Pot-Limit Hold'em, a Rising Star in the Tournament Galaxy

Pot-limit hold'em is enjoying a rebirth of interest on the tournament circuit, especially during major tournaments. I will be playing the upcoming World Poker Challenge at the Reno Hilton, where my writing partner, T.J. Cloutier, and I were fortunate enough to make a rare appearance together at the final table of the $540 buy-in pot-limit hold'em event in 2001. I outlasted the venerable T.J. by a slim margin – I placed fifth and he came in sixth – in an exciting final-table duel that saw Lonny Berends take home the trophy.

Here are some hints that you should find helpful when you play your next pot-limit hold'em tournament or cash game, whether it be at the WPC in Reno, the World Poker Open in Tunica, the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, or even one of your hometown cardroom's weekly tournaments, where pot-limit hold'em events are also rising in popularity.

• Be aggressive with big pairs in early positions.

• Limp in with small pairs and suited connectors in loose games that do not have a lot of preflop raising.

• Occasionally raise with small pairs and suited connectors just to mix up your play and confuse your opponents.

• Limp in once in a while when you're holding aces under the gun so that you can reraise any raiser.

• Occasionally just call a raise with aces instead of reraising, especially when you are heads up against an aggressive player.

• Usually bet top pair with a good kicker or an overpair on the flop, especially in heads-up play.

• Remember to check-raise once in a while. You must not let your opponents think that when you check, they can automatically bet and take it.

• Sometimes bet strong drawing hands such as nut-flush draws into several players. You want opponents to know that you will bet "come" hands.

• Be prepared to occasionally put in all of your chips on a draw only. You need to let your opponents know that you can't always be run off your strong drawing hands.

• Bluff now and then – especially heads up against timid players. Be courteous and friendly to your opponents – and then bluff them when they least expect it.

• Try to cultivate a loose-aggressive image by playing selectively aggressive. Act loose, but play tighter than your loosest opponents.

• Study the opposition when you are not actively involved in a hand. This is often the best time to study them, because you can be more objective.

• In a cash game, come prepared to have as many chips on the table as the largest stack. The only exception is when you are trying to hit and run. Hit-and-run artists often buy in for the minimum, hoping to double through once or twice and then quit.

• Try to be as intimidating as possible at the table so that your opponents will get into the habit of playing passively and checking to you with hands they should be betting.

• Remember that the object of any poker game is to win money, not pots. It's OK to enjoy the game, but never forget that your real goal is to make money, not just play lots of hands so that you can stay in perpetual action.

Next time, I'll give you a list of things that you should not do when you play pot-limit hold'em. With all of these tips under your belt, there's a good chance that we can meet in the winner's circle one day soon – maybe even in January at a pot-limit hold'em cash game or tournament at the Reno Hilton, where the pot-limit action is always hot. Just remember that I'll be fighting to keep my bragging rights for another year!

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy is the author of Tournament Poker and the co-author with T.J. Cloutier of Championship No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold'em, both of which are available through Card Player. Visit www.pokerbooks.com for more details.