My Rules Of Online Poker
By Brian Wills
Anyone can learn online poker strategies to help them win, but not everyone playing online poker becomes a long-term winner: I could make up some figures, quote percentages or pluck statistics from thin air. But I am more interested in helping you enjoy a long term winning game with our FREE poker advice.
You should view My Rules of online Poker as work in progress, because as your game develops you may see things written here in a different way to when you first read them.
Remember, your game is never complete; regularly assess how you have played and how you can improve.
If you haven’t already done so, you must first gain a basic understanding of poker strategy. Before committing large sums of your hard earned money to online poker I’d recommend you have a thorough understanding of the game.
You can learn the basic poker game and go on to develop your own strategies helping you win the occasional game, but may not go on to become a long-term winner, because of one immediate flaw; lack of preparation.
If I asked you to invest $1000 in a novel idea, you would most certainly ask questions of my intent and want to learn as much about my qualification and experience, as you would want to know about your expected return. So why then do some people think if they throw enough of their hard earned cash into a poker game, they will simply make money?
Preparation
Define A style of play
Where to find the action and know what you are getting into
Keeping track of those you meet
Keeping yourself honest
Online discipline
Getting your share of the prize
Tournament Tactics
Think on this quote for a moment;
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail: - Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
With the widespread coverage of the internet and the number of online poker rooms springing up, poker is accessible to everyone now more than ever. Many people however just cannot be bothered to learn properly; they play ‘recreationally’. There is nothing wrong with being a recreational player and I sincerely hope all recreational players attain much enjoyment from our chosen game. However the leisure player cannot expect to be a long-term winner.
You must find the advantage over these players; they will be your lifeblood. They are your ‘fish’, there are thousands playing online and live and the number is growing by the day. My rules of poker will be your hook. Never get carried away though, because all too easily, the hunter can become the hunted.
So My First Rule of Poker is: Prepare
Does this statement seem odd to you?
“I could talk all day about poker strategy but it is not going to be very helpful.”
Yes? Certainly learning the basic strategies of poker is fundamental to being a winner. But that alone will not make you a long term winner. My rules of poker will teach you the rest.
Your Poker Self-Education
1. You should read two or three top strategy books. They are not expensive; many can be borrowed from your local library. Visit the Poker Resources page for my recommendations.
2. To maximize your profits in terms of $ per hour, you should play on the larger poker sites. Later on there is a section about game selection, for now understand that if you play on a small site it is tempting to get involved in an unprofitable game simply because it is the only one available.
3. Bookmark this site and take an active part on our forum. You will find all the rules of poker, regular free online poker advice and may even be able to help others with there game. Helping others is sometimes beneficial to your own game, because it forces you to assess how you would have performed in a particular hand; constant assessment of your own play means you will always be on top of your game.
4. Start playing online for low limits or play money. Even if you understand poker, it helps to get a feel for the speed of play and the basic graphic controls of each new room. However, be aware that playing for play money is very different from the real thing. Players simply do not care enough when they have nothing to loose. This is why I instigated our own play money poker site. Use the play money games to orientate yourself, then move on to low limit poker.
The player holding the best cards does not always win the hand; you can win with the lesser hand if you know how:
This is not bluffing.
Bluffing will not make you a long term winner. You probably will not even be a short term winner.
So My Second Rule of Poker is: Define your basic style of play.
Think on this statement for a moment;
A penny saved is easier than a penny earned.
1. Selective aggression is the best poker strategy. When you play a pot, always try to play it strong. A large percentage of the time your opponents will miss the ‘flop’. Therefore the first player to bet wins the pot. Read the table though, if you are holding a pair of nines and the flop is Q K A suited; understand that you may already be behind to five higher pairs, a straight, a flush and or a straight flush. Temper you bids to what you can see.
Playing selective aggression over a long period of time, you will have the ‘best of it’. Learn this game style.
Always be prepared to back off fast if you feel you are behind. Do not chase pots when you do not have either the ‘goods’ or the odds. It is simply not worth it.
2. Be selective in your choice of starting hands. Play only the premium hands, from a medium pair up to the aces. Understand which hands are or are not playable according to your table position (relative to the button).
Play these aggressively from any position
A-A K-K Q-Q, A-K(s), A-K
Play these aggressively from mid position, limp in from early positions
J-J, A-Q(s), 10-10 A-Q, 9-9, 8-8, A-J(s), K-Q(s) A-J, A-10(s), 7-7, K-J(s)
Play these aggressively from late position, depending on how many are already in the pot and your chip position - there is a case for throwing these away from early positions
A-10, K-J, A-9(s), K-10(s), Q-J(s), 6-6, Q-10(s), J-10(s), 5-5
Play these from late position, but do not fall in love with them
A-X(s), J-10, J-9(s), 10-9(s), 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, K-X(s)
These are debatable and will depends on your experience, your style and chip stack.
I will at times play mid suited connectors 6-7(s) 4-5(s) from mid positions on. If I catch a big hand or draw, then it is well disguised and I may take down a big pot.
Sell the story from the start.
When you bet aggressively pre-flop, you have told the rest of the table you have cards to play with. This increases the likelihood you will the take pot when continuing to bet on the flop. Assuming most of the time your opponents will miss their hand (or only hit second/third pair), you bet: - they fold.
Play this style most times, again tailored to the community cards you can see and the number of players in the pot. You will get caught and loose some pots, but that is the price you pay for picking up all the others. Consider this when you have been caught; you have given the rest of the table the information, “I am going to bet my hand strong every time after the flop.” You are now ready to catch someone re-raising you, when you do hit big on the flop.
Use this selective aggression strategy as the basis for your play. But do not make it your only style all the time; you will become predictable. Mix it up a little, dependent upon your position, stack and the tournament level. You need imagination to play this game.
3. There are plenty of good opportunities to ‘invest’ your money in a hand when you have the ‘best’ of it. So do not waste your money gambling.
Save your money, in the moments when you feel the game is not exciting enough, it becomes even less so when you have thrown good money after bad. The buzz comes when you see your chip-stack and bankroll grow.
Remember the opening statement. A penny saved is a penny earned. Saving money is easier than winning money in poker.
I am going to highlight this because it is so important. The key to success over a long period of time is, by not chasing and not gambling (unless you have very good pot odds).
DO NOT GET INVOLVED AGAINST THE ODDS
Many players will try to chase with four cards of a flush, an inside straight draw or even with middle pair, no matter what the pot-odds are.
Those players do not follow my second rule of poker; they just cannot resist the tempting pot accumulating before them. They may also be the type of person who grows bored if they are not playing many hands. They will have good periods of play, where they constantly out draw their opponents, but over a period of time they will lose.
These players become part of the ‘lifetime poker-loser club.’ Over 90% of all poker players on-line or live lose money over their lifetime.
It is not compulsory to join this club.
Keep these three words in mind, maybe write them down and tape them across the top of your PC screen;
Patience - Discipline - Game plan
Without these attributes you will not be a long term winner.
3. If you are fortunate enough to be on a table of equally good players like yourself, then enjoy the experience. So many games online now are a battle to combat the poor play by others.
As a rule of thumb at a table you can trust; you should loosen your game if you feel the others involved are tight. For example, you may decide to relax your starting hand requirements in late position, or raise the pot with only a medium strength hand. If you do this, it is important to maintain your aggression, you play the hand representing the goods.
Of course the exact opposite is true when you find yourself in a loose game.
It is important to have the flexibility within your basic style of play to cater for these situations. Winning poker relies upon finding the small edge you have over the other players and capitalizing on it.
4. As a general rule, never bluff online because there are a huge amount of non-believers on the net.
There is the ‘no judgment factor.’ In cyberspace no one can see you portray yourself as full of confidence with an icy stare, or alternately see you squirm. Players find it much easier to call a bet when they are not face to face. If they get it wrong, who is going to judge them? They can leave the table, with just a click of the button.
Another reason not to bluff online is the cyber chips. They simply do not seem real and are much easier to bet with, than cold hard cash. Chips were probably the gambling industries greatest invention. In the modern era it is even easier to bet or to call a bet, if all someone has to do, is click a button.
So unless you are very experienced or very certain, do not bluff.
5. Do not slow play
For the same reasons explained above, over a period of time you will earn more money on-line by not slow playing. You will also incur far less ‘bad beats’.
People seem to think that they get more ‘bad beats’ online than in a live game. My answer to that is simple; yes you probably do, but how many hands per hour can you play online compared to live.
Finally on slow playing, how many times do you hear someone say, “oh I always lose with pocket aces.”
Do you say that? Think carefully if you have, because I will upset you now if you believe the statement to be true.
If you always lose with pocket aces then you are doing something wrong. You cannot blame bad beats or donkey players chasing flushes, you are at fault and only you can improve your game so that this is not the case in the future.
Old poker maxim; “It is better to win a small pot than lose a big one”.
You must not run before you can walk, find the entry level to suit your budget and the size of field to fit in with your time constraints.
So My Third Rule of Poker is: Choose the best game to suit you.
Some may say, “Fish in all the right places”.
1. Before choosing a game, you’ll need a good online poker room.
It makes sense to go with a well established, well supported site. There are a large number of online poker sites that simply do not make the grade. A good online poker site needs to have the following:
1.1. Excellent customer services. They must offer you help when required and have reliable facilities for depositing and withdrawing funds.
1.2 A wide choice of games and limits. Often the larger sites have more to offer. It is an advantage to you to have a choice of games and entry fees available.
Pick a large site; with more player numbers you will be able to choose a game with players you can make a profit from. Without this choice you may only find games that do not give you the return you need.
2. Once you have chosen your site, do not announce to all how good you are and how you will take their cash, because just as it is easy to put chips into a pot, it is also easy to leave or avoid a table. It is a good thing to remain inconspicuous; the rest of the table should not fear playing you, because you want them playing their natural game.
The site you chose must provide both play money games and a good number of free tournaments. They simply should always give something back to the players.
As your game improves you will be attracted to multi table tournaments (mtt’s). These games probably provide the best value for money from online play. So make sure that your site has mtt’s with a high and/or guaranteed prize pool.
Make sure of a varied timetable for satellite tournaments (satellites are small tournaments that you play in to win a seat at a large tournament).
3. Do not restrict your play to one poker site. Use two or maybe three sites for the same reasons explained above. You could alternate sites on a weekly basis or have one as your major monthly site to attack.
Some say; “a good fisherman varies his streams, so he does not frighten the fish.”
4. You will find recommended online poker sites here. Free Online Poker
5. If you are new to online poker, steer clear of cash games for the time being (especially the no-limit versions).
Stick to the single table tournaments (stt’s), as they offer the good value for money and less risk.
If you go straight to the high limit tables thinking you can potentially score the most profit, you will find it is also the place to record your the biggest loses.
A key part of cash poker is observation. Spend some time watching before entering a game. Use your strategy skills to determine whether the game will be profitable and try to determine the sharks from the fishes. If you make this a habit you will find that over time, your skill and discipline in this area will grow and become invaluable.
If you know that some players are better than you, do not join in, why take the risk; find another game you can win at, learn from it, then go back next time and beat them at their own game.
The average online player simply logs on to a site then quickly goes to his/her favourite game and limit. This player then enters the waiting list for all the games at that level plays the first one that becomes available and maybe the next two as well.
IT'S MADNESS. Would you go to a live casino and do the same thing? Keep your discipline, do what you do best in the correct way.
Keep in mind as players come and go at a table, that the game can change very quickly, so be prepared to leave if the standard or style of play changes against your favour. This point may also work in your favour.
As players often come and go, you have time to wait and watch tables. Study the games and the players, you have time to choose how to play and where on the table that you wish to sit.
Now you have kept to your strategy, you move in with a plan and goal in mind. You did not go in like a ‘blind fool’. You did maximise the chance that you will leave the table in profit.
Keep watch for a more profitable game that may become available.
Be patient when choosing the best game available. It is as important as learning poker strategy.
Do not play in games that you might win. Play in games that you probably will win.
This is not so much cloak and dagger stuff as it is plain good sense.
So My Fourth Rule of Poker is: Keep a ‘book’
Get the advantage over your foes by noting common features of their play.
Many when first starting to play online poker completely miss the potential of poker record keeping.
Every time a player makes a move, they are giving out information. Whether they are betting or folding, they are telling something to those whom want to listen.
After a period of watching or playing, you have gained information about how someone plays and you use it to vary your game around. It may have cost you some time and /or some cash to learn about that player, why waste that and not record what you have ascertained.
The next time you meet that player it may make the difference to you earning or losing.
1. You can attribute a large part of your future online poker success to the discipline of keeping a ‘book’ on players that you frequently play against.
You should constantly watch players for their recurring strategies, record the hands that they start with how much they bet. Often you can accumulate information without it costing you more than time, by observing closely hands you are not involved in. Do not just sit back when you have folded.
In a ‘live’ game most players can remember certain aspects of another’s play (especially if they have sat on the same table for a couple of hours).
The same is true online, but why not have that information to hand. Even better, why not choose a table with a good selection of player’s that you have the ‘book’ on.
Recurring methods of play are ‘online tells’.
Keeping a ‘book’ for online players is the equivalent of understanding the physical tells in a live game.
As a direct correlation to the live game, the best online players are those that can accumulate data, correlate that data, store it and have a system where they can recall it.
The information in your 'book' will not rule your game, but it will be a big help when trying to make a tight call.
All the best players keep a book. So if you do not, you are giving away an advantage before you even start.
2. Here are some of the basic data to start recording:
2.1 Rate player’s aggression on a scale of 1-10.
Over tight would be a (1), where (10) would be super aggressive. It helps to know your players before you sit at a table.
For an example; you should want to sit to the left of a mad raiser, and to the right of a ‘rock’ (a very tight player). Position is so important in poker.
2.2 Player’s starting hands from each position, early, middle and late.
For example; you are holding Jh-Kh and the flop comes J- 7- 4. Your opponent bets. You think you have the best hand and want to act accordingly. If you had more knowledge of your opponent, you could be reasonably certain your foe only plays premium hands and you would feel more safe that they were not holding J-7.
2.3 What hands a player will raise with.
For example; this time you have 10h-10c. Your opponent has made a pre-flop raise in middle position, and continues the bet into a board of 9-9-6. Your ‘book’ indicates that this player will always raise with 'high connectors', but normally ‘slow play's’ high ‘pocket pairs’. You may decide that he has A-K, or A-Q. It would be a fairly safe to raise this low flop.
2.4 How they play their blinds.
Some players always defend their blinds. You can take advantage of these players that always call a raise from the blinds. Sit to their right and isolate them when you have premium hands.
2.5 How they play after the flop in a raised pot
Some play aggressively whether they hit the flop or not. Other players check or make a weak bet if they miss the flop. If you know what hands they raise with, sometimes all you need is ‘position’ on them. In Pot-limit or No-limit this is an opportunity to make some easy money.
For example; you hold any two cards. The flop comes 2-7-9 three suited, the raiser is a player that always follows through after the flop and in this case he does not disappoint. He puts in a large pot size bet or in no-limit more than already in the pot. You note that this player also only raises with premium hands.
In this position you can think your opponent has two over cards and has missed the flop. You raise him and try to take the pot away there and then. It is a risk and if you get called because he has a pocket pair then you take a hit, but more often than not you will take the pot. It is all about knowing the player and how he reacts.
There are many computations and variations, we can enter bluff tactics, the amount of check-raising, drawing hands, the list is endless; - so should your assessment of other players be.
Develop a system that works for you.
One thing always remains a constant, if you want to be a wining player, stick to this poker strategy, and record the data.
3. Take a look on the Poker Resources page for software that will help you analyse your game and record your data
Akin to my fourth rule of poker, your personal record keeping is vital to your long-term enjoyment of this game.
So My Fifth Rule of Poker is: Record your data.
1. One thing more important than keeping a ‘book’ on your opponents, is recording the data from your own performances.
Your game will go to a new level if you record your results. You can analyse where and when you lose and begin to seek how to put it right.
This fifth rule of poker stopped me from playing in a recreational fashion. I did not like seeing loses. I made an extra effort to avoid irrational betting in cash games, and learnt to hang on longer in tournaments.
It should teach you to fight tooth and nail for every cent.
You cannot afford to assume you are doing well, it is too easy to forget your loses especially after a good win.
2. A simply formatted excel spreadsheet will keep a record of every game-day you play.
We have two variations of spreadsheets you can download, customise, maintain and ask questions about here. ########Coming Soon############
Some may wish to record the total hours played in a week. An interesting statistic is to divide the amount of hours by your profit, to find your hourly rate.
When analysing your online poker results try not to concentrate overly on daily performance, or even the weekly results. Pay attention to monthly statistics. Try to spot trends and analyse your game. Month on month, year on year you will be successful.
Recognise where you are strong and when you are winning, capitalise on those strengths.
When you spot loosing trends, you must either avoid them or improve your game in these areas.
Take a look on the Poker Resources page for software that will help you analyse your game and record your data at these links:
The root of online poker success is recording your data; it will keep you honest.
The speed of online poker is phenomenal. Computers drive the game and their programs count the chips, deal the cards, work out the stakes, post your blinds and even fold your hand if you take a break, in short: - carry out the duties of casino dealers and pit bosses.
This has the affect of driving the game forward at the speed of light. Do not let this speed affect your game.
So My Sixth Rule of Poker is: Stick to your game plan
1. If you hit a bad run of luck, you can easily ‘tilt,’ then employ emotional and reckless play. An online tilt is not pretty.
Remember your virtual chips, how they do not seem real? Online, on ‘tilt’, they can disappear in a heartbeat. Start chasing your money and you will turn one bad beat into a bad run, into a disaster.
The only way to overcome it is to ‘log off’. You cannot log off fast enough if you feel yourself tilting
Leave the game; say out loud “Bad day at the office.” Take a break, go for a walk or a cup of coffee and as you do so keep in mind that by not playing you are saving yourself a small fortune.
Remember in the fifth rule; look at the results over a month.
And in the second rule; a penny saved is easier than a penny earned.
Recognise that you are doing okay. Do not blow it, just because some sucker keeps drawing out on you, or you have had two or three high pocket pairs busted.
Do not see red. Stick to your game-plan and keep your cool; the pendulum swings both ways.
2. Online you will have some great rushes (winning streaks), when this happens hang in there. Play your rushes out and make the most of them. This is the reason we play poker; it is a real buzz.
The buzz is even sweeter if you have pulled out of a loosing game on the previous day before it had cost you too much.
You are adding to your bankroll, and not recouping yesterdays loses.
3. The pace of online poker is so fast and the game so addictive you can easily get lost in a game. You look up and find that four or five hours have gone by.
Some online players will brag about 12 or 24-hour poker sessions. They think they are playing psychological games with you, more often than not, they are just being foolish.
The top players maximise their profits in the minimum amount of time.
Do not play long sessions. You simply cannot play your ‘A’ game over such long periods. Did you read all the information to here in one sitting and can recall all the details?
Set a goal for each session, for example you may decide to set a time limit, or play until you treble your ‘buy in’ or worse go bust. You could choose to play three stt’s, or two mtt’s.
If you find yourself saying “just another half hour”, or “one more round”, it’s probably time to stick to your game plan and log off.
After all, online poker is very accessible, it will still be there in a couple of hours or so and again the next day.
Have a game plan: - stick to it.
4. When you have been playing online for a while and are really having fun, sometimes playing just one table does not seem enough anymore. You think playing two tables will double your profit. In reality it halves your attention.
The action is already three or four times faster than in a live poker game. This is the attraction of online poker; some tables seem full of ‘adrenalin junkies’, these players would never be able to handle the slow pace of a live game.
Play one table at a time. You cannot play at your peak with only 50% concentration. The only exception to this is when playing mtt's, as you play far less hands in the large tourneys and they take maybe four to five hours of play.
If you are applying all my rules of poker and poker strategy, there will not be time for more than one game. You will be too busy taking notes on players, looking for their betting patterns and building your book, looking for opportunities to capitalise on the poor play of others.
You will not gain experience seeing half a game, so wait until you are experienced before you try multi table play.
My rules of poker are a great way to keep your mind stimulated and fully focused on the game.
This is what we are all after. Here is how to grab some online poker tournament money. This section is based upon No-Limit Texas Holdem, the most popular form of online mtt’s (multi-table tournaments). Click Here for the secrets of winning stt’s (Single table tournaments – (sit and go tournaments)) online poker tournament money.
So My Seventh Rule of Poker is: Learn to get your share of the online poker tournament money
This is how I play tourneys. Not every one plays this way; there will be a few experienced players that will disagree with my style in some way, as the saying goes, ‘There are many ways to skin the cat,’ and there are many ways to get your share of the online poker tournament money.
Before you play multi table tournaments online, you must have the right frame of mind, you must train yourself to accept lots of disappointments and move on without letting them drag you down. Accept them as part of the game. View mtt’s as one big game over a period of a week. You can even view them over a month if you prefer, or if you have limited playing time.
To get your share of the online poker tournament money first you must understand 3 simple but unavoidable principles;
1. Sometimes you will play for two or three hours only to get knocked out by a crazy improbable two outer draw on the river. You will simply get a run of bad cards, dry up and miss the money on the bubble (eliminated from the tournament just before the place money). Those are not probable examples, they will definitely happen to you, and because you play many more tournaments online (as opposed to playing in a ‘bricks & mortar’ casino) at times it will seem like you are cursed, especially if you hit a bad run. Which again I guarantee will happen too.
2. If you choose to only play tournaments, your bankroll will not grow as steadily as it may in cash games. It declines slowly and then jumps back up when you have a successful week, hopefully beyond the previous week’s balance. When your balance is leaking slowly downwards do not be alarmed, it is normal.
If you follow my rules of poker you will get more than your fair share of the online tournament money. Bad runs are sometimes hard to take, but when that big jump comes; what a feeling!
3. In tourneys you only need to win or make the final three spots once or twice a week, to make good money. Your first goal in a tournament must be to make the second hour; then the third hour. Your later goal is to make the money (get your stake back and a little profit, this is paramount to bankroll protection).
Your next goal is to get a shot at the final table; this is where the big money is and most of it is in the top three places. So to get your share of the online poker tournament money you will need to learn great patience and discipline.
Do not expect immediate results. Even armed with all of the following information, it will take time for you to build experience, gain confidence and develop sound judgement.
Start at low limits or free-roll tourneys, and work your way up.
As you read through these poker tournament tactics, remember they are not set in tablets of stone, adapt your play to the situations. Over time, you will learn to judge your opponents’ strengths and weakness in any given hand. To get your hands on the online poker tournament money, you need to think and decide for yourself. Creative, logical, sensible, situational thinking is the key to long term winning.
These strategies will help you become a decent and successful poker player, the next step is lots of practice to gain experience; that is down to you.
So My Eighth Rule of Poker is: Apply tactical thinking
To get your share of the online poker tournament money understand these poker tournament fundamentals.
1. Play ‘selective aggression’. When you enter a pot, try to take it down as quickly as possible. It is best not to mess with other players or try to trap them, especially in the early stages. Send out a signal that if you are going to play with me, you are in for trouble. This is a very strong way to protect your chip stack.
2. Tourneys are survival games, have patience, discipline and play your position. The best tournament players build their stacks without major confrontations. It is fine to stay in the middle of the pack.
Mid-position of the top two hundred (100th); the blinds increase, the stakes escalate, soon you will be mid-position in the top thirty (15th), giving you a great shot at the final table.
That is your goal, survival, stack protection and steady progression. Over a four-hour tourney you should get plenty of good hands, play them, not the junk hands.
If you get lucky finding a series of good cards, that is a bonus. Even mediocre players make the final table with luck on their side. However, your real goal is to make the final table as often as possible. Over time, fortune dictates that you will get only your fair share of good and bad cards. The test is grinding out a final table from an average holding. Do that and you will find the real buzz.
3. Do not over value pot odds. Players will say, “I had to call, I was pot committed” or “Pot odds dictated”. That may work in a cash game, where you bust out and re-buy in, but in a mtt, when you are out you are out. In tournament poker it does not always pay to make the call.
If it does make sense to call for pot odds before the flop, then do so, (after all any two cards can win and you are not often worse than a 2:1 dog). Always have one eye on your tournament position.
After a flop comes if you feel that you are beat, then you are beat. Unless you are getting great odds and you have live over cards, a very good draw or you are playing against a small stack that will not affect your standing (a general rule is no more than 10% of your stack), lay it down, protect your stack, you can rebuild and still be in good shape for the final table.
4. Assorted points.
Watch games. If you exit a tournament and you do not have time to start another, use that spare time to watch games in progress. Find regular players and take notes on their play in the late stages; this is where most of the critical decisions are made by the best players. Collect your ammunition for future games.
Do not ever show your hand. Remember our section on poker record keeping? Do not give the good players unnecessary information; they are keeping a book on you.
Play two tournaments at the same time. I have mentioned before about not playing more than one online poker game at a time. It is fair to double up on mtt’s. You are playing far less hands in tournament poker, and one game can take 3 to 5 hours; it makes sense when you are proficient. Never play more than two, it is simply too hard to play your best game.
If you have to bluff, do not under any circumstances bluff all your chips off, and do not bluff too small. A good bluff would normally be a pot size bet, but only if you have position and a strong feeling that other players will fold. This may be that everyone has checked or that your opponents are tight players or low stacked. Remember that if you bluff, you must have some outs; over cards, low pair or some kind of draw.
5. Short stack play. Do remember that if you are short stacked and you have made the money places; it is time to take some calculated risks. Normally your only move is to go all-in. Even if you have a monster hand (AA- KK), go all-in. Big stacks may take a chance with a medium to strong hand, if not you will win the blinds and give yourself some breathing space.
In late position go all-in with a medium-strong hand. Your aim here is to double through, get yourself back in the tournament. Do not be impatient and put everything on with any two cards. Remember that it is still a 9 handed game at this point; you can see seven out of nine hands for the price of a small ante. If you do not catch any decent cards, that is just unlucky, tomorrow will be your day.
Consider yourself a short stack in trouble when your stack is equal to about six times the big blind or you are in the bottom 10%. At this point you only have just enough chips to make most of the players fold to an all-in move. Until you get to this point, wait for good situations to gain chips. You would like to have only one caller or win the blinds. Too often in tourneys; players simply throw their chips away in an attempt to catch the leaders.
There is only one point in a tourney where you need to get the lead, and that is at the final table. You can always come back from the bottom of the pack to make the final table and earn online poker tournament money, but not if you are out.
6. Look out for the monsters. Always consider that if you hold a big hand pre-flop you may still be behind. It is very possible that someone has a better one. I see AA maybe 10 or more times in a long tourney. I am not suggesting that you play scared with a big hand, just be aware of all the possibilities.
It is amazing how often you see players re-raising all-in with an AJ or AQ, only to exit against AA, KK or AK. These are the only three hands that you should consider re-raising with (unless short-stacked). With AK you really would like to see the flop, especially if you have position; if you hit the flop, normally you win a decent pot. If you miss you are still in the tournament.
Do not get out played on the flop. Remember steady progression, do not slow play, be aggressive and take the pot quickly. If you get played back at, you have to use your judgement as to whether to carry on betting or not.
7. Suited connectors. Do not give your cards more value if they are suited. The odds of hitting a flush on the flop are slim and if you hit two of your suit it can get very hard to fold, chasing the flush can cost you lots of chips. As a rule only play these suited hands:
Suited connectors for example (6-7), with these you have straight and flush possibilities, plus you may hit a low flop.
High suited cards for example (10-Q), with these you are drawing at a high flush, top straight and good high pairs.
Any suited ace for example (A-5), with these you are drawing at the nut flush and top pair.
If you hit the flop with any of the above hands you are probably winning, but fold all of them to a big pre-flop raise or even a small raise if out of position.
My favourite there is the suited connectors; if you connect with these, most average players are reading you for high cards. You have the potential to win a big pot and get closer to the online poker tournament money.
8. Do not play rag aces out of position. (A rag ace is an off-suit ace without a kicker higher than 9) Do not call a raise with this hand (even when short stacked). If you hit you will either win a small pot or lose a large pot.
If your ace hits the flop you will either win when you bet (small pot gained), you may be out-kicked by a bigger ace or someone may draw two pair/trips, its hard for you to fold top pair (hence you will lose a big pot).
It is just the worst play regularly seen in online tourneys, remember, when you play an ace with a high kicker you are drawing at two big pairs plus the nut straight.
9. Medium cards. Limp in or raise in late position with a medium hand (J-T, Q-9, 9-T etc). The later your table position, the less chance of you being raised. You will only be raised from the blinds if they have a big hand (unless they are loose players) and you can fold with a minimum loss. If you hit the flop, more often than not you are ahead. If you miss you still have position to represent any high card on the flop; if you get called you still have the chance to hit the turn.
Can you see the difference in the plays in 8 and 9? The first is putting your chip stack in jeopardy for a small gain; the second is steady accumulation without much risk.
10. Stack protection in online poker tournament money games. Bet your flush draws. If you flop a flush draw and no players bet before you, you must bet it. You may win the pot right there (when you have nothing), though if someone calls your bet, you can check on the turn if you miss. This way you get to see both the turn and river cards, two shots at your flush.
If you check your flush draw someone could bet the turn forcing you out (you will have at best an 18% chance to hit the flush on the river).
11. 88 versus AK. In a 9 handed tournament game, a medium pair (8 is of far less value than AK, especially if you are out of position. (In heads up they are virtually 50/50). If you have 88 with two callers and they hold different high cards you are against four over cards – you are a big underdog. So in early or middle position flat call the blinds, hope to hit trips or represent high cards on the flop if you have position.
In late position raise, because normally you will not be facing more than one player with over cards.
Do not ever go all-in with a medium pair. Similar to rag ace, players try to protect their hand by raising all-in with 88. They either win you a small pot (the blinds), lose your stack to a bigger pair or get in a 50/50 race with big over cards. It is simply not a good play and very poor stack protection.
12. Multi way pots. Do not lose all your chips in an unraised multi-way pot. If you have limped in to an unraised pot, tread very carefully, even if you hit top pair. Players could have any two cards. You could bet or represent the big pair on the flop, though if you get played with, you will have to make a judgement call (based on the player – chip stack – position – tournament standing) as to whether to carry on with the hand. Lots of players lose big pots with top pair up against two rag pairs from the blinds.
In a multi-way flop if a player makes a small bet (say minimum bet), the player is either on a draw or has hit middle pair/top pair with a bad kicker (if you are heads-up or three-way this does not apply, the player may be slow playing a very strong hand).
13. Do not over protect your blinds in online poker tournaments. Especially from the small blind, you are hopelessly out of position. If you hit the flop you will probably win a very small pot, if you miss (most often) you will be bluffed off, there is simply no value in this play. As an exercise count your 50% calls with junk from the small blind over one hour, then add that back to your chip stack
14. Attack the limpers. Make a raise from late position with a medium strong hand if you only have one or two limpers. Make it a strong move that will get rid of the limpers. The blinds have to be very strong to call, and if a limper calls you have the position to follow through on the flop (If you miss, you must have the courage to follow through. If you show weakness you could be bluffed off the pot).
15. Isolate small stacks. In middle to late stages of a tournament short stakes are forced to play. If a short stacked player raises and you have a strong hand you must re-raise to isolate, never just call as big stacks behind you will view it as a cheap flop, with multi-way chances to eliminate a player. You will be out of position and could get outdrawn for a lot of chips. So re-raise; isolate the short stack for a low risk gain, and move closer to the online poker tournament money.
You should only ever get callers that are very strong.
If you have good position and players before you have called a short stack raise, you can also smooth-call with a medium/strong hand. The general thought here is to eliminate the short stack, all players should then check to the river.
Do not bet into the dead pot unless you catch two pair or better (not even with top pair, it might not be good enough). With two pair you can then make a good size bet, to take other players off any possible draw.
16. In the late stages when the blinds are very high, players are forced to make plays just to keep up with the current blind level. Do not just call with a strong hand; you either lay it down or re-raise. Too many of your chips are going in, if you don’t make a re-raise the player that initiated the raise pre-flop will almost always bet on the flop, putting you to a tough decision.
If you re-raise you are putting that player to a decision for his tournament life; you are showing great strength and you may win the pot there and then.
You may exit the tournament here but you have already made a profit and it is a time for positive play, you are close to the big online poker tournament money and when you hit the last nine you want to have enough chips to give yourself a shot at the top three places. So late in a tourney, its raise or fold time to get your share of the online poker tournament money.
A good way to look at this is that if you call all-in pre-flop on a 50/50 chance more than twice in a tourney, what are your survival odds? So if you do go all-in make sure you are betting not calling, this gives you two chances to win.
17. Make a deal if you are in the top three. If your bankroll is under pressure, you may want to try to make a deal with the other two remaining players. If the top three places are worth say $9,000 the split will be something like $4,500 - $2,800 - $1,700. Therefore it may be worth your while taking a three way deal guaranteeing all players approximately second place money. If you are leader I would advise asking for a split based upon the current chip count (gets you a bit more, but often refused). So if possible take a guaranteed share of the online poker tournament money.
18. Use the Stop Go play. If you are out of position with a fairly strong hand and you get raised before the flop, do not always just re-raise all-in. A lot of the time you are setting yourself up for a race, lots of players will not back down pre-flop. Sometimes smooth call the raise (especially from Big blind) then bet the flop whatever comes, make a pot size bet, you do not want to give your opponents good odds to call. If you get re-raised and think you are beat, you have not lost all of your chips.
If you have connected with the flop that is even better, more often than not your opponent will miss the flop and will be forced to fold.
Use this play late in tournaments, when players are constantly bluffing for the blinds from late position. This is a very aggressive play and helps get your hands on the online poker tournament money.
19. Re-buy poker tournaments.
Re-buy poker tournaments are good value for your buy-in fee in relation to the finishing positions pay out, (far more money than in a standard ‘freeze-out tourney’). If you are playing in a $10 re-buy tournament the payouts often equate to a $40/$50 freeze-out.
Often, less skilled players looking for a lucky win in a small buy-in also try re-buys. So there is great potential here for the good players.
If you try a re-buy poker tournament allocate a potential cost to you as three or four times the entry (a $10 buy-in may cost you $30/$40). During the first hour of the game, play is normally very loose. Players going broke can re-buy up to the end of the first hour and will speculate on unlikely draws and call with junk hands. Their aim is to accumulate as many chips as possible in that first hour.
Many re-buy poker tournaments feature an add-on after the first hour; this is normally the cost of one buy-in and gives you chips equal to or slightly higher than your initial starting amount. As you ca not play a tourney giving most of the field an advantage you must add-on. (Using the above example the minimum spend would be $20. Note, if you are in the top 10 after the re-buy period do not add on).
You must use the above buy-in principle; if you do not you play scared for the first hour and will usually be way behind at the first break. If your attitude to risk says you cannot play this type of field then avoid this style of tournament.
After the first hour the game reverts to a normal mtt, although the chip spread from the leaders to the bottom can be huge. A good example of this is the Poker Stars $10 re-buy, played four times a day.
If you have a good first hour your chances of making the final table are high, the tournament leaders are often the lucky players as opposed to the best. The best players will make the final table.
An example re-buy tournament: In this game you start with 1500 chips, after the re-buy hour you need to have a minimum of 6,000-10,000 chips, the leader normally has 15,000-30,000 chips. If it goes really badly do not add on, go to your short stack game and hope to double up or double out. There is no point investing your bankroll with only a slim chance of a return.
Three first hour strategies for re-buy poker tournaments.
In all three strategies your first action is to re-buy. If not you will be starting with a disadvantage, (half the field will do the same). If you do not re-buy first you may win a couple of early pots, but from 1500 starting chips you may still be 1000 chips behind.
The following strategies are relative to the table plays. Use the strategy that fits how the table is playing at any given time during that first hour.
Crazy Table
Often in the first hour you will be at a table with lunatics. Players will go all-in pre-flop with rags aces, or hang on draws, (these players play the first hour like this every time, trying to double or treble up early). On a crazy table wait for the good hands, then play them very strong. If players continually go all-in pre-flop, smooth call with your AA-KK then just follow them in, double up and wait for the next one. You will come up against this table often.
Normal Table
If you land on a normal table with maybe only one lunatic (there is always one), play fairly loose. Play hands and call medium raises that you would not in a normal game. Play any two low connecting cards, any suited cards and any two cards over 9, but do not call yourself all-in. Raise with any strong hand and raise on the heavy side. You do not want too many callers when you are the raiser. You may go all in with AK pre-flop if you are making the move first, do not call an all-in with these cards if you are risking more than 10% of your stack. Players also holding two high cards may read this as a small pair and take a 50/50 chance (but find themselves dominated). As a rule when you get over 10,000 chips, tighten up to protect them.
Crazy You
If you have had a good couple of weeks and your bankroll is healthy; occasionally turn the tables, have some fun, be one of the lunatics. You may gain three things;
(1) A massive chip lead.
(2) Established reputation as a loose player which you can exploit later.
(3) Additional knowledge of how a lunatic plays by trying it yourself.
Allow yourself that gamble occasionally; allocate $100 and go for it. After all, paying $100 to get amongst the leaders after the first hour and to have a very good shot at maybe $5,000 in online poker tournament money is not so stupid.
To get your share of the online poker tournament money, play some satellites for larger tournaments.
Playing satellites are a way to get into big money tourneys for small investments. For the larger tourneys this is bankroll protection and allows you to play without fear. If a player has put up a $300 buy-in and you only paid $30, who do you think will be most comfortable?
Many sites run these satellite games, my favourite is Party poker.com. You can read our Party Poker review
There is one fundamental difference between a poker satellite tournament and a normal mtt. During the later stages of the game your normal aim will not be the final table. Mostly, satellite entries are gained by a percentage of the field, (exceptions are qualifiers for off-line major tournaments such as the WSOP).
Your aim therefore is to get a healthy chip stack and protect it, especially in the latter stages. If you gain a comfortable chip position only ever play premium hands. Close to the end of poker satellite tournaments be prepared to fold AK, QQ and even KK, AA under a big raise (AA does seem to get outdrawn a lot online & KK only needs an A on the flop to lose).
If you believe that you can qualify from your position/stack, do not play. Let someone else knock out the short stacks, the blinds will take care of the result.
If you are in mid position, play as aggressively as you can. Large stacks will not be so keen to take your chips; they do not need yours and do not want to lose their own. Short stacks will be waiting for a big hand. So be aggressive and try to move into the comfort zone.
Poker satellite tournaments are often re-buys. We have covered how to play the re-buy above; you should avoid the ‘crazy me’ strategy if you are playing a satellite for a $300 buy-in.
I hope this information helps in your attempts to gain some online poker tournament money.
Feel free to send me a PM. Let me know how you are getting on.
Brian Wills
Edited by MLP Mod Stuart Hall (aka Know-nuffin)
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