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When playing in online poker tournaments, you’re eventually going to have to start mixing up your play so as to trap your opponents and capture their stack. Most players fulfill this by getting involved in a few small pots with weaker hands or draws that they can show at the river.

Forethought should always be taken however, because your adversaries in the early stages of online poker tournaments are willing to risk far more than you would expect.However, once you hit the middle stages and your opponents skill level becomes more obvious, blending up your hole cards and betting activity can pay huge dividends when the opportunity shows itself.

Your goal here is create disarray in your opponents and that may take some experience to do correctly and inexpensively. Now this may be a bigger challenge since you cannot see your opponents.

So extra caution is needed, as well as a serious dedication to pot control in each hand that you are involved in. Other good players will be patiently anticipating for your mistakes if you lack emotional or pot size control, and they constantly put you in uncomfortable situations.

Emotional control and judgement will pave the way for improved play on your part - something you must do to quash being played against by intelligent sharks. For long term winning in poker tournaments, a lack of control will cost you money.

Building deception in a poker tournament can be easily attained by using this tactic. Take two or three hands at the beginning of the tournament and whenever you get them dealt to you, raise the pot. Of course, not always in case someone else went all in before you or made a huge raise from early position, but you when you are in those small ball pots against strong players, raise with your 67 suited, your J9os or your Th8h.

Keep those hands in mind throughout the tournament, and the randomness of them being dealt to you will mix your play up sufficiently. The added bonus here is that if your opponents are using poker software to track your style of play they are getting misinformation.

Being aggressive with middle pairs to me is rather costly for early stage play.Set mining can be a profitable play for you when you can keep your entry costs low. In the early stages, loads of players are correctly playing for implied odds. A five times raise is not a big hit to their stack and you mostly just don’t narrow the field enough. You’re immediately faced with a more difficult decision regarding a continuation bet man you’ve got over cards on the board.Sure you can open raise, but if there are multiple limpers I would just avoid attacking them when everyone is comfortable stacks and mzones.

You also can’t forget about the 2:1 odds. So if the pot is now one.Five big blinds, with one caller, which makes it two now.5BBs. You raise to 3BB, making the pot 5.5BBs and the limper (assuming everyone else folds) has to call 2BBs to see a flop with 5.5BBs in it. So he is getting nearly 3:1 on his call.

You have to consider the fact that you’re likely to never be worse than a three to one under dog pre-flop. But there is a problem. Or rather a couple of problems.

Firstly your problem is bet-ability of a marginal hand. You might have 95s and might be up against AK. The flop comes down 5 J Q. You are in front by quite a long way, but can you put much money into this pot? What about the continuation bet? But what if you just bet into the pot? Then what are you going to do when he smooth calls? Now do you bet once more here? It’s an expensive guessing game now with just bottom pair?

What about if you have 33 pre flop? There are 3 over cards (which statistcially are likely to have missed your opponent), but how much can you bet at this situation?

Sure you had right odds preflop here, but you are assuming you can get to showdown as well. But in deep stack situations you can’t. You are going to have to play 3 more streets of poker before you get to showdown.

But that leads to the second problem. You are out of position and that’s not good poker tournament strategy. This means when you do make you hand you will win less. You will also lose more chips, because your opponent can bet you off a better hand because he has position.

So really, for these deep stack situations, pot odds are completely irrelevant IMHO. I am only ever looking at implied odds.. i.e. what is the size of my stack and my opponents stack. I’ll call with a massive range when the bet is 5% or less of the effective stack. Even if they have pocket aces, my small cards and when a huge pot. If they have AA, and I want to be playing my little cards. But if the raise is getting up to around 10% of my stack, then I fold all the weired stuff, except PPs. Still, I am only concerend about the size of the bet compared to my effective tournament stack.

I might have 56s and be up against AK. But unless I make and OESD, Flush draw or 2 pair or better, I will be surrendering pretty much every pot on the flop especially if I am OOP. Once in a while you might just want to check here if you hit a low pair, especially if you can put your opponent on a hand.

In Gus Hansen’s poker tournament strategy book, he often sounds angry at himself for calling early position raises from his big blind blind. Partly because, such calls often become more difficult place post flop. Now he has physical tells to work with, and, as mentioned, he is Gus Hansen. We don’t have physical tells and we are not Gus. Take into account, your opponent is weaker than the players Gus plays against. It’s also important to know if your opponent can get away from a top pair, or are more willing to let it ride.

So for what its worth, I’d recommend not falling too much in love with pre flop pot odds in deep stack situations. You might choose to play a given hand anyway, but do it for the reason of implied odds and not pot odds, if that makes sense. You have to know how to calculate poker odds when getting into hands like this becuase it may very well determine your long term success in tournaments. Just knowing Poker rules are not enough to win, you need strategy too.

Winning poker tournaments demands a selective attitude in regards to hand strength and your position at the table when deciding to get involved. It's not the volume of hands you play, it's the quality of the hands that you play and the likelihood of each of them being profitable. Fundamentally, you just need to win the hands you play. Yes, you need a disposed adversary to play against your good hands, but forbearance is a very important skill and a foundation mind-set of some of the most prosperous tournament players in the history of the game. You need to know more than calculating poker odds and understanding poker rules to win these days.

By keeping a close check on the play even when you aren't in the hand, you will be able to pinpoint opportunities to get involved, even without mighty hands. They too can be profitable, winning hands.I often play much weaker hands against weaker opponents, simply due to their propensity to make huge errors. Because of these hands, you will be blending up your play sufficiently enough to throw off almost any opponents. You will still earn respect are the aggressor in a hand, but you won't be so decipherable to allow steady aggressive plays against you. What you want to accomplish here is a lethal trap of those players who like to play too many hands.

Discipline is very important in no limit hold'em poker tournaments. Take all the time you need to be sure you know what you are doing before getting involved in a pot that will too big to turn away from. Take all the time you need to be sure you know what you are doing before getting involved in a pot that will too big to turn away from Cocksureness, or anxiety will often guide you into the beast's cave, if you don't take a few extra moments to think things through. Sometimes, all you need to do is consider for ten or twelve seconds before making your final decision.

The thorniest plays in poker tournaments usually involve you folding. We all know how that feels. And none of us envy being the scared little mouse having to wag and recede against an assertive opponent. But if it's too early in the tournament, and your tournament chips stack is still yet Green Mzone, then that is very likely exactly what you should be doing unless you know you have the best hand. It takes a huge commitment to winning this game in order to fold the difficult hands, and it's one of the thorniest facets of the game to learn. However, once you understand, you will know how to win poker tournaments.

When you are able to merge this type of patience, discipline and loyalty to your game, you will start to make more and more final tables, steady cashes, and more and more correct plays, which will result, at least he eventually, in profitable final results. This is a matter of undeniable poker math.

Poker Tournament Clash at the WSOP

Day One of the 2003 WSOP main event two poker greats end up in the pot HU.  It’s unusual to see a pro take such a huge risk this early in the game without even a draw hand!  It’s Varkoni v Scotty Ngyuen and Scotty has the upper hand with AJo while Varkoni came in with 97c.  The video don’t give the setup details but on the flop Varkoni fires out a stone cold bluff of 1600 chips with absolutely nothing!  As it’s day one and he is betting this much I would have to presume it’s a pot sized bet, there may have been a feeler raise by Scotty or steal attempt by Varkoni from blinds or early as after the flop Varkoni acts first and bets out the 1600. 

Flop is Kd 2s Jc which gives Scotty middle pair and Varkoni nothing but back door flush draw.  Ordinarily we would expect a check fold here.  Instead Varkoni comes on strong with what must be a pot sized bet.  Scotty thinks for a bit and makes the call.  Perhaps he is putting Varkoni on a weak King if it was Varkoni that raised preflop.  Or maybe he sees this as a I don’t want a call sized bet with my 99 or TT.  Scotty feels he may catch his Ace or his paired Jack is good.

This is “contrarian poker”, that is, making a play contrary to expectations. It all comes down to being deceptive in poker.  Both players went against conventional tournament strategy theory.  However, Varkoni’s move is perfect if he raised pre with suited gappers and now makes a strong cBet to carry on the illusion and take it down.  You could almost see the Varkoni gulp and go pale when he was called.  The cameras pick up everything. I don’t like the call here by Scotty.  He is out and out gambling and hoping that either his jack is good or that he will hit an ace, catch another Jack or get runner runner straight. It would be so much easier with a poker odds calculator-holdem indicator, playing online, but this is live and for BIG money.

If you think you are ahead and it’s raised to you on a scary board you reraise to make sure or fold.  If it’s not worth a raise it’s not worth a call IMO.  However, there is also the part of poker that is playing the player and Scotty may be just going with his read and the slight overbet here sensing weakness or fear.

Turn is a Qd and does nothing for Varkoni but gives Scotty a straight draw and the checkmark because now Varkoni is drawing dead.  We know why Varkoni checks, because he had NOTHING.Uncharacteristically, Scotty checks too.  Perhaps the straight draw on board has him concerned or the two overcards to his pair.  He must be thinking Varkoni has a K or perhaps made his straight or even has pocket queens.  The thing to do normally if hitting your set is back off and see if your aggressive opponent will bet into you so you don’t scare him off.  Here I like the check by Varkoni because after all, he has nothing and no sense burning chips.  But for Scotty to check behind with a weak hand isn’t good.  Scotty should bet here a partial pot bet and determine if he is right in his read.  If Varkoni comes over the top he can get away OR if he is thinking he has nothing, then he will take it with a bet.  That doesn’t occur and Scotty goes to the river blind having not a clue about his poker tournament strategy here.

The last card come up notta for both players.It’s either check or bet now for Varkoni.Checking here is simply a hand lost.  Since Scotty checked the turn he is taking it as a sign of weakness and with the board looking scary for the straight draw and overcard he must be thinking Scotty is on a pair or maybe paired the board.  But he is afraid of the board and checking.  He can make a bet and represent he has something with the board.

The pot is a good size pot and worth the risk he finally determines and makes the play.  He bets out 3,000 which is probably 3/4 the pot.  Not too much to be an over bet and not small enough to give odds for Scotty to call. He feels Scotty does not have a King and simply cannot call unless he does.  Therefore it don’t matter that he has absolutely nothing.  Scotty looks and thinks and decides it’s not worth that much more of his chips.  It probably would have put Scotty as short stack to make the call or at least considerably hampered on the first day if he calls and loses.  Since there is the K and Q on board, even a donk could play Q5 SUITED and nail him, certainly this pro and last years champion knows how to play poker and will have something that the board helps OR that he isn’t afraid of the board such as AA or he may have the stones AT.

I really like the way Varkoni employed betting, cBetting, bluffing, checking and then coming back strong again on the river combined with his image to pull this one off.  I especially like it because I made the same move with success just last today in a tournament.

This type of move is risky and can get ANY player in trouble so if you try it make sure you have the RIGHT situation, position, board AND opponent to be able to pull it off!

How about that Gus Hansen’s new poker book? One of the most notable sporting and entertainment figures of this decade has always been somewhat aloof to the poker market upswing while at the same time being the source of its epicenter. Gus always seemed indifferent to his popularity and seemed more enthused with simply playing. He just loves to play, and challenge himself, and yes… gamble. If you know anything about Gus Hansen, it’s that he loves to gamble. But in this poker book review, you learn a lot more about how the math of Gus Hansen actually explains away that gambling moniker and theorem.

This is one of the most detailed, realistic poker books ever written. Gus has really opened up here and goes through every contentious hand he plays at the 2007 Aussie Millions, where he dominated the final table and kick-slapped an internet newcomer named Jimmy Fricke heads up to seal the deal. In showing how he strategizes right through that tournament he creates sincere value that we amateur players may have never before been exposed to because players like Gus are just so rare.

If you’ve ever seen some of the hands from this tournament on youtube, you will see that Gus was actually using a personal recording device and whispering into a mic throughout the Aussie Millions Poker Tournament. You have to wonder if it was a self check system for Gus, or if he had actually planned to use the information for this book ahead of time.

Gus was certianly well equipped, with recorder in hand to analyze the hands for this book as he could easily review the chips counts, stacks, position and all the other important tournament factors. You get his detailed insight into the thought processes of one of the best tourney players in the world, while also learning about the different strategies of playing a full table and playing short-handed, and how important aggression is part of Gus Hansen’s tournament strategy.

Gus Hansen’s book should be read after Harington’s because you have two very different styles, but one could argue that Hansen is more successful than Dan Harrington. Given that, it really comes down to a personal choice and acceptance of a player’s own game, and if it fit’s with his character. Gus writes quite blatantly that most poker books are too theoretical and assert play that far too tight for tournaments.

The practical style poker books seems to carry more value as they are just that much easier to read, think about, and then take to the table yourself, trying to recognize similar situations you may have just soaked in. You can take these examples and really realte them to your own tournament experiences.

It was particularly interesting to be able to go over Gus Hansen’s notes for the day past and the day upcoming which took into account his opponents playing styles and ever-increasing blind levels.