All In Strategy

I played in an online tournament tonight. On one of the first hands of the night, I got a pretty good hand and called an all-in from another player after several folds. We were head to head and I lost, leaving me with only $30 (from $1500).

By now the blinds were already $50/$100 so I figured I was out of the tournament. There was no way I’d make it back, right? I passed on a few hands until the blind came to me. Being the big blind, I figured I would lose my last $30 and that’d be it. Instead, 4 others called and soon I was up to $120. Another hand later it was $500. Then $1500. Then $15,000.

Before I knew it I was in first place with over $30,000 in chips. All because I didn’t give up. My attitude really did affect whether I could win. Had I had the attitude that I was just “going to lose anyway” I likely would’ve just thrown the $30 away and logged out.

I didn’t win the tournament, but I did come in 3rd place. Not bad for going broke and coming back from nothing.

Don’t ever count yourself out of a hand, game our tournament until it’s over. You never know when skill and chance will bring you back stronger than before.

I went to Las Vegas for a conference and was hoping to get to play some poker while I was there. I played twice, both at a $4/$8 limit table.

I did pretty well, making a little money and having a great time. I played a total of about 8-10 hours and met some good poker players.

I usually like to play no-limit, but enjoyed the constraints of limit holdem.

Down to $2.59, I decided to play the ring games and joined an $0.05/$0.10 9-player table. I waited for the blinds to come around and then patiently waited on a good hand. After losing a few blinds, and a couple small hands, I got a pair of tens. I bet out with $0.20 which was raised to $0.30. When it came back around to me, I raised to $1.00 to weed out the 4 players that were in at the time (and it worked - 2 folded). But then one of the players re-raised and put me all-in. I called.

I was sitting pretty good before the flop, two tens against two nines. The flop came and he picked up a set of nines. The turn and river gave me no good cards, and I was out of money.

The experiment was a good idea, but unfortunately I didn’t play as strictly as I should have, and once I got below $5 I don’t think there was much hope. I’m going to make a deposit and see if I can repeat the experiment with a different outcome.

Is it beneficial to watch poker on television? I love watching poker on TV, and when I flip channels (which is rare) I will always stop if I hit a poker tournament. But does watching poker help you to become a better poker player?

I think you’ll see as much good poker play as you will bad, and it is definitely edited to only show the exciting moments. I think you can learn how to read people and see how others (pros and amateurs) act in certain situations.

But one thing is for sure, there is no substitute for sitting down at the poker table and playing. Not even online poker compares to the experience and insight you can get from a few hours at the table.

Well, I’ve had good days and bad days, but a string of small tournaments and really bad days at the ring games have left me with $2.69 left in my bankroll. I’m not sure if I can come back from this, but I’m going to hit the ring games tonight and see if I can get to at least $10. It’s depressing to think I was just at $30 a few days ago. I guess that’s how it goes though.

One thing I have definitely noticed is as you start losing, your attitude changes. I found myself playing hands I would never have played had I not been desperate. I’m going to make it a point to not deviate from my strategy, no matter now much money I have in my bankroll.

In just a few days I have gone from $5 in my account to over $50 and back down to $30. Playing conservatively, I have held out for the face cards or pairs before betting or calling a blind. It’s done well so far, and in one hour I made more than $40 playing $0.05/$0.10 tables. Not bad if you ask me.

Then I got a little careless. I bet on hands I knew weren’t that strong, and it bit me. I felt pot committed after leading in with a few rounds of betting and wound up losing several dollars a hand (several times).

The lesson? Make sure you keep an eye on your hand. Size it up against other players and the community cards (if available) to see what your odds are. If you’re on a 10% draw and your opponent is betting in with 1/2 the pot, fold your hand.

If I had taken the advice I’ve read in countless books, I’d still be way above $50 and climbing. I’m still up to $30, though, and am going to be reevaluating my tactics the next time I sit down to play, being careful to stick to my guns and increase my bankroll.

I am down to $10 left in my Full-Tilt Poker account, and I’m determined to make the best of it. I am challenging myself to turn $10 into a decent bankroll of $500 to use in Sit-n-Go games, cash games and tournaments.

I’ll be starting with $1 Sit-n-Gos and freerolls, and will move up to more expensive tournaments as my bankroll improves.

Starting with only $10 is more than difficult - even some pros haven’t been able to come back from next to nothing. Chris Furgeson tried a similar experiment not long ago. Last I read, he was back and forth but could not break past the $50-100 threshold once he got below it.

I’ll keep the blog updated with the status as my experiment unfolds.

Just a quick piece of advice - play often. Poker, like any sport, takes constant practice to keep your game up. If you go weeks or months without playing, you can’t expect to jump right back in and be at 100%.

You don’t have to play a lot, just consistently. If you only have 10 hours a month to play, spread it out over the month and play a little every week. It will help you keep your skills up for when you do have time to play more.

Knowing when to fold is one of the hardest things about poker. Pre-flop I’ll fold just about any hand… even a small pair. If the blinds have been raised and re-raised, I’ll usually bail out.

But after the flop, I have a hard time letting go even with just a pair or two. Knowing my opponent is probably on trips, a flush or a straight, I’ll call just to see what they have.

I’m pot comitted.

What does that mean? When a player has invested so much of his stack in a hand that it’s pshycologically impossible to fold, he’s pot committed. He’ll call, even when he knows he’s a big underdog.

You have to learn how to fold even when you’re “pot committed.” If you’re not getting odds on the hand, and don’t have at least trips and an opponent comes in over the top with a 2x or 3x pot bet, you should probably fold.

Of course, there are times when there are few available hands they could have. If there are no flush or straight possibilities, and no pair on the board, your opponent is at best sitting on trips or two pair. Sometimes I will re-raise a mediocre bet to steal a pot.

If they come back in over the top, fold your hand if you don’t have anything. Get out while you still have chips to play with.

I’m probably the last person you would expect to play poker. I don’t believe in luck. At all. How, you ask, could I play a game like poker without believing in luck? Well, most professional players will tell you that skill is more important than luck, but I don’t know too many poker players who don’t believe in luck.

Don’t get me wrong… I believe in chance. Randomness. Each hand you have the potential to have an excellent hand or a dud. Once the cards are shuffled, you have another change (that is unaffected by the previous chance). Any string of good or poor hands is only coincidence. How you react to them, however, is not.

We choose how we react in situations, and too often I see people react strongly to a coincidental string of wins or losses. Different people react differently. You might get pshyched up on a string of wins and intimidate your opponents, thereby helping you keep the winning streak going. Or you could get discouraged by a string of losses and fold erratically or call desperately when you otherwise wouldn’t.

Remember that you choose how to react to different circumstances, and your choice will impact the way you, and others, play. And never underestimate the importance of skill in poker. Skill will tell you that you should fold or call when your emotions might not. It’s best to listen to both and make an informed decision.