I was amazed to see that some of you enjoyed reading my ‘How to make money online’ article. Your responses encouraged me a great deal, so here are a few more things you might like to consider.OK, we will assume that you have found a regular MTT that you can play on a daily basis. That it offers the best structure you can find in your price range, and that the field is small enough to give you a chance to get to know (and make notes on) a lot of the regular players, and also gives you a realistic chance of reaching the final table.
The next thing I want to talk about is managing your chip stack as you negotiate your way through the minefield that is the online MTT
First of all, don’t worry about how big the chip-leader’s stack is, or even what the average stack is, you have no control over that, and worrying about it will only cause you to make mistakes. You can only play the cards you are dealt to the best of your ability, if that means passing hand after hand because you are totally card dead, so be it.
Instead, try to measure your stack by the size of the blinds. Players fall by the wayside at an alarming rate in on-line Mtts, all because they panic and make their move too soon. Unless you are down to less than 10 big blinds, you are under no immediate pressure to make a rash move with a mediocre hand. As long as you are still in the game, things can turn around very quickly in no limit hold em. A double up or two and you will be right up there. I have seen players like Mickey Wernick and Trevor Reardon nurse a small stack for ages, and then suddenly, they are chip leader.
The main event at the Midlands Meltdown at Walsall is an illustration of what I am saying. When we reached the final table, Ali Mallu had a massive stack of chips; Iwan Jones and I were the short stacks. We were very short, and the other players were so aggressive that we never found an unraised pot that we could try to steal. Never the less, I finished 6th, Ali finished 5th, and Iwan, who hung on like a bulldog with lockjaw until he caught a hand, finished 3rd for £10,000.
This doesn't mean to say you shouldn't take every opportunity you can to gather chips. If you get the hands, or find yourself on a passive table where you can get away with bullying, go for it. But DON’T put your entire tournament in jeopardy.
Which brings me to my next point. When you do enter a pot, before you put your chips in, think about what you are trying to achieve. The size of your bet is very, very important!
Do you want to limp in with a speculative hand, hoping to see a cheap flop? If so, consider your position, and the cost of the limp in relation to your chip stack first. While it makes sense to limp when the blinds only represent a small % of your stack, it’s a different kettle of fish entirely when the blinds are big. Also, think about how many players there are to act (and possibly raise) behind you. Is there an aggressive, habitual raiser type to your left? If so, the chances are you will have to throw your hand away without seeing that flop, and it’s amazing how quickly this will bleed your chips away.
Raising. There are many different reasons for raising, each one requiring you to bet a different amount.
Do you want to build a pot, or buy another card? Do you want to take the pot there and then? Do you want to narrow the field, but at the same time keep someone in? Do you want to over-bet the pot in the hope of disguising a monster hand, or do you want to give someone who is on a draw poor odds to hit his card? Even if you have the stone cold nuts, you can make a bet that someone will have to call, even if he KNOWS he can’t win.
By far the most common betting mistake that online players make is over betting. Often they will risk 8 or even 10 times the size of the pot as an opening bet. Unless they have the absolute nuts, this is surely folly. If they do get action, and then see an unfavorable flop or turn card, it will be so difficult for them to escape. If they lose the hand, they have to win 10 pots of the same size to get back to square one.
I tend not to overbet However, I do make exceptions. I overbet my big pocket pairs in the early stages of a tournament. As I said in my last article, I don't want to give someone the chance of a cheap flop when I have a hand, I am going to find difficult to put down.
I will sometimes make a huge overbet if I have a monster and I think there is a player on tilt behind me.
Under betting. I can't tell you how many times I have flopped a flush or a straight draw and someone has bet 50 into a 300 pot. I HAVE TO CALL! When I miss on the turn, they bet 50 again, I have to call again. The incredible thing is, when I hit on the river and lead out with a standard raise, they call, or worse still, re-raise, and then turn over middle pair.
There is some value to the under bet. If you make an under bet when you are on a draw, a player who was going to raise with a genuine hand will often just call instead, and you have bought yourself a cheap card.
Get used to thinking about exactly what you want to achieve before you bet, and then try to bet the precise amount you think most likely to have the desired result.
As a general rule, a smaller than standard bet will keep players in, and a bigger than standard bet will drive players out. Of course it’s not always that simple, good players will see a small bet from early position as a sign of strength, and a big bet as a sign of weakness. This can also be used to your advantage, and that’s where watching your fellow players and keeping good notes comes in.
It’s difficult I know, poker is a complex game. But the player who at least tries to put these principles into practice will have a definite advantage over the one who plays without thinking, who blames it all on bad luck and the other fellows' bad play. Believe me, every tourney is heaving with them. A small advantage is all you need.
The main event at the Midlands Meltdown at Walsall is an illustration of what I am saying. When we reached the final table, Ali Mallu had a massive stack of chips; Iwan Jones and I were the short stacks. We were very short, and the other players were so aggressive that we never found an unraised pot that we could try to steal. Never the less, I finished 6th, Ali finished 5th, and Iwan, who hung on like a bulldog with lockjaw until he caught a hand, finished 3rd for £10,000.
This doesn't mean to say you shouldn't take every opportunity you can to gather chips. If you get the hands, or find yourself on a passive table where you can get away with bullying, go for it. But DON’T put your entire tournament in jeopardy.
Which brings me to my next point. When you do enter a pot, before you put your chips in, think about what you are trying to achieve. The size of your bet is very, very important!
Do you want to limp in with a speculative hand, hoping to see a cheap flop? If so, consider your position, and the cost of the limp in relation to your chip stack first. While it makes sense to limp when the blinds only represent a small % of your stack, it’s a different kettle of fish entirely when the blinds are big. Also, think about how many players there are to act (and possibly raise) behind you. Is there an aggressive, habitual raiser type to your left? If so, the chances are you will have to throw your hand away without seeing that flop, and it’s amazing how quickly this will bleed your chips away.
Raising. There are many different reasons for raising, each one requiring you to bet a different amount.
Do you want to build a pot, or buy another card? Do you want to take the pot there and then? Do you want to narrow the field, but at the same time keep someone in? Do you want to over-bet the pot in the hope of disguising a monster hand, or do you want to give someone who is on a draw poor odds to hit his card? Even if you have the stone cold nuts, you can make a bet that someone will have to call, even if he KNOWS he can’t win.
By far the most common betting mistake that online players make is over betting. Often they will risk 8 or even 10 times the size of the pot as an opening bet. Unless they have the absolute nuts, this is surely folly. If they do get action, and then see an unfavorable flop or turn card, it will be so difficult for them to escape. If they lose the hand, they have to win 10 pots of the same size to get back to square one.I tend not to overbet However, I do make exceptions. I overbet my big pocket pairs in the early stages of a tournament. As I said in my last article, I don't want to give someone the chance of a cheap flop when I have a hand, I am going to find difficult to put down.
I will sometimes make a huge overbet if I have a monster and I think there is a player on tilt behind me.
Under betting. I can't tell you how many times I have flopped a flush or a straight draw and someone has bet 50 into a 300 pot. I HAVE TO CALL! When I miss on the turn, they bet 50 again, I have to call again. The incredible thing is, when I hit on the river and lead out with a standard raise, they call, or worse still, re-raise, and then turn over middle pair.
There is some value to the under bet. If you make an under bet when you are on a draw, a player who was going to raise with a genuine hand will often just call instead, and you have bought yourself a cheap card.
Get used to thinking about exactly what you want to achieve before you bet, and then try to bet the precise amount you think most likely to have the desired result.
As a general rule, a smaller than standard bet will keep players in, and a bigger than standard bet will drive players out. Of course it’s not always that simple, good players will see a small bet from early position as a sign of strength, and a big bet as a sign of weakness. This can also be used to your advantage, and that’s where watching your fellow players and keeping good notes comes in.It’s difficult I know, poker is a complex game. But the player who at least tries to put these principles into practice will have a definite advantage over the one who plays without thinking, who blames it all on bad luck and the other fellows' bad play. Believe me, every tourney is heaving with them. A small advantage is all you need.