If you wish to win a Texas Holdem tournament you need to accumulate big amount of chips. At the same time it is very important to learn how to protect your stake. Therefore I am going to tell you what you SHOULD NOT do if you wish to save your chips.
1. Do not call raises before the flop too often
Texas Holdem tournament consists of hundreds of hands. And you will definitely have to make difficult decisions related to bets. Mistakes with continuation bets are very painful. Therefore you should use two rules to avoid such mistakes:
• Do not place continuation bets all the time
• do not place very expensive continuation bets
I advice to use continuation bets only in cases when you are sure that your opponent is going to fold or when you have a perfect draw with a big value. Looses induced by continuation bets can be extremely huge. Many Texas Holdem players are not afraid of placing big bets. They prefer aggressive style. The size of the bet can be 2/3 of the pot or even bigger. And this is a dangerous game . You should understand it . Placing expensive continuation bets can be punished really hard if one of your opponents has collected good cards. Therefore I advice to place small bets. In such cases you can win at least something. Let’s have a look at the example.
Your hand: A♥ K♥
The flop: 7♥ 2♥ J♦
And there is only one opponent.
So, as you can see, the flop brought you good cards. At the same time you do not have a completed combination yet. Now you have a drawing hand with a potential value. Therefore if you raise you will have good chances to complete your drawing hand and win the big pot. Therefore continuation bet is suitable in this situation
Your hand: K♥ Q♣
The flop: Q♠ 8♠ 8♣
There are three opponents
Use of continuation bets is a mistake in this case. First of all, you play against three opponents and it is very possible that at least one of them has got ace, or even pocket pair. Possibility of folding by all the opponents is extremely small. Therefore you should try to save your chips and avoid continuation bets.
2. Do not hope too much on strong pocket cards
You have got final word at the hand with pocket AK. Your opponent with a big stake raise by the size of four blinds. After several minutes of thinking you decide to be all-in. Your opponent calls your bet and shows QQ. And after several seconds you have to leave the table. Such situations are very common in Texas Holdem poker especially at the earliest stages of different tournaments. Experienced Texas Holdem players prefer to have a look at the flop before putting all the chips on the centre of the table if they have high card ace.
Instead of being all-in with such cards it would be wiser to call big bet or even re-raise. If your opponent bets $100 just re-raise it to $400. Maybe your opponent will fold cards and you will get the money. Anyway if you use this Texas Holdem strategy you will be able to check the flop and if it hasn’t brought you any useful cards you can just fold. In the worst case you will still have some chips.
I wish to advice the same if you have got pocket jacks. Most poker players are ready to be all-in with such cards. They expect most of their opponents to fold before the flop. But if somebody calls, the flop can change everything. And don’t forget that your jacks can be outclassed by pocket queens, kings or aces. So, your chances are not as good as you might think. So, once again, first of all check the flop and build your strategy then. This is Texas Holdem poker, not a Russian roulette. Therefore don’t rely only on luck. Always use advantage of your skills!
3. Do not use the same strategy when blinds go up
In the very beginning of a tournament you can easily call $80 bet having pocket 6♣ 7♣. And such call is reasonable because it is possible to catch needed cards on the flop. But when blinds go up such tactic becomes too expensive. And I can say the same about weak pocket pairs like 44, 33 etc. Of course, you hope to collect three of a kind and expect to get third 4 from the flop. But the possibility to get needed card in this case is only 1 to 8. Let’s evaluate your chances in such cases. If you have to call $2400 8 times you will lose 7 times. So, it will mean that you will have to give away 16 800 chips. And if you want to keep your stake in Texas Holdem tournament you will have to win at least 16 900 chips when you get three of a kind from the flop. So, as you can see it is reasonable to avoid such situations and keep 16 800 chips instead of hoping on the good luck.
4. Do not underestimate to win blinds of your opponents
The further you go at a Texas Holdem tournament, the more aggressive you should play. Tight play is very useful, but only on first stages. But as soon as your stake becomes not reliable enough you should start using aggressive strategy.
Your hand: K♠ 10♥
Position: cut-off
Blinds: $300/$600
Stake: $10 000
All players before you have folded. You have got average cards, they can bring you win but you need strengthening. Definitely, such cards are suitable for attempts of stealing blinds. Raise to 1 500 and watch your opponents. If a person sitting on a dealer-button folds and big blind calls you will have at least better position. And if you are lucky simple continuation bet can earn you 1 800 chips (your opponents fold).
Such aggressive strategy is worthwhile. You should remember that waiting for monster cards is very expensive in Texas Holdem tournaments. In our case you will lose 900 chips after every round. And of course such expenses are not good for your stake.
5. Do not chase a draw without reliable oods
This situation is very common. A player collects drawing hand at the flop and needs just a one card to complete the draw. Excitement and desire to win big pot force the player to risk. He continues the hand and adds chips to the pot and finally looses everything.
Your hand: A♥ J♥
The flop: 5♥ 9♥ Q♦
Your stake: $11 000
Pot: $2 500
Opponent (stake = 5 000) places $1900 bet. Is it reasonable to call? No, because the odds to win the hand are not big enough. In this example the chance to get a needed card is 35 %. But experts say that odds should not be lower than 43 %. Only in such cases you should continue Texas Holdem game.
Moreover, your opponent is tied to the pot and it is very unlikely that he will fold. Let’s say he will be all-in. Then you call and the river and the turn do not give you needed card. So, you will lose 5 000 chips and it will be very painful. Basically, the game is not worth the candle.
You should fold and wait for suitable moment. When I say suitable I mean affordable. Do not invest too much money on risky hands. Many Texas Holdem players make this mistake and realize it when it is too late.
The goal of this article was to tell you how to maximize chances to win a tournament. Of course, as you know, there is no guaranteed winning Texas Holdem strategy and the luck plays an important role. But the luck should not be crucial. Therefore I advice you not to be all-in too often. You cannot win every single coin-flip and you will definitely loose at least once. But this defeat can be decisive. That’s why you should not let the luck to define winner.
Source: Ronald Norris, RoomReview.
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