Walking through the Mine Field in Big Tournaments
By Writer94566Aug 21, 08 04:40 PM
Greetings, my friends:
If you are in a war, then you could use a mine detector to get through a mine field safely; but playing poker involves a great deal of luck even if the pros try to deny that luck is a huge factor in today’s large fields. When the “I can dodge bullets, baby!” won his world championship\hip there was 177 entries – you get more than that at your local brick and mortar on a Wednesday afternoon tournament and here to ten times as many in our tournaments at SpadeClub!
There are many players that are using the best bargain on the internet to learn how to play poker - SpadeClub! For just $19.99 per month, you can play poker – legally – thank you SpadeClub!
It is these “wild cards” that you hope to see them fold their cards when you raise preflop – yes I do recommend that you raise preflop occasionally. Why? One of the five basic reasons that poker players raise is that they want to eliminate some players from playing the hand in order to improve the chances to win the hand at hand.
But you protest! Another well respected SpadeClub member wrote a recent blog suggesting that “you usually should *not* raise from early positions, no matter what you have” as he wrote further “because all of those theories of thinning the field and driving out opponents who might draw out on you don't hold true in these smaller games [where] you're usually surrounded by players who often call with nearly hopeless hands.”
Consider that you hold pocket Aces, preflop; against one player that has pocket Kings, you are an 81% to 18% favorite which is the best that any poker can be to start the hand, a four to one favorite. Most of us will take those odds any day, right? Of course! That’s why most great professional poker players will raise is the pot when they have pocket Aces is that they want to eliminate some players from playing the hand in order to improve the chances to win the hand when they have pocket Aces. In a full table at a poker tournament, you must play your best game! Don’t limp in and allow some rookie holding 7-8 see the flop and catch two pair or trips or flop a straight or and up and down straight (6-7-8-9) or flush or even a four flush! Sadly, when you play badly, you will more often than not lose with pocket Aces.
The other respected SpadeClub member was not wrong for writing because there is not just one way to play poker nor am I suggesting that he limps in with pocket Aces. I am suggesting that you must vary your play at the table and that you should NEVER limp in with pocket Aces in a full table at a poker tournament because you must survive and make the final table and win some of that big cash in tournaments! Vary the amount of your raise but do not let them have a chance to bust your Aces for free; make them pay to beat you. That’s why the pros will raise three to four times the big blind because then their opponents can not put them on a hands, this gives them action and improves their chances of taking down the pot. Hopefully, I have been of some help to you today.
Aigaion
I hope you get a T-shirt. It rambled a bit towards the end, but still you earned a T-shirt.