Rules and Strategy

Get your share of the
online poker tournament money

Seventh Rule Of Poker

My Seventh Rule Of Poker is:
How to get your share of the online poker tournament money

First I will point out that this is how I play tourneys. Not every one plays this way, and guess there will be a few experience players that will disagree with my style in some way. After all there are many ways to skin the cat & there are many ways to Get your share of the online poker tournament money

Before you even attempt to play Multi Table Tournaments online, you must get your brain into gear, you must train yourself to accept lots of disappointments and move on without letting them drag you down. Accept them as part of the game. In fact I view MTT’s as one big game over a period of a week. You can even view them over a month if you prefer, or if you have limited playing time.

To get your share of the online poker tournament money, first you must understand 3 simple but unavoidable principles

• You WILL play for two or three hours only to get ***wed by a crazy improbable two outer draw on the river. And you will simply get a run of bad cards, dry up and miss the money on the bubble (eliminated from the tournament just before the place money).

  These are not probable’s, it will definitely happen to you, and because you play many more tournaments online (as opposed to playing in a ‘bricks & mortar’ casino) at times it will seem like you are cursed, especially if you hit a bad run. Which again I guarantee WILL definitely happen.

• If you choose to only play tournaments your bankroll will not grow steadily like in cash games. It declines slowly and then jumps back up when you have a successful week, hopefully beyond the previous week’s balance. When your balance is leaking slowly downwards don’t be alarmed, It’s very normal.

  If you follow my rules of poker you will get more than your fair share of the online tournament money. It’s sometimes hard to take, but when that big jump comes. What a feeling!

• You must understand that in tourneys you only need to win or make the final three spots once or twice a week, to make good money. Your first goal in a tournament must be to make the second hour. Then to make the third hour. Your goal is then to make the money (get your stake back and a little profit, this is paramount to bankroll protection).

  Your next goal is to get a shot at the final table. This where the big money is and most of it is in the top three places. So to get your share of the online poker tournament money you will need to learn great patience and discipline.

Please don’t expect immediate results. Even armed with all of the following information, it will take time for you to build experience, gain confidence and develop sound judgement. Start at low limits or free-roll tourneys, then work your way up.
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As you read through these rules, remember that they are not set in tablets of stone. Sometimes different situations in poker require different plays. Over time you will learn to judge your opponents strength or weakness in any given hand, and that is the real secret to poker. If you want to get your hands on the online poker tournament money, you need to think and decide for yourself. Creative, logical, sensible, situational thinking is key to winning.

Even more, it's the key to winning big. These strategies will turn you in to a decent and successful poker player (since most players play poorly), the next step is lots of playing and practice to gain experience, and that’s down to you.
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To get your share of the online poker tournament money, you need to understand some Poker tournament fundamentals

Protect your chip stack at all times. Tourneys are survival games, have patience, discipline and try to play position. The best tournament players build their stacks with out major confrontations. Remember that its’ fine to stay in the middle of the pack.

If you are mid-position in the top two hundred (100th), the blinds will increase, the stakes will escalate and it’s conceivable that you will be mid-position in the top thirty (15th), giving you a great shot at the final table. And that’s your goal, so it’s survival, stack protection & steady progression. Over a four-hour tourney you should get plenty of good hands, play them not the junk hands.

Remember that if you get lucky and hold great cards, well that’s wonderful & a great buzz. Even mediocre players make the final table with luck on their side. But your real goal is to make the final table as often as humanely possible. More often than not you will get only your fair share or less of good cards, the true test is grinding out a final table from an average holding. And that is a really great buzz.

Watch games. If you exit a tournament and you don’t have time to start another, use as much time as you can to watch games in progress. Find regular players and take notes on their play, I would advise watching tourneys in the late stages, this is where most of the critical decisions are made. Collect your ammunition for future games.

Don’t ever show your hand. Remember our section on poker record keeping? Do not give the good players unnecessary information, they are either keeping a book on regular players or using the poker room note taking facility (need I ask you to do the same?).

Play two tournaments at the same time. I have mentioned before about not playing more than one online poker game at a time. Well here I am contradicting this; if you are playing MTT’s is fair to double up. You are playing far less hands in tournament poker, add to this the fact that one game can take 3 to 5 hours and you will see why. As a rule I never play more than two, it’s simply too hard to play your best game when you are in three or more (yes I have tried & it really is throwing money down the drain – very poor bankroll protection).It is a fair point that playing two games doubles your chance to get your share of the online poker tournament money

Don’t over value pot odds. I often hear players saying, “I had to call for the value, or “the pot was laying me good odds” or “I was pot committed”. In my opinion that’s a load of baloney. It’s fine in a cash game; you just pull out some more green stuff and carry on. In tournament poker it doesn’t always pay to make the call. Of course it makes good sense to call for pot odds before the flop, after all any two cards can win and you are not often worse than a 2:1 dog. But always have one eye on your position in the tournament

After the flop comes if you feel that you’re beat, then you are beat. Unless you are getting great odds and you have live over cards, a very good draw or you are playing against a small stack that will not affect your standing (a general rule is no more than 10% of your stack), Lay it down, protect your stack. You can rebuild and still get your share of the online poker tournament money.

Do remember that if you are short stacked and you have made the money places, it is time to take some calculated risks. Normally you only move is to go all-in. Even if you have a monster hand (AA- KK), go all-in. Big stacks may take a chance with a medium to strong hand, and if not you will win the blinds and give yourself some breathing space.

In late position go all-in with a medium-strong hand. Your aim here is to double through, get yourself back in the tournament. But don’t be impatient; don’t put them in with junk, even in late position. Remember that it’s still a 9 handed game at this point, you can see seven out of nine hands for the price of a small ante (if you are real unlucky and don’t catch any decent cards at all, well that’s just tough luck).

Consider yourself a short stack in trouble when your stack is equal to about six times the big blind or you are in the bottom 10%. At this point you only have just enough chips to make most of the players fold to an all-in move. You would like to have only one caller or win the blinds. Until I get to this point I remain patient and wait for good situations to gain chips. I see it all the time in tourneys; players simply throw their chips away in an attempt to catch the leaders.

There is only one point in a tourney where you need to get the lead, and that’s at the final table (I have lost count of the times I have come back from the bottom of the pack to make the final table to earn online poker tournament money).


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To get your share of the online poker tournament money, try to apply some of these more Advanced tournament plays

Its amazing how often I see players re-raising all-in with an AJ or AQ, only to exit against AA, KK or AK. These are the only three hands that I would consider re-raising with (unless I am short-stacked). And with AK I really would like to see the flop, especially if I have position, if I hit the flop, normally I win a decent pot, If I miss I’m still in the tournament. Apply this thinking to the early to middle stages of an online poker tournament money game.

Don’t get out played on the flop. Remember steady progression, don’t slow play, be aggressive and take the pot quickly. If you get played back at you have to use your judgement as to whether to carry on betting or not. Its far better to win a small pot than lose a big one.

Don’t under any circumstance bluff all your chips off. And don’t bluff too small. A good bluff would normally be a pot size bet, but only if you have position and a strong feeling that other players will fold. This may be that everyone has checked or that your opponents are tight players or low stacked. Also remember that if you bluff, you must have some outs i.e. Over cards or some kind of draw.

Don’t give your cards more value if they are suited. The odds of hitting a flush on the flop are slim and if you hit two of your suit it can get very hard to fold, chasing the flush can cost you lots of chips. As a rule I only play these suited hands:

• Suited connectors (6-7h), with these you have straight and flush possibilities, plus you may hit a low flop.
• High suited cards (10-Qd), with these you are drawing at a high flush, top straight and good high pairs.
• Any suited ace (A-5d), with these you are drawing at the nut flush and top pair.

If you hit the flop with any of the above hands you are probably winning, but I will fold all of them to a big pre-flop raise or even a small raise if I’m out of position. My favourite here is the suited connectors if you connect with these, most average players are reading you for high cards. You have the potential to win a big pot and get closer to the online poker tournament money.

Don’t play Rag Aces (an off-suit ace without a kicker higher than 9 e.g. Ad-6c) out of position. And definitely don’t call a raise with this hand (even when short stacked). The reason for this is that if you hit your ace you will either win a small pot or lose a large pot. If your ace hits the flop you will either win when you bet it (small pot), or you may be out-kicked by a bigger ace or someone may draw two pair/trips, its hard for you to fold top pair (hence you will lose a big pot).

It’s just the worst play I see in online tourneys (remember when you play an ace with a high kicker you are drawing at two big pairs plus the nut straight).

Limp in or raise in late position with a medium hand (J-T, Q-9, 9-T etc). The later your position, the less chances there is that you will be raised. You will only be raised from the blinds if they have a big hand (unless they are loose players) and you can fold with a minimum loss. If you hit the flop, more often than not you are ahead. If you miss you still have position to represent any high card on the flop; if you get called you still have the chance to hit the turn.

Can you see the difference in the above two plays? The first is putting your chip stack in jeopardy for a small gain; the second is steady accumulation without much risk. Stack protection in online poker tournament money games.

Bet your flush draws. If you flop a flush draw and no players bet before you, you must bet it. The reason for this is that you may win the pot right there (when you have nothing), and if someone calls your bet, you can check on the turn if you miss. This way you get to see both turn and river, Two shots at your flush. If you check your flush draw someone could bet the turn forcing you out (you only have an 18% chance to hit the flush on the river).

88 v AK. Remember that in a 9 handed tournament game a medium pair (88) is of far less value than AK, especially if you are out of position. Yes I know that heads up they are virtually 50/50, but if you stop to think about it, you are not playing heads up. If you have two callers and they hold different high cards you are against four over cards – you are a big underdog. So in early or middle position I just call the blinds, hoping to hit trips or represent high cards on the flop if I have position. In late position I raise because normally I will not be facing more than one player with over cards.

Don’t ever go all-in with a medium pair. I see this all the time. Players try to protect their hand by raising all-in with 88. They either win a small pot (the blinds), lose their stack to a bigger pair or get in a 50/50 race with big over cards. It’s simply not a good play and very poor stack protection. Plus you may not to get your share of the online poker tournament money

Don’t lose all your chips in an unraised multi-way pot. If I have limped in to an unraised pot, I tread very carefully, even if I hit top pair. Players could have any two cards. I will bet or represent the big pair on the flop, if I get played with I have to make a judgement call (based on the player – chip stack – position – my tournament standing) as to whether to carry on with the hand. I see lots of players losing big pots with top pair up against two rag pairs from the blinds.

Don’t over protect your blinds in online poker tournaments. Especially from the small blind, you are hopelessly out of position. If you hit the flop you probably win a very small pot, if you miss (most often) you will be bluffed off, there is simply no value in this play. As an exercise count your 50% calls with junk from the small blind over one hour, then add that back to your chip stack.

In a multi-way flop if a player makes a small bet (say minimum bet). The player is either on a draw or has hit middle pair/top pair with a bad kicker (if you are head-up or three-way this does not apply, the player may be slow playing a very strong hand).

Make a raise from late position with a medium strong hand if you only have one or two limpers. This is a very strong move, make a pot size bet to get rid of the limpers. The blinds have to be very strong to call, and if a limper calls you have the position to follow through on the flop (If you miss, you must have the courage to follow through, If you show weakness you could be bluffed off the pot). This

Isolate small stacks. In middle to late stages of a tournament short stakes are forced to play. If a short stacked player raises and you have a strong hand you must re-raise to isolate, never just call as big stacks behind you will view it as a cheap flop, with multi-way chances to eliminate a player. You will be out of position and could get outdrawn for a lot of chips. So re-raise; isolate the short stack for a low risk gain, and move closer to the online poker tournament money. You will only ever get callers that are very strong.

If you have good position and players before you have called a short stack raise, you can also smooth-call with a medium/strong hand. The general thought here is to eliminate the short stack, all players should then check to the river. Do not bet into the dead pot unless you catch two pair or better (not even with top pair, it might not be good). With two pair you can then make a good size bet, to take other players off any possible draw.

Remember that in the late stages when the blinds are very high players are forced to make plays just to keep up with the current blind level. You can’t really just call with a strong hand; you either lay it down or re-raise. Too many of your chips are going in, if you don’t make a re-raise the player that initiated the raise pre-flop will almost always bet on the flop, putting you to a tough decision. If you re-raise you are putting that player to a decision for his tournament life; you are showing great strength and you may win the pot there and then.

Yes, you may exit the tournament here but you have already made a profit and it’s a time for positive play, you are close to the big online poker tournament money and when you hit the last nine you want to have enough chips to give yourself a shot at the top three places. So late in a tourney its raise or fold time to get your share of the online poker tournament money

A good way to look at this is that if you call all-in pre-fop on a 50/50 chance more than twice in a tourney, what are your survival odds? So if you do go all-in make sure you are betting not calling, this gives you two chances to win.

Make a deal if you are in the top three. If your bankroll is under pressure, you may want to try to make a deal with the other two remaining players. If the top three places are worth say $9,000. The split will be something like $4500 - $2800 - $1700. Therefore it may be worth your while taking a three way deal guaranteeing all players approximately second place money. If you are leader I would advise asking for a split based upon the current chip count (gets you a bit more, but often refused). So if possible guarantee a better share of the online poker tournament money.

Use the Stop Go play. If you are out of position with a fairly strong hand and you get raised before the flop, don’t always just re-raise allin. A lot of the time you are setting yourself up for a race, lot’s of players will not back down pre-flop. What I sometimes do is smooth call the raise (especially if I am on the Big blind) I then bet the flop whatever comes, I make a pot size bet, I don’t want to give my opponent good odds to call. If I get re-raised then I know that I am beat, and I have not lost all of my chips. If I have connected to the flop then it’s even better. More often than not your opponent will miss the flop and will be forced to fold (without seeing all five cards).

I tend to use this play late in tournaments, when players are constantly bluffing for the blinds from late position. This a very aggressive play to help get your hands on the online poker tournament money.

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To get your share of the online poker tournament money, play some Rebuy poker tournaments

The worst players looking to get a lucky win for a small buy-in also populate rebuys. So there is great potential here for the good players.

The first thing I will say on the subject of playing rebuy poker tournaments is that you have to view them as three or for times the entry (if it’s a $10 buy-in, allocate a potential $30/$40). The reason for this is that the first hour’s play is normally very loose. Players going broke can rebuy up to the end of the first hour, and will try for all kinds of draws and call with junk hands. The aim is too accumulate as many chips as possible in that first hour.

Most rebuy poker tournaments also have an add-on after the first hour, this is normally the cost of one buy-in and gives you chips equal to or slightly higher than your initial starting amount. As you can’t play a tourney giving most of the field an advantage you must add-on. So in the above example the minimum spend would be $20 (if I’m in the top 10 after the rebuy period I do not add on).

You must use the above buy-in principle, if you don’t you are playing scared for the first hour and will find yourself way behind at the break. If you can’t risk this buy-in don’t even bother to play the poker tournament.

After the first hour the game reverts to a normal MMT, but the chip spread from the leaders to the bottom can be huge, A good example of this is the Poker Stars $10 rebuy, played four times a day. In these games I averaged $50 for my buy-in over a twelve-month period.

If I have a good first hour I really like my chances of making the final table, the tournament leaders are often the lucky players as opposed to the best (but the funny thing is that it’s still the best players that make the final table). In this game you start with 1500 chips, after the rebuy hour I need to have a minimum of 6,000-10,000 chips, the leader normally has between 15,000-30,000. If it goes badly I don’t even add on, I go to my short stack principles, no point wasting my bankroll if I only have a slim chance to get my share of the online poker tournament money.

Three first hour strategies for rebuy poker tournaments .

In all three strategies my first action is to rebuy. I would rather rebuy now. If I don’t, I’m starting behind the leaders at a disadvantage (you will find that maybe half the field does the same). Also if I win a couple of pots early from 1500 starting chips I may only be at around 2000 (still 1000 behind). The following strategies relate to how the table plays, I use the strategy that fits how the table is playing at any given time during that first hour.

Crazy Table
In the first hour I often find myself at a table with lunatics. Players going all-in pre-flop with rags, or going for silly draws (these players play the first hour like this every time, trying to double or treble up early). On a crazy table its easy, I just wait for the good hands then play them very strong, if they are continually going all-in pre-flop, I smooth call with my AA-KK then just follow them in. I double up and sit waiting for the next one (& yes I get outdrawn often, I don’t complain they are giving good action). This is the table I come up against most often.

Normal table
If I do land on a normal table with maybe only one lunatic (there’s always at least one), I play fairly loose. I play hands and call medium raises that I wouldn’t in a normal game. I play any two low connecting cards, any suited cards and any two cards over 9 (but I won’t call all-in). I will raise with any strong hand, and I raise on the heavy side. You don’t want too many callers when you are the raiser. I often go all in with AK pre-flop. Players with two high cards read this as a small pair and they take a 50/50 chance (but they find themselves dominated). As a rule if I get over 10,000 in chips I tighten up to protect my chips.

Crazy Me
If I have had a good couple of weeks and my bankroll is looking good, I sometimes turn into one of the lunatics. I allow myself a gamble; I allocate $100 and go for it. After all, paying $100 to get amongst the leaders after the first hour and to have a very good shot at maybe $5,000 in online poker tournament money is not so stupid.


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To get your share of the online poker tournament money, play some Poker satellite tournaments for larger tournaments

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There is really only one fundamental difference between poker satellite tournaments and a normal MTT. This happens in the later stages of the game, normally satellites don’t require you to make the final table and you certainly don’t have to win (exeptions are maybe qualifiers for off-line major tournaments such as the WSOP).

Your aim therefore is to get a healthy chip stack and then protect it. Especially in the latter stages, if I’m in a comfortable chip position I only ever play premium hands. Close to the end of poker satellite tournaments I have folded AK, QQ and even KK, AA under a big raise (AA does seem to get outdrawn a lot online & KK only needs an A on the flop to lose). If you feel your qualifying from where your are, don’t play. Let someone else knock out he short stacks. The blinds will take care of the result.

If you are in mid position play as aggressive as you can. Large stacks will not be so keen to take your chips, they don’t need them, and short stacks will be waiting for the big hand. So be aggressive and try to move into the comfort zone.

Poker satellite tournaments are often rebuys. We have discussed the rebuy, and how to play, but you cannot apply the ‘crazy me’ strategy if you are only playing for a $300 buy-in, I therefore only allocate $60 (allowing one rebuy) and use the normal table strategy.

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