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Online Poker Tournament
Strategy
Single
Table Online Poker Tournaments
This format is very popular in
online Texas Holdem, and is also referred to as a shootout, or
a ‘sit and go’. This style of no limit holdem is
the mainstay in my online portfolio and is the reason I have
been very successful playing online tournaments. I’m going
to share one of my secrets to winning online Texas Holdem later
on this page. Important: (see this Clove's Column
about how to maximize your online efficiencies).
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Single table Texas Holdem games
can be interpreted a couple different ways. For the purposes
of our conversation here, I am referring to single table online
tournaments, where all the players start with the same arbitrary
dollar amount. This format has both advantages and disadvantages,
but for most good online poker players the advantages far
outweigh the disadvantages and this is where you can
make your money. Let’s see why…
If your running well and you’ve
won a couple nice hands and have a healthy stack, unfortunately
you can't win more than what first place pays, but hey
you’re making money. At the same time, if you’re
catching cold cards all you have at risk is how much you put
up to enter.
Unlike a Texas Holdem Poker real
money cash game, especially No Limit Holdem games,
your risk is defined in a tournament. If your tolerance for risk
is low or you're a player that goes on tilt, at least here, your
downside is limited. This is a very important point and here’s
why…
For example, you play very well
all day long and have doubled or even tripled your chips. But,
in a No Limit Texas Holdem ring game, all it takes is one bad
hand with somebody who has more chips then you and all your hard
work could be wiped out.
For instance, you’re holding
pocket AA’s and a player with more chips than you goes
ALL In. You have to call the bet and your opponent turns over
KK’s. Now you’re nearly a 4 to 1 favorite here but
every five times you play this hand you’re supposed to
lose once, based on the odds. (See outs and odds and pre flop odds).
Your opponent flops a (K) and you lose all your chips in the
hand.
On the flipside, if you’re
playing single table tournaments all day, either one tournament
or many 'sir and go's' at once (see this Clove’s Column) and the above
situation happens, it’s no where near as devastating. In
the long run you will be rewarded for you good solid play and
will avoid these kind of massive swings to your bankroll. Here’s
the deal…
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It’s not about any individual
bad beat but more about the bottom line. (i.e. I started the
day with $400 and ended the day with $550. In single table tournaments
it’s all about the bottom line.) Not overexposing your
bankroll and playing in a somewhat controlled environment. This
is one of the keys to success in online Texas Holdem.
At PokerRoom.com, single table online
poker tournaments range from $5 to $200 dollars buy-in. What
this means is in a $5 dollar buy-in game you pay $5 dollars (plus
a small percentage to the house) along with 9 other players and
put this into the pot. Each player will start with $1,000.00
dollars in chips and the last three players left will split the
pot, with the winning player getting the largest piece of the
pie, usually 50%.
Like every other form of poker
you need to have a keen sense of your position at all times,
who you're playing with and your own state of mind. All of these
subjects are addressed in other sections. (see Starting Hands and our review of the Best Online Poker Rooms) Over the course of
time you need to have a game plan and stick to it.
With steady, consistent play in
single table tournaments you will see your results improve over
time. For the most part, if you're consistently making it down
to the final four players, you're doing well and now it's time
to brush up on your .Texas Holdem short game or start to think
about making deals...
You can also play single table
cash games, where you play at a single table, with other players,
in a limit game or even a no limit format. Here you bring your
real dollars to the table. If you're playing
online, most online poker rooms will only allow you to bring
up to a certain amount to the table. This is covered in more
detail under the real money online poker tab.
FullTiltPoker.com IS STILL OPEN TO US PLAYERS!!
Click here to see our full review of the best online poker rooms.
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