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Get Ready to Tighten Up Your Poker Game
Get Ready to Tighten Up Your Poker Game
At the WSOP Main Event, the chip leader after the first day has NEVER won the event. Now who knows how they played or if they all suffered tremendous bad beats, but often times while playing poker you'll wonder how someone can lose a huge chip lead or perhaps you're guilty of such a crime.
It happens, sometimes undeservedly or sometimes just because someone was playing plain dumb. Tightening up is a safe way to make it through tournaments. You do not have to turn into a stone, but when you have the big chip stack, it's always a good idea to start playing a little tighter.
On the flip side if you're the low stack, it's probably a good idea to tighten up as well, and stop playing your low connecting cards or cards that won't give you a monster. You're usually pretty much in "All-in or fold mode" if you're the low stack.
Tightening up usually pertains to tournament games but if you have lost a large portion of your bankroll in cash games then it would probably be a good time to tighten and get some for sure victories. Waiting on the "Nuts" can be extremely boring and tiring but sometimes it's the best thing to do. On the other hand, if you've won a lot of money in cash games already it would probably be a great time to play as many hands as possible to try and win some big pots.
Don't misquote the pro's when they say "I come to win and take first, not to play for second," no player ever won a large tournament with hundreds of players in the field without a little bit of tightening up. A good rule for yourself is to promise yourself that you will avoid going out on top pair at all costs.
More players go out thinking they have the best hand with top pair than anything else. The bottom line is, if you feel any doubt that you don't have the best hand, then you should fold before you get yourself into a very bad situation. There is really no point to playing high risk hands if you have the chip lead. It could help you sure, but it could hurt you a lot worse.
When your playing tight you really do not want to be playing cards like King/Nine or Queen/Eight and definitely not Ace/five or anything worse than Ace/Ten. You're usually dominated if you have cards like this and playing these cards put you at a very high risk of losing a lot of your chip stack. You have all the time in the world. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the poker ride.
When you are tightening up, you should really only play in hands where you have good position too. Being on the button or close to last to act is always a good thing and playing low connecting cards is always a good thing when you are on the button, even if you are tightening up, just as long as you don't have to pay to high of a price to participate.
At the WSOP Main Event, the chip leader after the first day has NEVER won the event. Now who knows how they played or if they all suffered tremendous bad beats, but often times while playing poker you'll wonder how someone can lose a huge chip lead or perhaps you're guilty of such a crime.
It happens, sometimes undeservedly or sometimes just because someone was playing plain dumb. Tightening up is a safe way to make it through tournaments. You do not have to turn into a stone, but when you have the big chip stack, it's always a good idea to start playing a little tighter.
On the flip side if you're the low stack, it's probably a good idea to tighten up as well, and stop playing your low connecting cards or cards that won't give you a monster. You're usually pretty much in "All-in or fold mode" if you're the low stack.
Tightening up usually pertains to tournament games but if you have lost a large portion of your bankroll in cash games then it would probably be a good time to tighten and get some for sure victories. Waiting on the "Nuts" can be extremely boring and tiring but sometimes it's the best thing to do. On the other hand, if you've won a lot of money in cash games already it would probably be a great time to play as many hands as possible to try and win some big pots.
Don't misquote the pro's when they say "I come to win and take first, not to play for second," no player ever won a large tournament with hundreds of players in the field without a little bit of tightening up. A good rule for yourself is to promise yourself that you will avoid going out on top pair at all costs.
More players go out thinking they have the best hand with top pair than anything else. The bottom line is, if you feel any doubt that you don't have the best hand, then you should fold before you get yourself into a very bad situation. There is really no point to playing high risk hands if you have the chip lead. It could help you sure, but it could hurt you a lot worse.
When your playing tight you really do not want to be playing cards like King/Nine or Queen/Eight and definitely not Ace/five or anything worse than Ace/Ten. You're usually dominated if you have cards like this and playing these cards put you at a very high risk of losing a lot of your chip stack. You have all the time in the world. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the poker ride.
When you are tightening up, you should really only play in hands where you have good position too. Being on the button or close to last to act is always a good thing and playing low connecting cards is always a good thing when you are on the button, even if you are tightening up, just as long as you don't have to pay to high of a price to participate.
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