Poker can be intimidating. Here are some strategies to improve your overall game.
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Another Great Poker Article
To go or not to go all in ? that is the question
By Johnny Kampis
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So goes a Chinese proverb that is also an apt description of the beginning of a poker tournament.
Consider starting with 1,500 chips in a tournament with 100 people. In order to win the tournament, you must have 150,000 chips in the end. When you think about it like that it seems almost an unfathomable task, an attempt to climb Mt. Everest. But somebody?s got to do it.
I?ve found over time that I tend to do better at live tournaments than those I play online. At first, I thought it was maybe because I was good at reading people, which is impossible to do online, but then I realized it was something else. When you play online, it?s always easy to see what the average chip count is among the players remaining in the tournament and it can be easy to panic if you are far below the average. I tend to start pushing all in with hands I shouldn?t play or in situations in which I should probably fold.
But when you?re playing live, there is no screen to tell you where you stand against the rest of the field. You can do some calculations in your head to figure out about where you stand, but there?s no number constantly in front of you telling you that.
Just as patience is key in a regular ring game of poker, it?s also key when you have a below average stack in a tournament. Consider that the average stack in a tournament you are playing is 10,000. You have 5,000 and the blinds are 200 and 400. You are well below average, but you aren?t a short stack yet. You don?t have to push all in when you raise. It gives you time to wait on a quality hand before making a move, and if you can double up once you are back to average.
I played a tournament at Binion?s in Las Vegas this summer in which I was a below average stack nearly the entire event, but I stayed patient and was able to get good hands on which to double up on. Finally, when I got to the final table I caught hand after hand and ended up winning the tournament. Had I hurriedly pushed all in earlier in the affair with a less than premium hand and lost I wouldn?t have given myself a chance to catch the hands I was dealt later.
It?s better to pass up a so-so opportunity now in order to get a much better opportunity later. Otherwise, you?ll never get to climb Mt. Everest.
Latest Poker News:
Concerns over PartyGaming's Third Quarter Overshadow First-Half Results
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:19:00 -0700
Last week PartyGaming, the online gaming firm, announced first-half year results that were well above analysts' expectations. The company's EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization) came in at $64.9 million...
Book Review: Joseph Walsh's 'Gambler on the Loose'
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:10:00 -0700
Joseph Walsh's 'Gambler on the Loose' is a highly enjoyable, incisive look into the complicated world of the full-time gambler. Probably best known to the poker world as the scriptwriter and co-producer of the 1974 film 'California Split'...
PokerStars.com APPT Macau, Day 1a: Wagner Takes Lead at Night's Close
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:00:00 -0700
Day 1a of the 2008 PokerStars.com Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event saw 125 runners take the field, including notables John Juanda, Liz Lieu, Barry Greenstein and 2007 APPT Grand Final champion Grant Levy. By the end of Day 1a...
Online Poker Weekend: 'diegoaiz' Takes Sunday Million
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:05:00 -0700
Online poker had a slow weekend as both the PokerStars Sunday Million and Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee came up short of their designated prize pools, with the extended American Labor Day weekend likely holding down registration for...
Ozzie Smith, Seth Joyner to Headline 'Par and Poker' Charity Event
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Play Better Poker
Play Online Poker
Online Casino and Poker
poker tricks | winning poker
Another Great Poker Article
To go or not to go all in ? that is the question
By Johnny Kampis
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So goes a Chinese proverb that is also an apt description of the beginning of a poker tournament.
Consider starting with 1,500 chips in a tournament with 100 people. In order to win the tournament, you must have 150,000 chips in the end. When you think about it like that it seems almost an unfathomable task, an attempt to climb Mt. Everest. But somebody?s got to do it.
I?ve found over time that I tend to do better at live tournaments than those I play online. At first, I thought it was maybe because I was good at reading people, which is impossible to do online, but then I realized it was something else. When you play online, it?s always easy to see what the average chip count is among the players remaining in the tournament and it can be easy to panic if you are far below the average. I tend to start pushing all in with hands I shouldn?t play or in situations in which I should probably fold.
But when you?re playing live, there is no screen to tell you where you stand against the rest of the field. You can do some calculations in your head to figure out about where you stand, but there?s no number constantly in front of you telling you that.
Just as patience is key in a regular ring game of poker, it?s also key when you have a below average stack in a tournament. Consider that the average stack in a tournament you are playing is 10,000. You have 5,000 and the blinds are 200 and 400. You are well below average, but you aren?t a short stack yet. You don?t have to push all in when you raise. It gives you time to wait on a quality hand before making a move, and if you can double up once you are back to average.
I played a tournament at Binion?s in Las Vegas this summer in which I was a below average stack nearly the entire event, but I stayed patient and was able to get good hands on which to double up on. Finally, when I got to the final table I caught hand after hand and ended up winning the tournament. Had I hurriedly pushed all in earlier in the affair with a less than premium hand and lost I wouldn?t have given myself a chance to catch the hands I was dealt later.
It?s better to pass up a so-so opportunity now in order to get a much better opportunity later. Otherwise, you?ll never get to climb Mt. Everest.
Latest Poker News:
Concerns over PartyGaming's Third Quarter Overshadow First-Half Results
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:19:00 -0700
Last week PartyGaming, the online gaming firm, announced first-half year results that were well above analysts' expectations. The company's EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization) came in at $64.9 million...
Book Review: Joseph Walsh's 'Gambler on the Loose'
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:10:00 -0700
Joseph Walsh's 'Gambler on the Loose' is a highly enjoyable, incisive look into the complicated world of the full-time gambler. Probably best known to the poker world as the scriptwriter and co-producer of the 1974 film 'California Split'...
PokerStars.com APPT Macau, Day 1a: Wagner Takes Lead at Night's Close
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:00:00 -0700
Day 1a of the 2008 PokerStars.com Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau Main Event saw 125 runners take the field, including notables John Juanda, Liz Lieu, Barry Greenstein and 2007 APPT Grand Final champion Grant Levy. By the end of Day 1a...
Online Poker Weekend: 'diegoaiz' Takes Sunday Million
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:05:00 -0700
Online poker had a slow weekend as both the PokerStars Sunday Million and Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee came up short of their designated prize pools, with the extended American Labor Day weekend likely holding down registration for...
Ozzie Smith, Seth Joyner to Headline 'Par and Poker' Charity Event
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:32:00 -0700
It's the season for charity poker events, with major sports stars stepping up for good causes in a big way, and using poker as the fundraising tool. The second annual Par and Poker Celebrity Challenge for Charity has been announced...
Play Better Poker
Play Online Poker
Online Casino and Poker
poker tricks | winning poker
Labels: casino poker | no-limit poker
posted by Cowboy King at 3:11 PM
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