Most players are aware of the significant advantages that come with having a big stack in a tournament. When a player has chips, he can attack and pick up pots by forcing those around him into a corner where they have to make tough decisions. Those who have short stacks are always vulnerable to attack by those who have managed to accumulate lots of chips.


Why can the big stacks be more aggressive? The answer may surprise you. In tournaments, the more chips you have the less each individual chip is worth, making it easier for the big stacks to throw more into each pot. It's a strange concept, but one you should understand. To illustrate the point, say that you have 100,000 in tournament chips, and you lose 20,000 in a pot. You're not going to be happy about the loss, but that setback is not nearly as devastating as losing 15,000 from a 30,000 stack.


When you have a lot of chips that aren't worth much, you can be a lot freer to use them. You can go after blinds and antes without premium cards, or you can enter into race situations. If some hands don't work out, that's OK, because you weren't risking much to begin with.


The benefits of having deep stacks are significant enough that I'm willing to take some risks early in a tournament that give me the chance to build up my chips. When I'm playing in position, I'm likely to call raises with hands that I wouldn't play in a ring game or late in a tournament - hands like Q-9 suited or K-T suited. In a ring game, with these sorts of hands I'd be worried about being dominated and getting myself in serious trouble if I flop top pair. But early in a tournament, I can call with the hope of hitting the flop pretty hard. I'm looking for two-pair, trips, or some kind of big draw. When I flop a draw, I'll have the opportunity to semi-bluff; if I hit two pair, I might take a lot of chips from an opponent who can't get away from top pair.


Also, keep in mind that there are likely to be a higher proportion of weak players early in a tournament. You want to get as many chips from these players as you can before they bust.


Playing more hands early in a tournament does expose me to greater risks, but I'm fine with that. I'd rather gamble early and bust than cling to a short stack for hours on end. When I'm short-stacked, I know that one bad beat or one lost race will have me on the rail. I'd rather take some chances and try to accumulate a stack that can stand up to a little adversity.


So, in your next tournament, look for situations in early levels that give you a chance to acquire a big stack. You may bust, but if things work out, you'll give yourself a far better shot at surviving deep into the tournament and having a big payday.






David Grey




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Beginners come to poker thinking that the bluff has one simple purpose: To take pots when you don't have a hand that can win at showdown. In No-Limit Hold 'em, however, the bluff can be used in many different ways. As a recent tip by Huck Seed pointed out, a good player can use the threat of a bluff to force an opponent into making a very bad call.


For this tip, I thought I'd show another way you can use the bluff to your advantage. Using this technique, you'll neither be bluffing nor threatening to bluff, but rather, you'll be convincing an opponent to bluff in a situation where you almost certainly have the best hand.


Say you're playing a game of No-Limit Hold 'em and you raise in middle position with Kh-Qh. You're called by two players - one behind you and one in the blind. You're thrilled to see the flop: 2h-7h-Th. You flopped a flush. The big blind checks to you and you bet. (Note that I highly recommend betting in this sort of situation. Betting the made hand often does more to disguise the strength of your holding than slow playing does.)


Your bet is called by the late position player. What's he calling with? Maybe he has a Ten or the Ah. The turn is a blank, the 3c. You bet again, and once again are called. Now the river is another blank, the 4d, making the board 2h-7h-Th-3c-4d. What's your play?

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The biggest mistake made by most card players is playing TOO MANY HANDS. For example, tell me if this thought has ever crossed your mind...


"It's worth calling the flop even though I have bad cards-- because who knows, I might catch three-of-a-kind... or two pair... or something really good!"


Every poker player has had this thought from time to time. Even the pros.



But the problem is, thinking like this will cause you to LOSE BIG TIME in the long run. And the reason is because of the ODDS. Even though you might make a "great hand" once in every twenty flops, those other nineteen hands will cause you to lose MORE than you won. When you are playing for fun, money is not involved… but you don’t want to lose your bragging rights!

So here's the thing:


The right odds calculator will show you EXACTLY how strong or weak your starting hand is... based on a PERCENTAGE and will show you the appropriate "Sklansky Starting Hand Group". What this means is you will IMMEDIATELY know how good your hand is, as soon as the cards come out.


For example, at a 10-man table pocket Aces has a hand rank of 100% and is GROUP 1. Pocket two's has a hand rank of 63.3%, which is in GROUP 7. (This is for hands to the river.)


But let's be honest... understanding how "good" those hands are is EASY. You don't need an odds calculator for that.


But let me ask you, which of THESE hands do you think has the highest "Hand Rank"?


a.) Queen-9 suited
b.) Ace-5 suited

c.) Jack-10 suited
d.) Ace-Queen offsuit


(Here's a hint... the strongest hand is NOT options "b" or "d"...)


Give up? Are you surprised that A-Q wasn't the strongest? Well, that's just ONE of the ways an odds calculator can be incredibly useful... you'll know the exact hand strength right away and can make a more educated (translation = MORE ADVANTAGEOUS IN THE END) decision before the flop.


Have a go online at PartyPoker and try it. Click HERE

There's no question that aggressive poker is winning poker. If the world's top players have only one thing in common, it's that they take control of the hands they play with bets and raises. Usually, among the world's poker elite, calling is the least attractive option.


For this tip, however, I thought I'd talk about a couple of instances when playing passively - just checking and calling bets - may be the preferred option.


Top Pair, Favorable Board


Say I'm in the early stages of a tournament and I have an ample stack. I find Ace-Jack in middle position and raise to three times the big blind. A player in late position, who I know to be solid but fairly aggressive, calls my raise, and everyone else folds. The flop comes As-4d-8h. I've got top-pair, with a decent kicker.


First, I want to think about the hands my opponent might hold. It's likely he called my raise with an Ace or a pocket pair, maybe in the range of 66-99. He may have also called with two high cards like KQ, KJ or QJ.


In this situation, I'm likely very far ahead or hopelessly behind if my opponent hit a set or has a bigger Ace. If he's got an Ace with a worse kicker, he's drawing to only three outs. If he's got a pocket pair like 77, he has only two outs. With just two face cards, he's almost drawing dead. And on this board (As-4d-8h), I don't need to be especially worried about straight or flush draws. Because of this, I don't mind giving my opponent a free card.


If I bet my top pair and my opponent holds a pocket pair, he's likely to fold, and I'll have failed to get any additional value out of my hand. If I check, however, I give this player the chance to bluff or bet his lesser Ace, and I can then call.


Ideally, I want to get one decent-sized bet in over the course of this hand and by checking, I prevent my opponent from giving me more action than my hand can handle.


Say the turn is 3c. The situation hasn't changed much. I'm still either way ahead or very far behind. I can check again, and allow my opponent to bluff.


On most river cards, if we have checked the hand down, I will generally bet. If we've put one bet in, I'll probably check-call, and if we've put in two, I'll likely check and fold. Playing the hand in this manner provides three advantages. It allows me to get good value out of a strong hand, and it also keeps me from losing more than I need to against a hand that has mine beat without too much risk. Additionally, playing this way gives my opponent the opportunity to bluff, which is the only way to get any money out of him if he holds a hand like QJ.

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