Which Style are You?

These days there are many different ways to play poker be it cash games or online poker tournaments. The different levels of aggression tend to mean that there can be many ways to get the job done. For instance in six max cash games or short handed tournament play then higher levels of aggression are called for.

You may say that this is obvious but it surprises me just how many players fail to up the aggression levels until it is too late and this especially applies to tournament poker.

The reason why it applies to tournament poker more than it applies to cash games in my mind is to do with the fact that players are striving to reach predetermined goals and tighten up accordingly. For instance, let us say that you have managed to get yourself into a $200 buy-in online poker tournament by winning a $1 satellite or a $5 satellite.

By getting into the bottom payoff positions you will receive $178. The total prize pool is $250,000 and the winner gets something like $80,000. But you have already thrown away all chances of winning this tournament by your mindset. Firstly there is absolutely nothing wrong with creeping into the money here in this instance because a $178 return is a massive return on investment when your outlay has only been $1 or $5.

Just to repeat, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this at all. But look at the difference in mindset to that of the serious player. He hasn’t bought into a $200 event for $200 just to get $178 back or slightly more than he bought in for……no way. He is looking to amass a tournament winning stack or a stack that will take him very deep in the event and getting to that final table will be his primary goal.

But a vast number of players in this tournament will not even be aware that they have no chance to win the event. Their style will be cautious and defensive and designed for a minimum return based on the total prize pool. Their own ambitions of making $178 will not permit them to win much more than this and they will be folding and folding and folding close to the bubble hoping that players will get knocked out just so that they don’t have to take any risks in order to make that payoff.

This is their style without them even realising it and when this tournament starts, they will think in their own mind that they are playing to win the event……an illusion.

Take care and see you soon

“The Dean” play poker with TheDean