Stack Size...How important is it?

A problem that many players face early on in the tournament is the worry that their chip stack is becoming too small because of blinds that have been lost for whatever reason.  For example, if you are sitting at a table and have lost 30 chips of your stack of 1500, you may look at the tournament lobby and see that you are falling behind the average and thus must start making something happen.  This is the WRONG response!!
If you try to force chips your way, you can stop thinking about hands rationally and make some very bad plays which will cost you your tournament life.  You must keep playing tight in these stages, as the blinds won't actually do you any damage and can be made up with a marginal hand later on in the tournament.
It is absolutely critical to play tight but aggressive poker, only playing premium hands.  It is very easy to get to the top 50% of most tournaments even if you never play in a pot.  When the blinds go up, the risk of playing less than premium hands is outweighed by the potential reward.  The opposite is true early on, to raise 200 with Q9o in an attempt to steal 30 chips in blinds is a ridiculous plan!
To give a personal example of this, last night I was in a 90man SNG on PokerStars and I wasn't doing that well but I was still there in the top 45 or so.  Sitting in the big blind, I was dealt AT of spades and checked to a flop.  The flop came 2, 4, J, all of spades.  I checked, the player to the left raised 800, the next raised all in, another called, I called, as did the guy to my left, and I won over 6000 chips with the nut flush, moving myself into 7th.
A key virtue in poker is patience; early on you can wait until you are holding the nuts, then make a nice move to double or triple up.  Patience will pay off and when the premium hand comes, you can be ready.  Once you are in the money, however, new rules apply to how to play your hands and that will be the subject of a later post!  For now, I hope to see you at the final table!!

I'm Back

After a few days where other commitments kept me from poker, I am back to blogging and playing again!  This weekend I only played in 15 or so games or tournaments total so I am feeling a little out of the poker world.  This marks my return, however, and I'm sure you will see me at the tables under jakecartier3!!
Drop a comment!

Building A Bankroll From Scratch

There are many ways out there to build a bankroll while not investing any of your own money AT ALL.  We live in an age where money changes hands very easily and with the internet, it is often possible to make a little bit of money for minimal work.  Before getting into the poker specific part of this entry, there a couple links I have to post and discuss.
http://OpinionOutpost.com/join/7236766
The first is a link to Opinion Outpost, a survey website that I personally have made around $225 in the past 9 months or so.  This might not sound like much, but when sitting down and watching TV, it doesn't hurt to do a survey and make $5 in 20 minutes, or $50 in 5 minutes, which is my personal record.
The second is called mysurvey, but a link cannot be posted to it.  If you want to build a bankroll with this site, leave a comment with your email and I'll send you a referral to get you started.
Now, this may seem like it has nothing to do with poker but these are both good ways to make money if you are interested in playing on a real money site.
Another--but much more difficult--way of bankroll building is through freerolls.  These are tournaments with no entry fee that often offer cash or entries into more tournaments as prizes.  The best freerolls are, in my opinion, found on Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.  If you decide to play for money, the $0.10 36 man tournaments on PokerStars are probably your best bet as they are easy to cash in, if not win.
Remember, however, this is a long and drawn out process.  The variance at low stakes/freerolls is huge, and you can end up losing up all your chips very quickly to an amateur who has no idea what she is doing.  It is very rewarding to see an account grow from $0 to a positive number without risking any money and it is feasible to get the bankroll into the thousands if you are good!
No matter how you decide to start a bankroll, even if you deposit your own money, never overlook the benefits of a low stakes/freeroll game or even websites that will allow you to build up a bankroll.
Good luck and hope to see you in a freeroll building your bankroll soon!!

The Importance of Folding

Folding is incredibly important to the game of poker yet it is also a tactical move often underused by amateurs.  There will always be hands that you're beaten, and you need to leave those down.  For example, I was playing in a 90 man tournament and on the first hand I was dealt AA.  Naturally, I was excited so I started raising.  I got called by two people and the flop came 9,9,2.  Both of the others checked so I raised the size of the pot.  I got re-raised and instead of laying my hand down--which would have been smart--I couldn't bring myself to lay down the bullets.  Instead, I went all in, both called, both had a 9 in their hand, and I was on my way out in 86th place.  This play is similar to a lot that I have seen other players make.  When the board looks dangerous, get out of the hand!!  As Doyle Brunson says, "There's no use throwing in good money after bad."  Remember that when you put that money in the pot, it is no longer yours and any claim that you had to it when it was in your stack is gone.  If your stack is 1000 and you raise 200, your stack is now 800.  There is no use throwing more money in when your opponent holds the nuts, as they WILL NOT FOLD IT!!!
Laying down hands also bolsters your table image in 2 ways.  First, it means that you're playing in more hands and getting in there gambling.  This makes the table much more exciting and also entices others to play a bit looser than they normally would.  Also, it makes you seem like a smarter player--which you are--as opponents see you laying down hands and ensuring that the money that they get from the pot is minimal, still garnering you respect even if you lost.
Remember, as soon as the money goes in, it's not yours anymore so don't be afraid to fold a bad hand.

The Math Of Poker

Although it may not be good to be known as a math player, you have to know math to be a good player.
There are 2 key formulas to use in Texas Hold 'em to help determine your odds.
The first is known as the Rule Of 4.  After the flop is down, you can calculate the number of outs you have by multiplying the amount of outs by 4%, or 0.04.  For example, lets say you hold JcJs, with $100 in the pot, then the flop comes Qd, 6s, 7c.  If your opponent checks, should you raise?  That is a question that you must determine based on his playing style and other factors.  But lets say your opponent raises $50, half the pot..  For this pot to be worth calling, you need to do some math.  In this case it is simple, as your only real outs are at least one of the 2 remaining Jacks.  Your opponent could have pocket Qs, Ks, Q7, 67, As, a small pocket pair, rags, or even Jacks like you, but there is really nothing to go off of.  Hence the math:  You must multiply the number of outs (outs are the cards that can bring you a better hand such as a set, straight, flush, etc; in this case, 2) by 4%.  This means that you have an 8% chance of hitting another J on either the turn or the river, so the pot needs to be paying odds of about 10 to 1 for it to be a smart call.  In this case, the odds are 3 to 1, so it is wise to fold, all other things equal.
Now under the same circumstances, lets say that the turn comes and it is a 5d so the board is looking like Qd, 6s, 7c, 5d.  In this same scenario, to calculate the chances of making a Jack on the Turn (assuming that the flop was either checked or the odds were good) you must multiply the number of outs (still 2) by 2%, meaning that there is a 4% chance of hitting a J on the river.  The pot must now be paying 20 to 1 odds, so if the pot is currently at $100, the biggest bet you can call is $5.
Hopefully that clears up some questions of math in poker, but if not, drop a comment!!

Early Stages (In Middle Position)

In tournament and SNG play, the prevailing wisdom is to play tight and aggressively in the early stages.  For the most part, I would agree, although a loose table image can contribute to a huge chipstack.  Note that I say 'table image' and that I don't recommend loose play in the early stages.  Early in the tournament, most people are too worried about being that first guy out to call any sort of raise (or even the big blind) with anything less than pocket jacks or maybe suited AT.  This means that in this stage of play, a few small raises can be very advantageous.
Lets say you're sitting in middle position and the big blind is $20, with each player starting with $1500, and there has been one call to the BB so far.  This can be an optimal time to minraise and start bullying players around if you have anything that remotely represents a playable hand.  In all likelihood, most (if not all) other players will fold, but you need to know what it means in the scenarios that they don't.
1)  If a player after you calls:  They could have something, so check the flop unless you make top pair or better and see how they play it.  If they raise, you should probably get out unless you have some sort of over-pair or are on a straight/flush draw.  In the latter 2 circumstances, only call bets that won't kill your stack should you fold later on or lose on the showdown.  Going for a reraise is risky, unless your overpair is excellent or you're on the nut draw.  If you do see the turn or river just play standard poker.
2) A player reraises the minraise after you: In this case you can either shove or fold.  This early in the tournament, it is probably smarter to fold and lose the $40 than it is to lose more, unless your poclet cards are very good.  If the pocket cards are strong, come back at him with a small raise, value betting the most money into the pot.  They tend to fold.  Your other option is to shove all in, which is to be exercised at your own discretion.
3) A player shoves all in:  Fold unless you have queens or better.  Your opponents move has taught you something that is very important, they are not afraid to shove it in.  If you were to fold and another player calls, you will know how this player bets depending on the strength of their hand, if they remain in the game, that is.
These are just a few things that can happen in the early phases of tournament play while sitting in early position.  I am going to try to dedicate a decent amount of posts to how to play in different positions in different stages, but I decided that I would just start with middle position, where your bets have to be a bit more cautious which often causes consternation for a player in this situation.
Good luck and I hope to see you at the tables!!

Welcome!

This is my new blog dedicated solely to poker.  It will mainly focus on Texas Hold'em poker but I may get into more variants of the game if I get more familiar with them.  This will have on a mix of strategy and coverage, and also special bonuses for poker sites and poker products that will only be available to followers.
Drop a comment if you would like to see something specific!!