TOURNAMENT THEORY

I have had success playing tight early, but it is very dependent on getting good cards then having them hold up. I have had success playing loose early, but it is dependent on getting good flops, with some good starting hands sprinkled in. Since I am a better post-flop player than the majority at the beginning of a tournament, I do like to take flops in the early levels if the starting stack allows for it.

The problem I was having recently was not giving ANY opponent any credit. Sure they are sometimes making stupid plays, but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't have a better hand than mine. Also, I trap myself into a cycle of bluffing too much because I am dudeseeg dammit, and if I'm betting then you need to get out of my way.

The problem with playing loose during any stage of a tournament is that by playing more hands, you open yourself up to inevitable disaster. Heck, even by playing tight, you get busted with pair over pair once every five battles. By playing loose, there is money to be made post-flop, but you really have to be prepared to make some laydowns, which can be tough, since your hand is disguised and you may not be exactly sure where you are in the hand. And, it is vital to know when to change gears. Once you have chips, be happy and play good poker.

So, I've been tracking my tournament play this month. I began the year with some good showings, yet near-misses on making the money. Then I had a miserable Saturday when I spent over $600 and mostly finished in the bottom 50%. I sent myself to the bush leagues for a few days to work on my swing in Frequent Play Points tournaments. This morning I entered the $10K guaranteed which is a $20 rebuy event. I got cards right away, played fast, and they held up, and I made it all the way to third place and a $1744 cash.

Last night I was reading Greenstein's ACE ON THE RIVER and he says that the best way to play a tournament is to get some chips early so that you can be the table boss and play the big stack. That is exactly what I did today. So long as you don't become reckless (which I have been known to do) and give away chips, it is so much easier to get chips when you already have chips.

Greenstein says that an acceptable pattern for tournament play, assuming you play a lot of tournaments, is 8 finishes in the bottom 50% along with 2 finishes in the top five out of every ten events. This got me to thinking since lately I have been kicking myself for finishing in the bottom half too often, that maybe it isn't so bad after all. And then with today's result, I can see that all those lousy finishes were paid for by today's cash.

Now, Greenstein pays his rent from the cash games, and I suspect that his 80/20 ratio is designed to play to his strength, since he can join a cash game after all those early exits. The Hellmuth type, who plays only tournaments, would never aim for busting out early 80% of the time. Most of the guys who write books take it as gospel that one shouldn't take risks early in a tournament. I am wondering if it isn't just the opposite. I often take risks early in a tournament, not recklessly, but calculated risks, in an attempt to build a stack, because if I can get my hands on some chips, then the luck factor is reduced since I can't bust out when I have the most chips at the table.