There are some key differences to how you should play in a tournament setting as opposed to a ring game. As an example I’ll provide the following scenario.
A relatively short-stacked player moves all-in, a second player calls and so do you. If this was a ring game, you and the remaining player in the pot with chips would do well to continue playing your respective games. However, if this was a tournament with a predetermined number of places “in the money,” the incentive to knock the short-stack out of the game is higher than the possibility of increasing your stack from the other player.
If the short stack has pocket jacks and you have pocket eights and the flop is 2 3 7, you might be inclined to raise thinking your hand is solid. The raise may make the other player fold with his AQ. The turn is a three and the river is an ace. You lose and double up the short stack. Now if you could take back the raise after the flop, the AQ would have stayed in the hand and picked up the higher pair on the river. You still wouldn’t win the hand, but the short-stack would be out of the tournament bringing you one step closer to placing in the money.
Of course, not everyone follows this advice, and from Mr. Short-stack’s point-of-view it probably isn’t fair, but it is good tournament strategy.
The exception to the rule? If you find yourself holding the nuts on the river, bet however you’d like.
Some of my best memories at the poker table were before my life was taken over by texas hold’em. I used to play a dealer’s choice game with a group of creative friends. We came up with a gamut of unorthodox poker variants, some of which am going to highlight from time to time.
You may have heard of Follow the Queen, a wild card stud game. The idea is after a couple hole cards, each player is dealt a card up followed by a round of betting. If a queen is dealt to a player, then the following card to the next player is wild. If no queens show, then queens are wild. The game allows for four wild cards in the deck.
With only four wild cards the integrity of poker can stand in my opinion—meaning skill is still a large part of the game. Our version used a total of eight wilds, we played follow the king and queen. Then we added another twist. If the two of clubs was dealt up to any player the deck was shuffled again and we started over with any players that had not previously folded. Occasionally we even allowed for the two of clubs’ power to be used when dealt as a player’s hole card at the discretion of the player who had it.
I doubt any self-respecting poker pro would give said game a chance, but it was a fun diversion from more serious games. We called it, Follow the King and Queen through downtown Chicago.
Liar’s Poker comes in a couple of different flavors. The first may be more comfortable as it is a tradition card game and the later is not. The game begins with each player starting with two quarters. Everyone is then dealt two cards down. The first player calls a poker hand. The next player has the option of either calling a hand which beats the previous hand or challenging the previous player’s call. If a person challenges the hand, then everyone’s cards are pooled to determine if the hand exists. If it does, the person who called the game loses one of his quarters and starts the next game, with only one card dealt to him. If it does not, the player who called the hand loses the quarter. After a player has their second quarter taken away, the player is out. Deck is reshuffled after each round. Game ends and the pooled change is awarded when only one person has a quarter left.
Liar’s poker is also a popular bar game that only requires a dollar bill to play. In the place of cards, the eight-digit serial number on the dollar bill (see below is blue) represents each “hand.” The object is similar to the card version–to make the highest bid of a number that does not exceed the combined total held by all the players. The numbers are usually ranked in the following order: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 (10) and 1 (Ace). For example, if the first player bids three 4′s, he is predicting there are at least three 4′s among all the players, including himself. The next player can bid a higher number at that level (three 5′s), any number at a higher level (four 2′s) or challenge. The end of the game is reached when a player makes a bid that is challenged all around. If the bid is successful, he wins a dollar from each of the other players, but if the bid is unsuccessful, he loses a dollar to each of the other players.
Both games are fun diversions that combine statistical reasoning with bluffing. The barrier of entry is small in that the most you can lose is a matter of dollars and cents. However, for you high rollers, currency substitutions are always an option.
If you practice any other variations on Liars Poker let me know in the comments. This is one game that can easily vary in rules.
I assume all of my American readers have been affected by and/or heard about the government crack down on on-line gambling. The quick version is this: suits from major sites like Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker have been formally charged with fraud and all funds and transfers from US players have been frozen, which, by all accounts, sucks.
I think we were all hoping that little bill in 2006 making on-line gambling illegal would never be enforced. Now it looks like Uncle Sam just took its sweet time making a case against the big three gaming outfits. To be fair, the enforcement is justified in my opinion. Just like I feel about immigration in the US, what laws we have in place should be enforced, but I also think we should change the laws. It appears Poker Stars and the rest were laundering money, which is illegal. They may have been forced into a life of crime by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, but “enforcement” is right their in the name, they should have saw this coming. Let’s face it, with their assurances of safety from the bill, they weren’t honest to their customers either.
As a fan of the game and the profits it allows, I’m still rooting for the gambling sites. I hope PPA lobbying and Full Tilt lawyers put this madness behind us. However, the perfect solution is now being called for not only by Bluff and Cardplayer, but also by Fortune and the Washington Post–legalize the damn game! Let the rake go to American businesses and provide American jobs. Let Harrahs and the Bellagio make sites to compete with Poker Stars and Full Tilt in a free market.
Will this happen? I thought so, but who the hell knows anymore? Color me jaded, which I think is a shade of green. At this point, I just hope their vague promise of letting us cash out our account comes to pass.
I guess I’m back to selling my body for cash. What? That’s illegal too?
Ever go on a winning streak? I know I have. Game after game of hot cards, genius calls and well placed confidence…then it all goes to hell. Hundreds won, then hundreds lost. Gus Hanson knows what I’m talking about, but you’d have to add a few more zeros to the end of his streak.
Hanson started off 2010 with a million dollar poker profit after just one month. (Maybe that should read WON month.) He continued to pad his account until he managed to lose nearly a million in the span of a week. In the first week of April, he played 8,00 hands online, including some $300-$600 Pot Limit Omaha Poker. It did not go well.
Morale of the story? You can’t win them all, but I have a feeling Gus will land on his feet.
Do you yawn when you see or hear someone yawn? I do. I even yawn when I hear the word “yawn.” What does this mean? It means I’m tired.
I may be tired, but studies show contagious yawning is a function of empathy. You yawn because you relate to the emotional state of being tired, bored, or whatever. You are yawning vicariously though the other guy.
In poker, empathy helps to get you into the mind of your opponent. This is a beneficial place to be as long as you don’t get too attached. I theorize that bad play, like yawning, is contagious.
In my own “studies” I have seen a maniac sit down among responsible, veteran players and slowly drive them insane. Before I know it, the whole table is playing every hand, chasing to the river, consistently over betting the pot…madness! I admit nothing changes a player’s outlook like a bad beat, but even before the maniac draws out on someone, the maniac flu spreads. This is true live, and even more true in US Online Poker, but is there a strategy around it?
I know the strategies at play here: “you must become a maniac to beat a maniac” and all that, but these are BAD strategies. If you can’t inoculate youself from maniac flu, the best strategy is to find a new table. Put emphasis on empathizing with the pros.
There is one point in every tournament when every player should adjust their play. It is when the money is almost within grasp and the bubble boy (or girl) is about to be crowned. Most tighten up, some bet more freely, all have a number on their mind. The number of how many players are left.
On a micro-scale, we can deal with the easy numbers. My favorite games are single-table tournaments with the top three places paying out. (These are also known by the somewhat counter-intuitive name sit-n-goes. Once you “sit” you can’t “go” until the game is over.) The bubble here is fourth place. Out of the last ten games I’ve played I’ve been first, second, third or fourth–so the end-game strategy has been fresh on my mind. Be aware, this is on-line advice and my not apply in person.
Every time I reach the top four, everyone tightens up except for players with a significant chip lead. These players steal blinds with bets four or five times the big blind. I’ve found that when the blinds are high enough to significantly impact the smaller or mid stacks, that is overkill. The minimum raise is often enough to get the player to fold pre-flop. According to traditional advice, this is a weak play. I agree, it is weak, but if it works it works. I have been using this strategy over the last ten games and have been first or second most of them. In addition, when you do get a call, you are still seen as on the offensive for the hand. Most people will respect your post-flop bet assuming your table reputation is solid.
Disclaimer: The minimum raise has worked for me consistently, but only under specific circumstances. I’ve been min. raising (1) online, (2) with four or less players at the table, and (3) not in the big blind. I use the min. bet to steal the big blind, it is less likely to get anyone who has already called the big blind to fold. Also I’ve only tested this tactic with buy-ins between $10 and $30. Your mileage may very.
Brian Brushwood of the popular Scam School podcast just released a scam involving our favorite game. If you can endure a GoDaddy ad, the video below will show you how to win the day with a guaranteed (marginally) better hand dealt three different ways. No mechanic skills required, you need only keep track of a single card.
Grundy's goal is to build the better poker person. Thanks for visiting Hell's Cold Day, I'm Grundy. I've been playing cards since 2000 and have raised in stakes just short of considering myself a "pro," profiting (mostly) the whole way. I am happy where I am, even though I believe in my heart of hearts I could rely solely on poker for a living. Why not? That is a personal choice you may find in the posts to the right. Enjoy the journey, I hope I can help along the way.
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Some of my best memories at the poker table were before my life was taken over by texas hold’em. I used to play a dealer’s choice game with a group of creative friends. We came up with a gamut of unorthodox poker variants, some of which am going to highlight from time to time.
