Mailbag

I recently posted on twitter @JonathanLittle and my Facebook fan page asking, “What is the number one thing about poker that gives you problems?” While a few people wanted to complain about bad beats, most of the players had legitimate questions that I could help them with. In today’s article, I want to share a few of the questions and answers that I think will be beneficial to you. If you enjoy this article, please let me know!

Tony: I have a tough time when playing in high stakes (too big for my bankroll) re-entry tournaments versus professionals who can buy in multiple times. I am unsure if their plan is to sit back and play a normal strategy of if they are gambling it up, hoping to either double up or rebuy. What should my strategy be?

Jonathan Little: The fact that the professionals can fire multiple bullets doesn’t matter too much beyond the fact that the field is guaranteed to be MUCH tougher than normal freezout events because there will be a much higher percentage of professionals deep in the event because it is impossible for them to go broke early. If you are playing too large for your bankroll or perhaps won your seat into the event, I suggest you play it once and realize that the pros have a much better chance of winning the event than you do in exchange for having a higher average buy-in. That being said, if you can’t afford to re-enter, you probably should not be playing the event in the first place. Always practice sound bankroll management!

As a professional, I know that I approach these events almost exactly the same as I would approach a standard freezout tournament. My plan is certainly not to blast my stack in and hope to get lucky. This is probably because I value money and I realize that it is much more difficult to turn a profit if I drastically increase the amount of times I buy in. The main times I am “looking to gamble” is when I have a short stack, perhaps 30 percent of the starting stack or less, near the end of the re-entry period. At that point, it usually makes sense for me to double up or re-enter.

Hank: I hate losing. What can I do about that?

JL: Losing is part of the game that must be embraced. If you get upset and act like a child, your mind is not in the right place. You have to understand that if you are an excellent player, you will fail to cash in around 82 percent of the tournaments you enter. If you are a great cash game player, you will lose perhaps 40 percent of your sessions. If you are a weak player, you should expect to lose much more often than that.

Assuming you play well, if you practice sound bankroll management, you will find that the swings affect you much less. For example, if you have $1,000 and want to play $1-$2 with a $200 buy-in, if you lose $600, you will be devastated. If instead, you have a proper $20,000 bankroll, as most professionals would suggest, you will not blink an eye at losing $600. You will simply make a point to review your play for mistakes and continue grinding out equity.

Chad: I recently had the pleasure of playing with you directly on my left. You made my life tough by rarely folding and constantly applying pressure when I had marginal hands. What should I do when I have an excellent professional on my left?

JL: I hope you enjoyed the experience!

It is tough when you have a good player on your left. You have two good options. Your first option is to play a tight, aggressive strategy so you can fight back a high percentage of the time when the professional applies pressure. It is easy to play when you know you typically have a much stronger range than your opponent.

Your other option is to fight back, usually in an aggressive manner, and let the professional know that he cannot mess around versus you. This is the option I tend to take when my table is soft and I want to be able to play as many hands as possible with the weak players. If you constantly have to worry about being reraised or put in difficult post-flop situations, you can’t justify entering many pots, which is a disaster when your table is soft. So, I fight fire with fire. I am more than happy to four-bet when an aggressive player three-bets me or call their three-bet than check-raise on a lot of flops. Win or lose, I will set the tone that, if necessary, I am not afraid to fight. This strategy is particularly strong early in a tournament when if you fail, you will not lose too many chips. Later in a tournament, you should probably pick your spots a bit more cautiously because one mistake can send you to the rail. ♠

Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion with more than $6 million in tournament winnings. Each week, he posts an educational blog and podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com, where you can get a FREE poker training video that details five things you must master if you want to win at tournament poker.