Ok. So you play some online poker. Who isn't?
So you make some small money at the lower limits of the tournaments.
so far so good.
You have a good idea about which
hands to open with in each position, and you have a few bluffs up your sleeve - but yet you can't seem to make any serious money - you definately finish in the money from time to time, but you so rarely finish in the very first place - the one where the big bucks are.
no worries.
I am here to tell you why.
The secret you don't know, is the secret of "M" and the
inflection points.
"M" is a mathematical variant describing a very
simple number - your current
stack of chips divided by the antes+blinds. Simple example - the
blinds are 50$-100$, no atnes yet, and your stack is 1500$ - your current "M" is - 1500/(50+100) = 10. simple isn't it?
At this point you might ask - "so what? how is this "M" going to help me?"
Good question. Here is where inflection
points start to play a role.
Your strategy, solid at the beginings of tournaments, can only work properly when your "M" is above 20. here you can relax, pick your spots carefully as you always do, and play your solid strong poker as much as you want. When blinds go up, your "M" might get below 20, and if you will just sit there and wait for your good hands, the blinds will eat you up and sooner then later you will face unbareable pressure to act. If you paid attention to your "M" this process can be avoided.
When your "M" gets below 20, that is the inflection point in which all your hands go up 1 level - hands you used to open only from late positions, you will now open from middle
position - etc. Hands you never opened before - like k-7 for instance, you will start opening from late positions.
When your "M" goes below 10, that's the secnd inflection point, and your hands evaluation should go up another level. when your "M" is below 5 - you have reached the red zone and almost any hand above average (10-7 or better) is worth opening from any position (since you go all in here, position does not matter - the only thing that matters is that you will be the first to bet the hand and open the pot).
Those tactics are well known amongst good players, and if you want to know all about the different aspect of them i would recomend the great books by dan harrington and bil robertie about winning no limit holdem tournaments - probably the best poker books written in the last few years.
Now, while using the "M" and the inflection points you will find that sometimes you get eliminated quicker then you used too, but many more times you will reach the final stages with a decent sized stack - with great position of attacking the first place - and this is where the big bucks are - and this is where you want to be - isn't it so?
Good luck and see you at the table!
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