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An Introduction to Tournaments: Part Two
The hardest part about
choosing your first large tournament may be just the sheer number of
choices that will be available to you. There are several considerations
you need to make before paying the money for a tournament, whether at a
casino or in an online poker room. Here is a list of tips and details
to check out the next time you are searching for a tournament to enter:
·
What is your best game? Tournaments can be found for
Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha Hold ‘Em, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Hi-Lo, Omaha
Hi-Lo, Razz, and a whole variety of other games. Know what your best
game is and stick with that one.
·
What are the limits? There are generally three types of
betting allowed. Limit—which only a limited amount (depending on the
size of the blinds) can be bet or raised; Pot Limit, which a raise can
be made up to the size of the pot; and No Limit, in which the maximum
bet is completely open.
·
What is the schedule to raise the blinds? In smaller
casinos generally the blinds raise faster, where in larger events it
might be more moderate. Online sometimes it goes by minutes, sometimes
by number of hands. There are “fast” tournaments where the blinds are
raise much faster than usual, and online watch out at Sit-and-Go
tournaments, as some rules are frankly bizarre (like blinds doubling
every single hand)
·
Do I have time? Larger tournaments can take hours, and
championship tournaments like the World Series of Poker literally takes
days. If you only have two hours, don’t sit down to a 2,000 person
tournament. It doesn’t make any sense, and there’s no point in throwing
away money.
·
Pay close attention. In a large tournament you will need
every bit of help you can get. Every clue, every little detail you pick
up gives you more of an edge. Can you figure out who is overaggressive
at your table? Who is way too timid? Who defends their blinds? Who
doesn’t? Who is a rock? Who is a flush chaser? All this pieces of
information, when properly used, can equal a great deal of chips—both
earned, and also saved by avoiding bad situations
·
Don’t go on tilt. Emotions may be great for football or
baseball, but cool heads prevail in the poker room.
Online poker rooms offer a
huge number of tournaments and have become an increasingly popular
option for players because of the wide selection of games, the large
number of amateur and loose players, and because in casinos you are not
likely to find a large tournament for $1 or $5. This variety helps many
more players stay with small stakes until they are ready for the bigger
games. Find the tournament that is right for you, and enjoy it.
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