Small Stakes Tournaments
Micro-stakes multi-table no-limit hold'em tournaments
- those with buy-ins between $1 and $5 - abound on the
internet today. They can be a fun way to pass the time
for casual players, and for those who are more serious
about their game these tournaments can also be a great
training ground for moving up. For players with limited
bankrolls there's also some significant profit to be had,
as even on a small site winning one is often worth 50 times
the initial buy-in or more. In order to win these tourneys
you'll want to take them just as seriously as a professional
would treat a major tournament. That can be hard to do when
the guy on your right calls every single bet in front of him
nd keeps catching cards to win, but being able to prosper in
these tournaments requires putting aside your emotional
responses to poor play. Tournament poker is difficult enough
without creating your own mental distractions. Here are a
few tips for succeeding in the loosest tournaments around.
1.) There are dangerous players in every tournament.
First things first - you will occasionally run into good poker
players in a small stakes tournament. Don't let the low buy-in
fool you into thinking that every person you face is an inexperienced
idiot waiting to hand his chips to you. Pay close attention to all
your opponents' play from the moment the tournament begins and take
note of anyone who seems to be playing solid poker. Don't automatically
back off of these players - sometimes a poor player can get lucky
and appear to be playing well - but do try to scrutinize their play
and see what you can learn about them. If you're up against someone
who seems to really know what she's doing, try to avoid a
confrontation without great cards and find other players to
pick on - there will be plenty of them.
2.) Don't undervalue your stack early.
Most micro-stakes tournaments are filled with players who
break every standard of intelligent poker, and it can be
tempting to go along with the crowd when one makes the minimum
raise and five others. Just because the blinds are small doesn't
make it any more profitable to exit early after trapping yourself
into playing mediocre cards. Avoid the temptation to throw chips
away with the lemmings. Wait for pairs and strong high cards early,
unless you have a good drawing hand and your pot odds are too good
to pass up. Without cards that stack up well in multi-way pots,
you'll mostly want to sit back while your opponents butt heads to
see who can win Donkey of the Year. (I guarantee you it will be
somebody you play against in a small-stakes tournament.)
3.) There's a time to loosen up.
You can't wait on big cards forever without putting yourself in
serious jeopardy of being blinded away. It'll come as good news
to you that most of your opponents will generally tend to play
loose when the blinds are low and then tighten up as the blinds
rise. As in so many other pursuits, the way to stand out in
these situations is to do the opposite of what the crowd is
doing. When the other players at your table are starting to
wait for big hands before playing, you'll have an opportunity
to start stealing pots.
Loosening up pre-flop can work out nicely if you've been without
any playable cards in the early going, as you're probably hitting
the point where loosening up is a necessity. Don't be afraid to
move all-in pre-flop with all but the worst starting hands if
you're the first person in the pot and you have less than 10 times
the number of chips required to pay for one orbit's blinds and
antes. There is a huge advantage to being first in, and most
people won't call you with less than a pair or A-K. Even if you
get called by a superior hand you often won't be more than a
3-2 underdog.
When you've managed to build a big stack by playing solid hands
in the early going, many of your opponents will give you carte
blanche to steal their blinds and limp bets because they fear your
monsters. You'll want to pick your spots carefully, of course,
but in general your chip stack will be enough to scare most
opponents away when you make a big bet. Be sure you are aware
of pot odds when you have a big stack and you start to loosen up.
If you raise pre-flop with a middling hand and a short stack
goes all-in over the top of your bet, chances are you'll be
getting good odds to gamble on knocking an opponent out.
