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
You don’t want to get near the correct odds
You don’t want to get near the correct odds against your opponent’s range, so if you are forced into the situation, consider your playing ability versus that of everyone else at your table. You can pass up marginal spots if you are by far the best player at your table. Some players are unrealistic about their skills, assuming they can pass up situations where they have 50-percent equity and are getting 2-to-1. This is a clear mistake. If I need to win 35 percent of the time and I am getting 1.5-to-1, I am usually going to call, depending on the stack I will be left with.
If you are worse than the players at your table,
If you are worse than the players at your table, you should call when you are getting even close to the right odds. Folding is a clear error if you think you are 40-percent to win and you are getting 1.5-to-1 odds. You may even want to call if you are 35-percent to win, if you think you are severely outmatched. Think also about how the table is reacting to your bets and raises pre-flop. If you are constantly getting pushed on, you need to call to let them know you will not be pushed around. If you have stolen nine of the last ten pots pre-flop and you finally get pushed on, you should certainly fold marginal hands.