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Viewer Beware
Howard Lederer
March 6, 2006
Poker Tips from the Pros
Howard Lederer
March 6, 2006
Poker Tips from the Pros
Many of the people crowding the tournament circuit
these days developed their interest in serious
poker from watching broadcasts of the World Poker
Tour and the World Series of Poker. With hole
cards shown as the hands are played out, viewers
get to see how the best players in the world ply
their craft. They can then apply the lessons they've
learned in their own play.
In the last couple of years, I've noticed that some
these days developed their interest in serious
poker from watching broadcasts of the World Poker
Tour and the World Series of Poker. With hole
cards shown as the hands are played out, viewers
get to see how the best players in the world ply
their craft. They can then apply the lessons they've
learned in their own play.
In the last couple of years, I've noticed that some
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of the less experienced players who have entered $10,000 buy-in
tournaments don't fully appreciate what they've seen on TV. Many are apt to
misapply the techniques they've witnessed. As a result, these players find
themselves on the rail early, wondering why a move that worked so well for
Phil Ivey or Chris Ferguson had such disastrous results for them.
To avoid falling into this trap yourself, take note of two key pieces of
information the next time you sit down to watch the WPT or WSOP: The
number of players at the table and the stack sizes relative to the blinds.
World Poker Tour final-table broadcasts start when six players remain.
Through the vast majority of tournaments, however, tables are nine or
10-handed. When 10 people are at the table, you always need to be
concerned that someone holds a big pocket pair or Ace-King. As a result,
most good players tend to be cautious at full tables. They won't get
themselves in a lot of trouble with speculative hands like a middle pocket pair
or Ace-10. At a short-handed table, however, the chances of running into a
big hand are greatly diminished. When play is three- or four-handed, a pro
will likely play a hand like pocket 9s very aggressively.
Usually, in the late stages of tournaments, the blinds are extremely high
when compared to the size of the stacks. For example, in the recent WPT
event from the Gold Strike in Tunica, when four players remained, the
average stack had about 1.4 Million in chips. This may sound like a lot but, at
that time, the blinds were 30,000 and 60,000 with a 10,000 ante. The short
stacks, who had less than 1 Million each, couldn't afford to be patient. If they
failed to play for a mere 20 hands, their stacks would be cut in half.
As blinds increase, good players get more aggressive, making frequent
pre-flop raises while attempting to steal the blinds and antes. They know
that if they sit and wait for top-quality hands, the blinds and antes will
decimate their stacks. At these stages of tournaments, you'll see a lot of
attempted steals with second-rate hands. Other good players, fully aware
that their opponents may be raising with very little, might re-raise or fight
back from the blinds with similarly modest holdings.
Short tables and high blinds create settings that necessitate near constant
aggression and continual action. So, for example, when you see a pro
re-raise all-in from the blinds with pocket 7s, it's likely he's properly
considered the situation and has made the best available play. He's thought
about the short table and high blinds, determined that he probably has the
best hand and, most importantly, that his opponent likely can't call the
re-raise. The same player would treat the same hand very differently at an
earlier stage of the tournament.
The final factor to consider when watching televised poker is that the shows
are highly edited. At this year's WSOP, it sometimes took 15 hours and
hundreds of hands to determine a winner. On ESPN, they usually include
about 20 hands in an hour-long broadcast. So, you can be sure that much of
the context if missing from these telecasts. A call or re-raise that seemed odd
on TV may have made perfect sense in the course of the event. For instance,
if an aggressive player raised eight consecutive times on the button, the big
blind may have decided that he had to fight back with rags, just to let his
opponent know that he was willing to take a stand. It's not a play that
person would normally make, and it may look strange on TV but, in context,
the re-raise with 8-high made perfect sense.
I suggest that you TiVo the next poker event you plan to watch. Keep track
of the number of players and the size of the blinds. By paying attention to
the details, the big picture will likely become clearer.
Howard Lederer
tournaments don't fully appreciate what they've seen on TV. Many are apt to
misapply the techniques they've witnessed. As a result, these players find
themselves on the rail early, wondering why a move that worked so well for
Phil Ivey or Chris Ferguson had such disastrous results for them.
To avoid falling into this trap yourself, take note of two key pieces of
information the next time you sit down to watch the WPT or WSOP: The
number of players at the table and the stack sizes relative to the blinds.
World Poker Tour final-table broadcasts start when six players remain.
Through the vast majority of tournaments, however, tables are nine or
10-handed. When 10 people are at the table, you always need to be
concerned that someone holds a big pocket pair or Ace-King. As a result,
most good players tend to be cautious at full tables. They won't get
themselves in a lot of trouble with speculative hands like a middle pocket pair
or Ace-10. At a short-handed table, however, the chances of running into a
big hand are greatly diminished. When play is three- or four-handed, a pro
will likely play a hand like pocket 9s very aggressively.
Usually, in the late stages of tournaments, the blinds are extremely high
when compared to the size of the stacks. For example, in the recent WPT
event from the Gold Strike in Tunica, when four players remained, the
average stack had about 1.4 Million in chips. This may sound like a lot but, at
that time, the blinds were 30,000 and 60,000 with a 10,000 ante. The short
stacks, who had less than 1 Million each, couldn't afford to be patient. If they
failed to play for a mere 20 hands, their stacks would be cut in half.
As blinds increase, good players get more aggressive, making frequent
pre-flop raises while attempting to steal the blinds and antes. They know
that if they sit and wait for top-quality hands, the blinds and antes will
decimate their stacks. At these stages of tournaments, you'll see a lot of
attempted steals with second-rate hands. Other good players, fully aware
that their opponents may be raising with very little, might re-raise or fight
back from the blinds with similarly modest holdings.
Short tables and high blinds create settings that necessitate near constant
aggression and continual action. So, for example, when you see a pro
re-raise all-in from the blinds with pocket 7s, it's likely he's properly
considered the situation and has made the best available play. He's thought
about the short table and high blinds, determined that he probably has the
best hand and, most importantly, that his opponent likely can't call the
re-raise. The same player would treat the same hand very differently at an
earlier stage of the tournament.
The final factor to consider when watching televised poker is that the shows
are highly edited. At this year's WSOP, it sometimes took 15 hours and
hundreds of hands to determine a winner. On ESPN, they usually include
about 20 hands in an hour-long broadcast. So, you can be sure that much of
the context if missing from these telecasts. A call or re-raise that seemed odd
on TV may have made perfect sense in the course of the event. For instance,
if an aggressive player raised eight consecutive times on the button, the big
blind may have decided that he had to fight back with rags, just to let his
opponent know that he was willing to take a stand. It's not a play that
person would normally make, and it may look strange on TV but, in context,
the re-raise with 8-high made perfect sense.
I suggest that you TiVo the next poker event you plan to watch. Keep track
of the number of players and the size of the blinds. By paying attention to
the details, the big picture will likely become clearer.
Howard Lederer
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