Poker Strategy
(For Low-limit and Freeroll Tourneys, Both in Live Poker Rooms and Online)
This article is for those without much poker experience. For more advanced players and those wanting to improve their game beyond the rudiments of basic sound strategy, please click here.
There is a very simple strategy that you can use at poker tournaments that can be very effective if you have the patience for it. It should give you a positive expectancy in Las Vegas tournaments that cater to the typical tourist at buy-in levels up to $100. It will definitely give you a positive expectancy, and much more than that, at low-limit and freeroll online play, giving you an edge over 99% of the other players in the tournament. For a more in-depth look at online play, please read my step-by-step articles about how you can get into the World Series of Poker with little or no investment.
Be a Selective Calling Station (SCS). That's right, don't follow the advice you may have heard from experts and from some of the really good books. Those sources will tell you to raise. If your hand is good enough to call with, raise instead. Forget that advice. You can use it successfully after you've become a better player. By becoming an SCS, you will last longer in most tournaments and have more fun for your money, while gaining the experience you need reading the board, sizing up your opponents, and becoming comfortable in all kinds of relative chip-strength positions (especially short-stack positions!). SCS play involves just calling the big blind with hands like A,K suited or not, and on down to about Q,10. Fold most other hands, with the exception of the ones that you'll go all in with at appropriate times in the tourney, which is covered in the next paragraph. If raised before the action gets to you, fold the ones on the lower end of the scale (like Q,10 offsuit) and be prepared to go all in with the ones on the higher end (like A,K suited). Exact play in these situations will depend on the situation, but you will quickly gain a feel for what to do, once you've played in a few tournaments. If you call with a strong hand and you don't get raised by someone behind you, you have not only paid the minimum price for seeing the flop, but if you do hit the flop, you'll get plenty of action for your bets/raises because of the nature of the opponents you're playing and if you don't hit the flop you can simply fold. Don't even think about bluffing, that's for more advanced players and for opponents whom you'll be facing who do think it's correct to bluff, not realizing that the reason for bluffing is to get your opponents to lay down their hands, which they won't do in the low-limit tournaments in Las Vegas and the online poker rooms.
All or Nothing. Early in the tournament, if you don't mind the possibility of an early bust-out, go all in with pocket pairs like 8,8 and on up to A,A, but with the higher pocket pairs, consider just raising anywhere from the minimum, up to 3 times the big blind. The reason for going all in with hands like 8,8 is because of the likelikhood that you'll be called by someone holding something like Q,7 suited, giving you a nice edge over that person. You also hold a slight edge over someone with A,K offsuit, etc. Later in the tournament, if your stack gets low, go all in with any pocket pair. Keep folding and folding the trashy hands and the marginally trashy hands like K 9 suited, unless your stack gets so low that you're absolutely desperate.
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... and have fun! If you find yourself losing a lot, it's probably just a temporary run of bad luck. Do not get angry if you suffer more than your share of bad beats, that's part of the game. Just keep trying and when your bad luck streak is over, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to defeat your opponents.