There are three accepted poker strategies that you simply most avoid if you want to win a poker tournament. I am sure you have read each one of the following poker gems many times, and now believe them to be poker truths. Unfortunately they are just plain wrong if you want to win.
Poker Strategy #1: “Play tight early in a no limit poker tournament.”
There are many ways to play in the early rounds of a poker tournament. You can play tight and still conservatively, you can play loose and reckless poker, or you can play timidly in the early rounds. Avoid the pitfalls of playing too many hands early on. Poker Strategy #1 is playing tight from the start.
poker strategy #2: “Call pre-flop raises with Ace.”
Aceivably could be your best card. Most certainly it could be your worst card. In a no limit poker tournament it is too easy to get blinded by Ace. None of the cards in your hand have a very clear advantage over Ace. In fact, there is now some fact poker strategy #2: “Don’t raise when your hand is not very strong.”
Stick to the basics. There is really no point in playing higher pairs like King or Queen if they are in the middle. (Although these hands are worth more against a dealer face card such as 10) If you have a strong hand, like two pairs or three of a kind, you should raise pre-flop, and you should always raise when you have the best hand, so that you will discourage some of the smaller players from staying in the game and drawing out on you.
poker strategy #3: “Bet your hand aggressively.”
This really is the one of the most foolish and costly of all poker strategies. The problem with this strategy is that when you do this it is kind of like playing the game all over again. You have to make a decision whether you are going to bet this hand or not, and usually if you have a good hand you want to bet. So you will usually check, and you will want your opponent to bet, and you will smooth call along. Then you will either end up losing a lot of money, or the player you are against will think you are weak.
To incorporate this strategy into your game, you will have to open your starting hand requirements earlier. Wait for a starting hand of something like 7, 6, 5, 5, and then look at the kinds of hands you can play from this many cards. You can certainly play some cards that are low but not obvious. You may also want to stay away from high cards that have a lot of possible combinations.
The bottom line is that you need to be extremely clear about the cards you can play, and what your stake is in the game. You may think you can take a few hits and roll with some of the weaker hands. However, the strategy you apply is seriously flawed if you do not set a limit on the amount you will play with. The amount you set should be both an amount you are willing to lose, and an amount you are prepared to win.
With this, you should definitely play more tightly than the average player. If you lose a few hands, you are still probably in the majority. However, there are many other ways to win that may help you to reach even or win more than what you have played, so you should definitely do the other things.
One other important thing to consider about using Naga303 strategy is to make sure you are betting aggressive. Many players tend to raise bets way too early, and this can be a very tricky strategy because you want to make sure you are raising fairly. Don’t raise if your hand is really crummy; don’t back down from heads up play if your opponent threatens to end the fight with a raise; and make sure you always bet a son of your starting hand, even if you lose.