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POKER TOURNAMENT HAND EXAMPLES
This being said, you can’t poker squat your way to the money.
Keep folding every hand and the blinds will finally eat you alive — but many even expert players panic too early.
It is not unheard of to be forty places out of the money, be in slight hassle, then two rounds afterwards You are in the money because everybody on the bubble took off going all-in and busted out. When you have a powerful hand, you need to play it aggressive, but do not play a multi-table tournament like any table game of no limit Texas Hold ‘Em. The same strategies do not apply to both types of games.
So while you may play several out of position hands and limp in with an odd array in a table game, in the early stages of a tournament, you want to nullify gambling. If you are able to see the flop for the cost of the blinds with a pair of large suited connectors, then plow ahead and take the flop, or if one person goes all in, and you have pocket rockets in the big blind, then of course you should call, but otherwise you should play cautiously and don’t bluff much early.
Crappy card players are more liable to call you here anyway, and a lot of madmen think that you need to quadruple your stack in four hands, and that is just not accomplishable on a consistent basis.
Besides, why bluff when you know there will almost always be opponents willing to pay you off? Multi-table tournaments are so popular that they are loaded with bad and mediocre players who play too aggressively, as well as bad players who act too passively and bring forth do-or-die once the blinds do hit a certain level. All you need to do early is not to lose — thinking about actually winning isn’t even good strategy until the middle levels of the Tourney.
That’s right, you do not even think about arriving at the final table until you are at the later middle of the tournament and near the money.
In the succeeding three illustrations, assume you have two callers who see the flop, and in every instance here the correct action is to fold.
Example One: (c=clubs d=diamonds h=hearts s=spades)
You: Ace - Queen suited (Ac-Qc)
Flop: 4d - 5d - 6s
Later on in a game when you are already in the money, this could be a good point to bluff, barely to check if everybody else is holding high cards (which is much more probable later).
Early on, it is not worth losing chips, particularly since in a beginners low entry fee tournament many players will play any straight chase, flush chase, or A-x. Would it put you on tilt to lose to an A-4 off-suit? It occurs a lot early.
Example Two:
You: Pocket eights (8c - 8h)
Flop: Ks - Ah - 9d
Some card players would throw a fit at the hint that pocket 8’s should have been folded pre-flop. Others debate that you should have gone all in, but is that really advisable?
Later in a tournament intimidation can be really effective — and perhaps one of your opponents has 6-6 or 7-7 and you have them beat badly, but what about the A-Q, 9-9, or even K-10?
Any raise you put in is bygone, even if you just limped in, that is still a big blind that could still be in your stack instead of to an opponent. The probability of hitting trips is only 8:1, or about 12.5%. Not worth wagering your tournament life over.
Late in a game, a firm bet might be worth considering, but not at present.
This hand should have been folded early unless you had reason to believe you could steal the blinds with a strong bet, or unless you were either the small or large blinds. Do not make the error of bluffing this. Fold and survive.
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