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No-Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament Strategy | Switching from Cash games to Tournaments

Switching from Cash games to Tournaments

Tournaments differ a great deal from the cash games

They obviously use the 52-card deck and also the same overall poker rules, but your specific playing style can vary depending on different strategies.

If you are a pro in the cash-game poker, then make a decision to switch to tourneys, there are a number of adjustments you must make with regard to how you think if you want to maintain your winning status.

The stack you've got is Finite

This is probably the largest mental obstacle to beat for a cash game player reverting to tourneys. Your stack is just finite, the moment you exhaust the chips you've got, you are eliminated.

In the cash games, rebuying is possible, but in the case of a tourney, the chips you start with are what you have and if you happen to lose them, too bad for you.

Since the quantity of chips you've got is finite, optimal play becomes different.

In tournaments, the game you have to play has to be tight because there is no room for rebuying. Chips must be protected, because they are simply your lifeline.

In the case of cash games, +EV, even if you happen to lose at the moment, you will have profits to show in the long run.

In tourneys however, folding in slightly +EV is what you should do and losses never allow for the making of more +EV decisions down the line.

Look at it this way, a wealthy gambler chooses to flip with you 1.5-1 on $ 100 immediately and 4-1 on $100 the following day. In case what you've got is just $100, there is need to let go the initial flip and choose much better odds the following day.

That is obviously because when you agree in the first day and end up losing the position you are, it makes it impossible to make more +EV flip the following day.

This is simply tournament poker. Once in a while, where you re in a favorable position, you will be required to fold in a spot for each of your chips. Calling then losing is going to eliminate you from the tourney and bar you from betting even where you have a greater edge later on.

Blinds increase

This might be a shock to you. Blinds in tourneys increase at particular set intervals that might be 15 minutes up-to two hours. They do this to try and force action so that gamers simply do not sit back and wait for aces for the whole day.

The blinds going up makes the stack-to-blinds ratio go down at a great level. This makes players play hands in an effort to keep at par with these rising blinds, and this knocks some out.

This basically means that when the blinds begin going up, all you have to do is be more active. If you are from the cash games, it might be that what you are used to is playing 100BBs or higher. In tourneys however, you are going to have to master different stack sizes properly.

As stack sizes take another form, so should the basic strategy you employ. To get more informed regarding adjusting your game to the stack size you've got, read this article.

Position and hand strength are two important factors you need to consider when it comes to stealing blinds.

Stealing Blinds

Although you may start your tourney playing a little bit tight, you get forced to play loose as the blinds go up and the ratios of stack-to-blinds go down.

Stealing blinds is one big characteristic of the tournament poker strategy. Though the same takes place when playing cash games, you might only add a mere 2% to the stack you have if you succeed. In tourneys, however, and as the blinds grow bigger, stealing might add a 10% to your stack or even more.

There are a total of two vital factors to bear in mind when making a decision on the exact time to steal: that is position and the hand strength. Most steals usually happen from late position, simply because the players likely to wake up behind you with a hand are fewer.

The specific types of hands that you would like to use in stealing are the specific ones with some type of value post flop. For instance, is a far better hand compared to . This means that in case you get called, the   you've got to play well on flop than the .

It is necessary to frequently supplement the stack you've got with timely steals if you dream of succeeding. This is why practicing timely late-position steals using concrete semi-bluff sort of hands is advisable. Read more about stealing in this sit-and-gos article .

Resteal, Fold equity

Since you know your rivals are raising light in a bid to add on to their stack through stealing blinds, you understand that they in most cases have a particular hand that can not withstand excessive pressure.

If there is a rival raising each time from both cut-off and button, picking a hand then reraising the opponent as a resteal is an option. Usually, you are going to find some folds as far as these constant late-position raises are concerned.

The moment you make a particular move for instance a steal or maybe a resteal, it is mandatory to have some fold equity. In most cases, the hand you posses in the case of being called will end up making you one big dog. To be precise, stealing and restealing should be done when you have belief that your rival are likely to fold.

A good number of players mistake trying to resteal without knowing that the end shove they've got is in essence bettering their rival with 2-1 odds or even better. There isn't any player who will opt to fold getting odds of 2-1 or better pre-flop.

Control yourself, ensure you've got fold equity otherwise you are throwing away chips.

The Bubble plus Getting paid

The moment you have a profit to talk of in any cash game it's possible to simply leave if you feel like. Tourneys are not like this however: you keep up playing till there is just a single player remaining.

The payout structures of a number of tourneys pay a 10% of the field. This means that 90% of all the players never get anything.

This brings about a special position known as "the money bubble." When the cash approaches, short stacks usually tighten up in an effort to squeak into the cash.

Although 10% mostly get paid, payouts are heavy on top, with the first player getting 30-50% of the overall prize pool. Squeaking into the cash should never cross you mind ever.

Alternatively, use the cash bubble as a supplement to the stack you've got. Identify the specific players who play tight/scared poker then exploit them using raises and bets. For outstanding players, the bubble provides a chance to accumulate some chips. Don't sit back and hope to min-cash.

Your aim is to win the tourney. Since it's the top is where there is most of the cash, if you play all the time with winning in mind, you get to make a sizeable amount of cash in the end.

This is just poker

There are some differences between the two poker types, but when you go down to the basics, it is simply the same thing. It involves playing card, strategizing depending on position and keeping an eye to your rivals.

If you end up making more sound decisions than most of your rivals, you simply end up becoming the winner regardless of the game you are playing.

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