NO LIMT FREE POKER TOURNEY STARTING HANDS Body

Even in the body of the tourney there are some distinct levels of the tourney that affect your game.

The Opening starts with first hand and ends around the first break or a little after. After the 1st break when the players start to come under Blind pressure. If 3 players have less than 10 times the big blind, the Opening as ended. In a Re-buy & Add-on poker tourney, the opening will end sometime after Re-buys have been discontinued. It may last a little longer because the add-on gives short stacks a chance to prolong their participation with additional chips.

This period in a poker tourney most closely a normal poker ring game. Good solid poker play even with good marginal cards can build your stack. If you are going to play marginal hands. Try to do it in late position and don't get involved in large pots unless you have a premier hand.

During this period you have a great chance to build a your stack, but it also has the additional risk involved. You have to know where you are going. Playing any marginal cards in Poker is a risk. You should never hesitate to muck marginal cards to a strong raise and make sure that you are getting good pot odds.

After the flop, Don't slow play anything except a flopped flush or a set for your pocket pair. If there is a flush draw or straight draw, consider betting your set immediately. Slow playing is a slow death.

To sum-up the Poker tourney opening: Play a solid poker game. Don't get confrontational. Expect the other players to play quite loosely, (especially in free rolls and R&A Hold'em tourneys). Don't get anxious as your stack shrinks. Sit patiently and wait for good hands. Don't push.

“Nothing would more contribute to make a man wise than to have always an enemy in his view. “

- Lord Halifax

The middle of the Tourney begins as more and more players' stacks come under blind pressure. Some tables may actually go into the middle a round or two before others. Now we must modify or normal solid game significantly. During this period most hands are 2 or 3 handed and you seldom have multi-way actions. As short stacks become more desperate, all in moves will become more frequent. Just as we modify our play others will modify theirs and often to the alert player this yields some excellent opportunities.

You should modify your play based on your stack size.

Little Stack: (under blind pressure) You should become more aggressive look for situations where you might make good use of marginal cards. Attack the other short stacks when possible. If you are in a situation where you would call an All-in, bet or raise first. Put the decision in the other guys lap.

Small Normal Stack: Keep your starting hand standards high, but when you can bully a short stack do it but be prepared. Short stack will go all in with any cards all. If you aren't prepared to call an all-in. Steal the blinds to support your stack but do so carefully.

Large Normal Stack: You are in a situation were you could probably blind into the money, restrict your starting hands to the absolute best. From Late Position steal very cautiously. Avoid equal or bigger stacks like the plague. Don't get involved in multi-way pots. If you can't go all in with hand, don't play anything in early position. Mucking pocket aces in this situation might be the best move, if several players have already moved all in.

Big Stack: You have a big stack when you a have a large multiple of the average stack, often even the chip leader will not be a Big Stack. If you can sustain a loss without jeopardizing your tourney standing you have a big stack. You have the power. Use it. Bully 'em. Steel the blinds as frequently as possible with good cards, but don't play if you aren't prepared to cover an all in. If you have trash, don't call in an attempt to put another player out. Too often you will only double his stack size. Pay attention to the players, because you should know by now who is capable of laying down a hand and who is not.