CHRISTMAS PRESENT I had hoped to be able to offer a Strip Poker DVD of Pammie Stevenson, Anna Nicole Smith and Scarlett Johansson for all poker fans this Christmas. Sadly this isn’t possible as it was only something that I dreamt about. So instead I thought I’d go one better and offer you one of my tips. There. Now that’s reduced your near suicidal depression into just common or garden variety disappointment. Why should I suffer alone?
POKER TIP OF THE DAY In tournament play if you find yourself facing an opponent who’s playing tight pre-flop, upset his or her game by raising more often. If this causes them to react in kind you will have forced them into a playing style where they are uncomfortable and likely to bottle it. Re-raise them. Only refrain from this tactic if you think there’s a good chance you might be re-re-raised out of position. That doesn’t happen often and it’s particularly unlikely with a tight player.
FREQUENTLY ASKED POKER QUESTIONS Keeping to the same theme, today’s questions all focus on tournament play.
Q: A few times recently in tournaments I’ve got myself stuck in a three-handed game and I ended up chopped liver in each case. Any tips on playing just two opponents in a tournament situation? A: Keep it simple. If you have the big stack, shovel pressure onto the other guys with big hurtful bets and raises. If you’re the guy landed with the small stack you mustn’t let the others trample over you. Play sparingly and choose your ground to make a stand but when you do, make it with lots of guts. It’s only a tournament, not life or death. Be brave.
Q: Can you explain the difference between playing “heads up” in a cash game and playing one-on-one in a tournament? A: For me the defining difference is you’ll fold more often in tournament play. If you’re low on chips in a tournament you have to play tight in a heads up because once you’ve run out of chips you’re out of the game. In cash games you can take the risk of not folding much more often if you are feeling aggressive and want to try and bully or bluff your heads up adversary. Why? Because in cash games you can top up your chips after each game if your aggression didn’t pay off. In tournament play once you’ve lost your initial stack, you’re dead meat and gone. Unless you are chip leader you are almost always going to fold more often in tournament heads up play to ensure overall survival.
