Tournament Strategy

A few months ago I did a column on tournament strategy, in which I asked questions and then provided the answers. I would like to use that technique again in this column.



Question No. 1: How important is it to vary your opening-raise size (versus the standard opening-raise size of three times the big blind, for example)?



Normally, I tell my students that if they are going to enter the pot as the first player to do so besides the blinds, a raise of between three and four times the size of the big blind is what I recommend. The reason for this is that I do not want to give away any information regarding the strength of my hand. I recommend doing this with whatever hand I choose to raise as long as I am the first person into the pot. Does that mean that you should always follow this strict guideline? The answer is no. If players at your table have a tendency to be liberal in their calling requirements, you might want to raise five or even six times the size of the big blind if your hand warrants it. If you have only a medium-strength hand, perhaps two and a half times the big blind would suffice, since players are more likely to call you anyway. I seldom raise only twice the size of the big blind, because I want to put more pressure on my opponents, and a minimum-raise only encourages a lot of action. If my hand is that marginal, I should either fold or simply limp in and see what develops.



Question No. 2: How do you get away from big hands when you think you are beat?



This, of course, is a problem that we all have to face when playing no-limit hold'em. With some hands such as set over set with no flush or straight on board, it is very difficult to fold. Any one-pair hand or even bottom two pair is very vulnerable, and even pocket aces should be folded after the flop if you are facing a large bet from a tight player. Like so many poker decisions, the answer is, "It depends." You need to evaluate each situation as it arises and determine the type of player you're up against, his probable range of hands, and whether or not he acted like he was on a draw and then bet or raised when the straight or flush card hit. Sometimes loose-aggressive players will represent straights and flushes, hoping that you will fold; only you can determine what to do in the heat of battle. A good guideline is, what has this particular player done in the past when this type of situation came up? Obviously, if he seldom bluffs, it might be a good idea to fold your overpair or set if it looks like a draw got there. If it were easy to make all of the right decisions, more players would be winning.



Question No. 3: What do you do when you raise from late position with A-Q and get reraised?



Again, the answer is, "It depends." Who did the reraising? How big was the reraise? How deep is your stack and your opponent's stack? If he's a tight player with a lot of chips, I would fold. If he's a loose-aggressive player who might be making a play at me, I would either reraise if I thought he would fold, or flat-call, see the flop, and then decide what to do. If I know nothing about the player, I'd probably fold, unless I was short-stacked or he was short-stacked. A-Q is a trouble hand in a raised pot, and if not played properly, it can burn up a lot of chips. I have been knocked out of more tournaments with A-Q and pocket jacks than any other two hands.



Question No. 4: How do you play the big blind when the pot is not raised preflop and you flop top pair with a junk hand like 10-4 and the flop comes 10-3-2 rainbow?



What I do in that situation depends on how many players are in the pot. With only one or two opponents, I like to fire out a bet of one-half to two-thirds the size of the pot. If there are three or more players, I usually check and see what develops.

Sometimes I fold, sometimes I raise, and sometimes I even flat-call. I am more likely to check-raise a loose player who bets from the button and could have anything. I am more likely to fold if a solid player bets into the field. If I am up against a new player and he does not make an extremely big bet, I will often flat-call and see what develops.



Question No. 5: If you have a big stack, do you protect it or push?



I often do both. I pick on the weak and avoid the strong, unless my hand is very strong. If you are up against players who can't be bullied, wait for a real hand and then push. If you can slap them around and get away with it, do it. Just remember this: If you are too protective and start playing not to lose instead of to win, you're fighting with one hand tied behind your back, which is a sure way to lose the battle in the end.



If you make the right laydowns and push your big stack when it's the right thing to do, I hope to see you in the winner's circle.



Tom McEvoy is a representative of PokerStars.com. He can be found playing under his own name on PokerStars and is happy to chat when he can. He also is an instructor at ProPlayLive.com.