[DoubleDeuce]

Friends running a NLHE MTT of about 16-20 people. Since I've been learning about poker I've tried to focus on something new everytime I play. Whether its a specific tell to watch, position awareness, or calculating pot odds I try to make myself more aware of a certain aspect of the game.

Any recomendations of what I should focus on for tonight? Any suggestions are useful...and not only for me but also for your own game.

[yeltzen]

I would say not calling is a good thing to focus on. A lot of times people flop middle pair in tournaments and just call to the river to see if they won. People pick up on this pretty fast and will bet at you with draws and when scare cards come, and you'll have no idea where you're at. If you raised on the flop and they called, then you'd know you were behind in the hand.

Of course, against aggressive players who bet bottom and middle pair, feel free to call a lot and let them bet your hand for you. Lots of times aggressive players will fold to a raise on the flop, but will keep betting every street if you call.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Related to position, the gap concept. AT and AJ look pretty good if you're the first one in the pot, but if you're following a raise and some calls or even more action, as Mike Sexton would say, you're heading for whitewater.

[DoubleDeuce]

Calling with mid or low pair isn't one of my problems. Chasing a draw on the other hand... ops:

The gap concept has been pretty much drilled in my head. Though it might interesting to track how aware others are of it.


Since I've been reading HOH2 I just started hearing about M. I would focus on that tonight but most of the guys there won't be aware of the concept. I've got a game Sunday with a good group though. I might focus on everybody's M in that game.

I think for tonight I'll try to "read" people's hole cards. I'll try to figure out what they are playing. Its a pretty vague concept but mainly I just want to put myself in other players' POV.

[vrecksler]

While the above are all good suggestions, it seems to me that you would be better served by starting with something easier and more fundamental.

Observe your opponents, specifically the person on your left and right since they influence your play a lot more than the rest, and you will be battling them for blinds over the evening.

Start small, and just keep track of how many pots they enter--later on you can try and keep track of whether they limped or raised--to get a rough idea of what they are playing. If they are entering almost every pot you can be pretty sure they are playing with very loose opening hands, if they are folding a lot they are probably playing tighter.

Just doing that you can gain a lot of information that will help you as you can narrow the kinds of hands they are likely to have when you are in a pot with them; if you are in a pot with a player you have identified as tight and the flop comes rags you should feel pretty confident that the flop missed them.

It may sound like an easy and trivial thing to watch for, but in a game a lot of things are going on and most new players spend too much time thinking about their own cards rather than paying attention to the little things around them.

Give it a shot and let us all know what you decided to do and how it worked out for you!

[VARoadstter]

In general I would concentrate on the following in order of importance:

1. Patience - the most undervalued component of good play
2. Position - Holdem is built around information and it's value. Position is like money in the bank.
3. Aggression - weakness has no part in successful Holdem.
4. Technique - How to play draws, evaluate strength of hands, etc. This is essentially the sum of all the experience you gain playing the game.

[SpeakEasy]

Focus on making the correct decision each time you act in each hand.

[Niagara_All_In]

Well its monday now so how did it all work out for you?

[DoubleDeuce]

Well Friday night was a debacle. Afterwards I felt like a pro-athlete spewing cliches in the lockerroom.

"We didn't bring 60-minutes of effort."

"They wanted it more than us."

"Their fans provide a tremendous home court advantage."

blah blah blah


Whatever the reason I didn't focus well at all, especially the one item I was supposed to focus on! The format didn't help matters either, the blinds were doubling every 20 minutes so by the 4th round it turned into an all-in fest. Its hard to practice reading hands when the only bet is preflop.

Anyways I played like a complete idiot, bungling bets and calls most of the night. Somehow I finished on the bubble one spot from the money. I don't know if that was lady luck just messing with me though. I rivered several miracle cards to make it that far and finally when I did have a monster I was sucked out (which is going to be a separate thread question).


Now Sunday's game was a much better story. The slower blind format made it a more patient game. In this game I was emphasizing on everybody's M. It's tough trying to eye someone's chip stack and coming up with an accurate total. Its good practice though and although I couldn't pinpoint players with an exact number I could keep track of what zone they were in: red, orange, yellow, etc.

This game I finished 5th as well (and two spots from the money) but I felt much better about my play. My M was down to 4 or 5 when I got pocket kings. Pushed all-in from 1st position. One of the other short stacks calls with pocket 4s. He makes a straight to knock me down to the twilight zone with a stack less than the big blind. Other short stack goes out next hand and then I follow suit after a couple more shuffles.

[SpeakEasy]

Originally Posted by DoubleDeuce

It's tough trying to eye someone's chip stack and coming up with an accurate total. Its good practice though and although I couldn't pinpoint players with an exact number I could keep track of what zone they were in: red, orange, yellow, etc.

Try this: "How much do you have left?"

You're always entitled to an accurate chip count, and it can also have a nice psychological effect on your opponent...