you've limped in someone can come over the top and now you pissed your chips away and you look weak.

Commit. Just like hesitation will kill you in driving, it shall destroy you in Poker.