Poker Book Report

In his poker book, Harrington on Holdem, Dan Harrington gives warning to players who think they can bluff their way through low buy-in online poker tournaments. This is also one of the downfalls of many new online poker players when they first make a deposit. They burn through it trying to bluff everyone in a macho kind of way, simply because it looks so easy to do on television.

1.  Don't plan on being able to use your powers of observation very much.  Players will constantly be moving all their chips in and getting knocked out, so tables don't stay together long enough to get solid information on the other players.  Most of your hands will need to be evaluated in a vacuum.

2.  Don't plan on running any Bluffs.  Players are extremely aggressive; they're looking to double up quickly, and they don't need much to call.  You'll see plenty of Allin showdowns wear a pair of fours butts up against an ace - six off suit.  The bottom line: your crude, well considered bluff to steal the pot will probably be answered by a big re-raise followed by an all in! Don't bother.  Just make sure you have a hand when you get a lot of chips in the pot.  [Interestingly, although Bluffs don't work in these games, you'll still see plenty of Bluffs tried.].

3.  Betting patterns are very different from normal poker.  At least in yearly stages of these tournaments, there is very little actual betting.  Slow play, trapping, and all in bets predominate.  A solid value bet, for instance, is almost always paid off, sometimes with a big re-raise.

4.  Crowded pots.  Before the flop.  The pot may be crowded with five to seven limpers.  A significant raise after several players have limped in old within the field; it will only function as a pot sweetener.

5.  Optimal online poker tournament strategy.  With so many players playing so aggressively, a conservative strategy ought to pay big dividends, since strong hands rate to get paid very well.  If the blinds were increasing slowly, and the rounds were longer, this would certainly be true.  But with short rounds, and sharp blind increases, a strictly conservative approach won't yield results fast enough to keep your stack from shrinking as the blinds come charging.  While you should generally be conservative.  You have to may tend to other ideas:

A. in late position, try to see some cheap flops with suited connectors or small pairs, in the hope of flopping a monster that could let you double up. The large number of players in each pot makes your implied odds huge when you hit a set, straight, or flash.

B. Push your good hands.  [top pairs, trips] to the maximum, and again with the hope of doubling up.  You're much more likely to be called Allin than in a normal tournament.  Remember that even your weaker top pair hands, like nines and eights go up in value, while high unpaired cards go down in value.