Your First Live Rebuy Tourney Part 2

YOUR FIRST LIVE REBUY TOURNEY - Part 2

By "Lorinda"

"So, you've played a couple of tourneys"

So, you have played a couple of tourneys, you are used to the feel of the chips, you have raised a few times and won a few pots, you even nearly made the final table in your most recent tourney.

It's time to take your game up to a different level, so far you have been playing very tight and methodically.

So, what next....

Well you've learned about the most important thing in poker, your cards.

Today I hope to be able to teach a little about the second most important thing, your position.

Now, you have heard all the pro's talking about it, you have read a bit about it, but none of it really made any sense.

Why oh why is A9 better in late position than in early position? surely a winning hand is a winning hand?

For the purposes of this article, seat one is the small blind, and seat ten is the button.

Lets play a simple game, it's like poker, but instead of cards, you are assigned a random number from 1-100, I have made some simplifications on purpose regarding the math in this article (so the mathematically inclined don't jump up and down on me) but the differences are only small, remember, this is an illustration.

So, you are dealt number 94 under the gun.
There are 9 other players, all with a 6% chance of having a better number than you have...thats 54%, when you factor in the fact that small numbers are unlikely to call you anyway, you can see that number 94 under the gun is not a winning "hand"

however, when you get to the button, and everyone has folded to you, even number 80 is pretty good, there are only two people left, each with a 20% chance of being ahead...that's 40%.. NOW you can raise.

What a difference! Number 94 isn't good enough early on, but number 80 is fine on the button.
This very principle also applies to poker.

What about if there's a raise?
Well, if you are on the button with number 80, and the guy under the gun has raised...you can see what sort of mess you are in.
You MUST think he has 95 or higher (although a loose player might play any number in the 90s) and you can see that 80 is in real trouble, your raising hand has become a folding hand, amazing or what?

Let's take a look at the 50% barrier for different numbers.

People left to speak Number required (And % of being in front)

9 95 (55%)
8 94 (52%)
7 93 (51%)
6 92 (52%)
5 90 (50%)
4 88 (52%)
3 84 (54%)
2 75 (50%)
1 50 (50%)

You can see just how bad the early positions ALL are, and how much things improve around the button.
(Again, for the mathematically inclined, I have simply said that 7 people with 7% each of being in front, is 49%, this will suffice)

So, you now understand ONE reason why position is important, simple maths says it is :)

How can we apply this to the poker you have been playing?

Well, if you followed article one, you will probably have found that you have been getting anted away (called blinded away in some places)
Your stack of chips has dwindled, and you suddenly don't have many left.

You can blame me for that, I told you to play too tight!!

Now though, you understand position (or at least the first aspect of it) and you can apply this to your game to keep that stack healthy.

For now, keep your play before the end of the rebuys pretty much the same old tight stuff, but we are going to mix it up a little afterwards now.

After the rebuys have finished, the blinds go up pretty quickly. We are going to introduce what looks like bluffing now, but actually, you are just playing your position.

The first question you must always ask yourself in a PL/NL tourney is "Do I really need to play this hand"
For now, we will use the following test to answer this.

If your stack is going to be five big blinds or smaller by the time you are next on the big blind, you need to play a hand, this seems small..but remember, you don't need to win a tourney to win money, others are feeling the pinch too, and survival is going to get you something back, even if you don't come first.

Why five big blinds?
Well, a raise that will be big enough to scare people, tends to be one of four big blinds or more, that is, after you have paid your big blind and your small blind, you will only have 3.5 big blinds left and a raise may no longer be big enough to win the pot unchallenged.

Don't believe these people that tell you that they want callers in no limit tourneys before the flop.
If no-one ever calls your bet, you will never get knocked out.

As your play improves, you will want callers sometimes to maximize your chances, but right now, you don't, whenever they fold, thats GOOD.

So, we need to play a hand, we are not calling, we are going all in.
What hand should it be?
Well, you will develop your own thoughts about this as you get more experience, but remember the number game.
Any ace on the button or cutoff (right of the button) is great, KQ, KJ and KT will have to do too, and maybe even QJ.
The further you are from the button, even in these emergencies, the faster your hand turns into rubbish as can be seen from the number game table!

Get that raise in whilst you have position, there is a chance you won't get called, and, if it comes to the worst, you might hit your hand :)

When in those earlier positions, you are just going to have to pick up a hand (although given the emergency stack, you can lower starters slightly)
Any ace is okay, not because it is likely to be in front, but if you DO get called, hitting your Ace or your kicker will likely beat any hand but Aces.

When it reaches your big blind, and you no longer have enough to make a sensible sized raise, you are going to have to call with any two cards that look alike.
This includes 56 offsuit, any "one card hand" with a Q or better, and any two suited.
The reason for this is that even doubling up when you have got through the blinds is only going to get you into the same position, you have got into a "do or die" position, and you are probably going to die, but at least if you get lucky here, you have an okay stack for a round or two.

In this position, just announce "Any two cards can win" and shut your eyes.
With total garbage you might fold, and also if there are only one or two more to go before the money, you might fold.
Otherwise, you just need to call and hope.

Following these guidelines should mean you go out of more tournaments raising than calling... this is a good thing, if you raise, it is always possible to win the pot uncontested, however, just calling takes that option away and lowers your chances considerably.

Remember, even the experts need some luck, so don't be afraid to get lucky.

GOOD LUCK,

Lorinda