I am going to come up with a video course on how to play poker tournaments. I have to tell you, the more I went through all of the things that are important, the more I personally learned. The project is by no means done, and will probably take awhile longer, but I want to let you know that it is under way. I certainly think that it will help a lot of people that are maybe just one tiny thing away from dominating the tournaments. I also think it will help newbies instantly become winning players.
It's a sad fact that over 90% of all players think they are better than 90% of all players. And maybe you were a month ago, but even as new money comes in, the field is constantly learning and growing. But in poker tournaments, there's various stages and times you really need to adapt. Sure, you can get your money in and try to win a coinflip, you can be tight aggressive, all of that works fine... However, surviving multiple all ins is NOT the way to give you the best chance.
One of the problems that great players face is knowing when a hand is good enough to call an all in. The perfect player who knows exactly what his opponents have and what they'll do every hand, in a slow structure need not ever call an all in, because he can win so many chips by just stealing pots where his opponents aren't strong enough to fold, and getting his money in with the best possible hand, or getting paid off big on the river when there's no cards for his opponents to hit to draw out on him. On the other hand, a player who is perfect, but in a structure where the blinds go up every hand, isn't going to have the opportunity to win chips without risking a significant portion of his stack, unless his opponents are really coorperative.
Now no one is really perfect, but perhaps a very good player in a fast structure can still fairly effortlessly successfully steal the blinds twice per rotation. Now this player is paying for the blinds, winning it back, and then winning one more steal every rotation. It's enough to gain chips, however eventually you will become short stacked in a fairly medium-fast structure. Is there a way to gauge how good on average you can expect to get your money all in before you become dangerously short stacked where you can't successfully accumulate chips? Actually yes! I have figured out how, and a fairly complex spreadsheet does all the work for you, you just have to know about how many steals per rotation you can make.
I have actually just recently developed a method that I haven't even gotten to record yet because it's so new! But it's a way to know exactly how to adapt based on your skill, and determine what the optimal point of the tournament, that you should be all in, and how big of a favorite on average you should expect to be. Blinds go up really fast online. Stealing the blinds simply isn't enough as later on in the tournament the blinds will go up fast, and soon everyone will be short stacked in comparrison to the blinds and antes. You WILL have to be all in in a tournament with a big field, even if it's very rarely, and even if it is much later in the tournament when you have much more chips. And if the structure is fast, you will have less hands to be able to wait and catch a big hand. So if someone moves all in on you, how big of a favorite do you have to be? I have developed a spreadsheet that will INSTANTLY show you how to figure out exactly when to call, and when the edge is not big enough.
Just ONE of the many video courses will show you where to get the spreadsheet for free, and what to do with it, and how to use it in combination with poker stove to know exactly what kind of edge is big enough.
Most people have no idea what it takes for players like Phil Helmuth, and Mike Matusow and Daniel Negreanu to finish deep consistantly. Phil Helmuth was all in like 3 times the entire main event. And earlier on when he was all in, the guy maybe had a 4 outer with one card to come. That takes an unbelievable ability to win a lot of small pots, avoid confrontation and accumulate chips, and avoid risks.
I'm not saying I can play at that level, or that I can teach you how to play exactly like them.
However, I can tell you some of the strategies, and techniques that they use, and explain why it's successful, and teach you how to develop a similar style, that looks at the big picture of tournaments, and explain how many top pros think about the game.
Based on the way they think and play, I have developed a blueprint. It isn't going to be something that anyone can do without some practice and natural ability, but it is going to considerably shorten the length of time it takes for you to become a great poker player, and it certainly should make players better.
If you want to know how to determine how much to bet, how to figure out exactly when pushing all in is profitable, when to flat call to trap opponents, how to play aggressive opponents, maniacs, tight players, loose players, passive players, sharks, how to represent the flop, represent draws, when to make information bets, when to make ontinuation bets, how often to raise, and what hands to play and how to apply it to any situation, all sorts of advanced small pot poker plays such as using "phantom outs" to make your opponent think you hit a draw, and disguise your real draw and get paid off when you hit. Why position is power, and when you can play "any two", flat calling raises in position, implied odds, , when to check to induce a bluff, when and how much to value bet, and how to chop away at small pots in order to accumulate a large stack
Once you have a large stack, I'll teach you different ways to play it, including all sorts of "big pot poker moves" to pick up massive amounts of chips when you are big stacked and/or want to make a move to go for the win. Also, when to shut down and make the monster folds. What hands you should always fold in certain situations, and all sorts of bluffing techniques designed to allow you to pickup some chips. I also plan on making a spreadsheet that will tell you all the moves that are available based on how many big blinds you have.
At the very least I will give you some unique and different ways to start thinking about the game, and if nothing else, it will at least give you a new perspective and reinforce some of the ideas you have learned or heard about.
In my opinion, and just about any pros opinion, you should never stop learning about the game, and there's always more to learn.
Over the last couple years, I have developed a lot of styles, ideas, and concepts. To be honest, I probably have spent almost as much time learning about the game and trying new things, and going back and testing the math of certain plays and testing the methods then actually playing. I have tested method in loose aggressive freerolls, loose passive freerolls, low stakes tight play, low stakes passive, low stakes tight aggressive, and then middle stakes. I also have used poker software and video games that simulate various styles of play, including the advanced play of Daniel Negreanu's Stacked. I'm amazed at how much just thinking about the game, or picking up one tiny thing can spark my imagination and have me think of all sorts of new ideas. I hope my videos will revolutionize the way you think about the game, and spark your imagination as well.
Stay Tuned!
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