Thoughts on No Limit Tournament Play
It’s probably not time sensitive to talk about the “poker boom” or the “poker explosion” anymore. The hard truth is that poker has grown exponentially over the past ten years, so despite the fact that various poker old timers and Industry stalwarts are shaking in their boots over the new infusion of young players and technological savvy online players, the hard facts suggest that a new breed of players are in town and there is little that can be done to stop them.
That’s right, Doyle Brunson type “cowboys” aren’t the biggest threat at the table anymore; instead, young and ultra aggressive super players are all the rage. To make matters worse, the reason they are all the rage is because the playing style works and it is very effective.
Dealing with New Hyper Aggressive No Limit Tournament Poker Players
To say the new style tournament player is aggressive and unyielding would probably be an understatement. Can you keep up with this new breed of player? Are you aggressive yourself? Are you able to disconnect yourself from your money and your emotions and make gutsy moves?
Let’s look at some ideas for improving your no limit tournament play in the modern era.
Aggressive and without question
Putting people to hard decisions has long been the staple of good no limit tournament play. The thought here is if you haven’t made your opponent gravely consider whether or not they should continue in the hand, then you may have done something wrong! Nowadays however these types of moves come up even more often. You’ll see great, big name players pushed to the edge of their sanity by others who simply never back off and always push the limits, and it is even more common when playing online poker tournaments on sites like PokerStars.com and Full Tilt. We’ve recently added a translation of our very popular PokerStars download page here for Portuguese players looking to descargas Pokerstars.
The key here however is to know your opponents so well and to be able to read the board good enough that you can make calculated moves that will increase your chances of winning. Oh yeah, and it also helps to have guts of steal. Not only is it important that you be able to put players on decisions, it is important you know what to do when you are staring down a stack sized raise from a new hot shot as well:
- Replay the hand in your head to this point. Is this player known for wild deception or bluffing? What did their pre flop actions say about their hand?
- Is a semi bluff possible here? If you come back over the top is it possible you could win, or is the only way you will win to pick up another card? If it’s the later, then you can probably fold. If however you have something that could win or turn into something even better, then you should probably play back. Play back strong though; calling most likely won’t get you any brownie points for future rounds. A raise however will do a couple things. It tells your opponent you mean business and your opponent’s response will give you even more information about their hand.
- Lastly, realize that these players are capable of anything. Put your self in the same mindset and do something groundbreaking.
The truth of the matter is that anyone entering the tournament circle today needs to be more aggressive and cunning than ever before. Also, if you don’t have the guts for no limit poker, then please stay away from both the online and live tournament circuits. These sharks will eat you alive. All is not lost though, these tactics – and even guts – can be learned, but it will take some time grinding it out at low limit games where the loss of money is low.
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