First of all I have to say what an honor it is to be writing for pocketfives. This is a class site, and Adam, Riley, and Cal are doing yeoman’s work. It’s both exciting and humbling to be noticed by great players. Being ranked here is an affirmation that good players think you have some skill....although it won’t keep them from going after your chips....lol.

I’ve been asked by quite a few players what it takes to consistently make money in tourneys? Well, I have a few suggestions that I hope will help. Let’s call them the 5 rules of tournament play. These are for players who are just getting started or the player who wants to take his game to the next level. I’m in no way professing that these are absolute, because styles vary from player to player. Also, I want to make clear that I’m talking about NL hold’em tourneys. That being said, let’s jump in. <READMORE>

Rule #1 Be able to invest time and money

You have got to be willing to invest between 5 to 6 hours into any tourney you enter. I use the word invest and not spend because you have to look at tourney play as going to work. It’s not like cash tables where you come and go as you please. You can’t be thinking, “hope this gets done before I have to go pick up Sarah." If you can’t invest the time, don’t waste the money. Tourney play requires a lot patience and discipline. Time, it is said, equals money.

Rule #2 Be patient, patient, patient

Too many players try to win the tournament in the first half hour. Loose and aggressive play can lead to big chip stacks early on, but can also lead to early exits. Some top players have chosen that style of play, and that’s cool, but it doesn’t work for the majority of players. That’s a style that you shouldn’t try until you have quite a few final tables under your belt.

Check your flop percentages. If you’re seeing more than 25% of the flops, you’re seeing too many. You need to be more selective in the cards that you play. More on that in rule #5. You want to see the personification of this rule? Watch Loewa79 play. First of all, he isn’t in a lot of hands. Then when he is, he isn’t married to the hole cards he has if he hasn’t caught a flop or doesn't have plenty of outs to see the turn and river. When he bets, you better have a good hand, or you’ll be handing over chips.

Rule #3 Position, position, position

This may be the most important one of all. What you play, how you play it, and for how much, is determined by your position in the hand. If you are under the gun (first player after the big blind) with JJ, you have to make a play with no information on what anyone else has. However, if you have JJ on the button (last player before the small blind) and two players have simply called the blind, you have a lot of information. When you add in the factor of being at a tight or aggressive table, position greatly determines your actions.

I will be much more aggressive at a loose table, with two calls, on the button with JJ, than at a tight table. Watch any of the players ranked here to get a feel for how differently they will play the same cards in different positions.

Rule #4 Information is critical

If you are not keeping notes on players and journaling your hands, you’re making a big mistake. With the number of players out there, it’s of paramount importance to keep notes on any player out of the ordinary. You want to categorize them as tight or loose. Take note of tendencies or tells (yes there are tells online). You can also make notes of , for lack of better words, character traits. Recently in a qualifier on UB, RSMD703 and BADBUB decided to let me know how stupid I was, despite the fact that they can’t play their way out of a paper bag. Naturally, I made the appropriate notes. Believe me, if you don’t keep notes you will not always remember a player. Party has over 50,000 players! You also want to journal, at the minimum, big hands. The reason is to learn what you and other players do in different situations. Trust me, this will be invaluable in the long run. If you’re a student of the game, you’ll graduate with money.

Rule #5 Stop fishing with marginal hands

Somewhere along the line, you’ve either watched too much poker on ESPN or witnessed too many bad hands turn into straights or flushes. Do some research and you’ll find that Howard Lederer doesn’t consider Q 10 to be even an E level hand! Does that mean he would never play the hand? Of course not. However, the situations are few and far between. How many times have you seen this: Player A raise big pre-flop, two players see the flop, the flop is 96A, player A goes all in, player B calls, player A shows Q10, player B shows AQ, the turn is a K, the river J. Player A wins with his straight and a couple of players on the table say “nice hand...” That is NOT a nice hand, it’s a lucky one. A poor pre-flop raise was made worse by an even dumber all in. The fact that player A catches a straight is dumb luck. Do you realize that you have to have 9 outs just to have a 35% chance of hitting your hand? Yet you watch players push chips at the pot like it’s a sale at Kmart, because they have a flush draw. Don’t be one of them! When you do this, you’re not playing poker, you’re playing slots! Unless you’re a very good player who knows all the other factors involved in a hand, when you get A 6, Q 10, J 9, K 9, 10 8, etc. dump them. Remember, if you’re seeing more than 25% of the flops, you’re seeing too many. In that case, you’re relying on luck rather than skill to win. Every player needs some luck, but the more skillful you are, the more money you’ll make.

Lastly, keep in mind that no matter what you do, bad beats are going to happen. Your KK is going to get cracked by 88. You’re going to have flushes and straights come out of nowhere to beat you. DON’T change your game! Frustration leads to sloppy and poor play. Trust is a must or your game is a bust. The quicker you get over the bad beats, the better the health of your bankroll. Back in the 80’s, Bjorn Borg was killing everyone in tennis. Tune into one of his matches and you couldn’t tell if he was winning or losing. He had tremendous focus on the moment. That hand or tourney is gone and there’s nothing you can do to change it. W. I. N. What’s Important Now. Use this acronym and you’ll be on your way to better results.

All of the above should help you become a better player. However, when playing against me, revert back to old ways! See you on the felt!
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