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
In position, if the pre-flop raiser checks,
In position, if the pre-flop raiser checks, you should bet a wide range, basically any pair or better, along with hands that have some outs if called, such as gutshots with overcards. Also bet all your good draws. Tend to check hands like ace-high because they have a little showdown value and are usually ahead of your opponent’s check-down range. With total air, if you think your opponent plans to check-fold the flop, go ahead and take a stab at it. If you think he’s getting tricky or pot-controlling a decent made hand, simply check behind and plan to give up, or maybe bet the turn, depending on his turn action.
Out of position as the pre-flop raiser,
Out of position as the pre-flop raiser, bet with a wide range, including the nuts, flushes, straights, sets, weak top pairs, such as 9-8 on an 8-5-2 board, middle pair, bottom pair, all decent draws and all gutshots with overcards. Also bet whenever the flop is unlikely to have hit your opponent. Check with high top-pair hands, like A-3 on an A-9-5 board, hands that are way ahead or way behind, like Q-Q on an A-x-x board, and when you miss a flop that is very likely to hit your opponent’s calling range. If your opponent knows you continuation-bet often and plays back at you, tend to play a bit more passively on the flop, as betting middle pair and facing a raise or a float is usually a tough spot. Simply plan to check-call down.