Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
When you pot-control, especially with top pair,
When you pot-control, especially with top pair, don’t be scared to call down. If your opponent checks the turn, you can then bet the turn and river for value, as you almost certainly have the best hand. Checking behind on the flop will also make your hand look much weaker than it is. This is another reason to not fold once you check behind. Another example would be if you raise from early position with A-K and a player in middle position calls. You both have 150BBs. If the flop comes A-10-3, you can be pretty confident making a bet.
It is unlikely your opponent has A-10,
It is unlikely your opponent has A-10, as most players will fold this against an early-position raiser. If he raises, he likely has A-K, A-Q, A-J, 10-10 or 3-3, so you probably shouldn’t fold. If he calls, it’s probably with a hand like A-K, A-Q, A-J, Q-10, J-10, 10-9 or 10-8. You should almost always check if the turn is a queen or jack because that could easily hit his hand. The problem with betting is that you’re in a tough spot if you’re raised. Checking works great here because it makes your hand look weak and also controls the pot.