POKER - POKER STRATEGY-POKER CHIP MANAGEMENT?
Here you will learn the poker strategy of money managing your poker chips. The major things you need to ask yourself are, what is my bankroll? What are the table stakes? and what is a reasonable win or loss?
Poker - Strategy - Your bankroll is probably the most important of all things to consider. Your poker bankroll may represent all of the money you have on you now or all of the money you have given yourself access to play with. Be very careful in considering what you are willing to risk. Make sure you bills are paid first and then you can play. There is a phenomenon called, “Scared Money” in which a player might be a really good or even a great player but, because of his/her financial situation, they are playing scared, i.e. folding when they should have stayed, being bet out easily, or not raising when they were supposed to. A savvy card player can quickly understand why scared money never wins, it can’t play the right way. As a side note, we win about 85% of the time overall and we know the game inside out. The real trick is to maximize your wins and minimize your losses because some days the river runs upstream.
Back to Top
Poker - Strategy - Table stakes are next important thing to consider. It is very unwise, in addition to being a huge disadvantage, if you go sit at no limit holdem with $200. You won’t be around long if you don’t get lucky quick and in fact at this level, luck is the only thing you have. You won’t be able to use your skills to bluff someone out or even scare someone with a raise if they have $1000 or $5000 in front of them. You would be starting off as a short stack and although sometimes you may get more callers, because they believe you’re desperate, you won’t be able to play correctly. So, what is the correct ratio? Well, we have discussed in earlier in (Which Holdem Game Fits You Best) some recommended buy-ins but really we believe it is 20-30 times the big blind. Therefore at a 10-20 holdem game, you should have 20 to 30 times the big blind or $10 for a total of $400-$600 dollars. When we play, we usually like to have another 2-3 times the big blind available to us so we can re buy if necessary. To summarize, you should have at least 20 times the big blind. If you playing No-limit or Pot-limit, you should try to start at the average chip amount of the players at the table. Take a quick estimate of all the chips on the table then divide it by the number of players to get an average chip stack. This is the buy-in we recommend the strongest.
Back to Top
Poker - Strategy - What is a reasonable win or loss to you? This varies from person to person so here are a few things to ask yourself: Are you a miser or a little tighter with your cash? If so, then you should set your goals a little lower both ways. For example, buy in at the lower suggested amount of $200 on $5-$10 limit holdem, if you hit for $150-$300 you should consider leaving. If you are a little more bullish or loose with your money, buy in for $300-$400 on $5-$10 and leave if you hit $400-$700. A person who is generally tighter with their money will likely be tighter with their play and their monetary swings during the game will be smaller than the bullish raiser. True everyone likes to fantasize about hitting big, but usually, people caught up with unreasonable goals end up losing more easily. Therefore it is in your best interest to decide which side of the coin your closer to and set your goals accordingly. You can still hit the big one, but there is an appropriate way called, “Money Management” do so.
Back to Top
POKER - STRATEGY - POKER CHIP- MONEY MANAGEMENT
This may be the most important thing to consider each time you play Texas Holdem Poker or any game of risk. Managing your poker chips will conserve and preserve your money and help to make you even more money over the long stretch. If you have ever gambled before then you have found yourself the next day saying, “Why didn’t I leave when I was up?” or “I should have left when I was winning”. Well, the next day you were right. You should have left when you were up but of course hindsight is 20/20. Nonetheless, there are things you can do to avoid these times and keep your shot at winning big going. Here is an example:
You brought $300 and have access to $200 in your ATM. You know now with this amount of money you should probably play $5-10 holdem but if you hit the ATM first, you can have enough to properly play $10-$20 holdem. In this situation, if you have 2-3 hrs to spend, play the $10-$20, if you have the whole evening, maybe just play the $5-$10 poker game. Anyway for this brief discussion, you’re there for the night so you play the $5-$10. In 2 hrs, you find yourself up $300. It is a little early in the game for you but you have hit your goal so should you leave? If you have anything else to do and feel the run is over, then yes. However, if you have nothing else to do and wish to play-on, go ahead just follow this rule. Small goal $200, big goal $400, you are currently up $300 so you can spare $100 and still hit your small goal. Stack the chips in separate piles or even better; ask the dealer to color up $200 of your $300. People won’t look at you too funny because you are accomplishing many things. You’re giving the dealer change which he always needs, you making your stack look a little smaller which will keep you or someone else from knocking them over, and your new colored chips will serve as a constant reminder of where you're at, and to follow the money management system. It goes like this, up $300, play down to $200 or up to $400, up $400 play down to $300 or up to $500, up $500, play to $400 or $700, up $700 play down to $450 or up to $900, and so on. Always set a top goal and a bottom goal if you have achieved a win goal early. The best spin on this theory for the big win is, if you hit $500 on $5-$10 table, you can pocket $200 and go to the $10-$20 table with $300. It may be just an average stack at the $10-$20, but your potential to win more money quickly is greater. In this case, we would recommend you play the $300 up to $600 or down to $100. However, the key important thing is to leave at the moment or the very next hand after you have hit any one of the bottom tier goals. Going beyond the bottom goal is very risky and negates the entire purpose of money management. In fact, if you do go past your bottom tier goal, you are no longer playing money management, your just playing.
Back to Top
POKER - POKER STRATEGY SHOULD YOU STAY OR LEAVE
There is always a sign. It could be the really obnoxious person who looks like they haven’t showered in days sitting next to you. It could be a really bad beat or you finding out a person out played you. It could be the dealer is irritating or slow, or just a phone call you didn’t want to get. It is very important poker strategy to try to be aware of your surroundings and everything that is going on at all times. Anything that can or does put you in a bad mood, an anxious mood, or makes you feel a little loose, could be a sign it is time to leave. Anything that makes you laugh, feel lucky, or is rewarding can make you feel confident and of well being. Such as a good joke from a friendly player, Catching AA or KK preflop and winning, a complement on your play, or a compliment on something you're wearing may be a sign to stick around for awhile. Overall, keep in mind that most times leaving the poker game is much more difficult that staying, therefore it is more important to look for the signs of when to leave as they may be more difficult to see. We once had an obnoxious middle aged guy who couldn’t stop his nose from bleeding. It was getting on his hands, on the cards, and on the table. We assumed he was on drugs and knew it was certainly the right time to leave for us since he would not.
Back to Top
POKER STRATEGY SETTING GOALS FOR TOURNAMENT PLAY
Tournament poker play is a completely different type of animal when setting goals. The first thing to consider is the number of poker players in the tournament and the number of spots that pay. All too often you’ll see the poker player that sets their goal on 1st place. While easy to dream about, it is in reality very difficult in a multi-table game to get to the final table let alone the top spot. The players who play too aggressively to get to first place usually end up getting knocked out early on a hand they shouldn’t have played. Only once in a blue moon will these people get in the money. However, sometimes with the proper luck, their style of play can work. The most difficult thing for this type of overly aggressive player is slowing down their play when they should. Too many times we see the guy who gets way, way ahead only to give it all back and lose down the road. Your goal should always be to get to the first spot that pays money back, then to get to the next higher spot that pays money back and so on. In other words, play one step at a time. Most times, in No Limit multi-table play, you can just sit for the first hour or so, not play a single hand, and already be at the top 50%. Look at it this way, at this point you already half way there and you didn’t do a thing. The key thing we believe in multi-tournaments is, at some point you will need to get lucky, usually about 2-3 times to be in the money. 3-4 times to make the final table, and 5-10 times to win it all. However, if your skill and your patience are with you, you will know when is the best time to risk it all is. Our theory is, “Always go out with a top hand” That means, make someone else out luck you. It is easier to sleep at night if you went all in with a top four hand and lost rather than J-10, 3-3, or something of that nature. To summarize, most times the best course of action in multi-tournaments is not playing at all but just sitting there, folding, and waiting for the other players to knock themselves out, and waiting for the top 10 hand to come. Remember that your goal is to get to the next higher spot and that is it. In fact, it is theoretically true that if you could always survive the blinds, you would automatically win or at worst take 2nd place depending on the maximum blind structure.
Read more about setting goals and Party Poker at Party Holdem. You will find some of the best winning strategies and tips for beginning and advanced poker players, you will read more useful articles and the latest poker news.
Back to Top
Please continue on to the next page to discuss (Hand Rankings)
HOME, SIZING UP, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, WHICH GAME FITS YOU, SETTING GOALS, HAND RANKINGS, BETTING STRATEGIES, ONLINE TIPS, TELLS, TOURNAMENT PLAY, SUGGESTED READINGS, POKER ITEMS FOR SALE, POKER LINKS , ADVERTISING, POKER NEWS , QUICK SEAT
Copyright © 2004 TexasHoldemStrategiesOnline.com All Rights Reserved.
|
