- Your Opponents
-
When you enter a Poker Tournament it is important to know
what type of competition you will face. Different types of
Poker players and all skill levels can be found at all levels
of play. Generally the bigger the prize the better the competition.
The smaller the prize the softer the competition.
Pros and Semi-Pros play in Free tournaments to fine tune
their play. When the Tournament is a feeder to larger real
money tournament, or for prizes like the World Poker Showdown
cruise, where they get a shot at significantly larger prizes.
In the 2004 WSOP, there were 2576 entries. Freerolls offer
an excellent chance to practice against large fields.
To recreation players it offers and opportunity to do something
besides watch re-runs. It is mental exercise and they understand
that they are exercising their mind and maybe improving their
game at the same time with no real cost, and it's fun.
To beginners, like the pros, it is a chance to improve their
game and hopefully learn the tactics that make them winning
Poker players, and eventually they will become contributing
members of the Poker community.
We can use the motivation of these different Poker players
to our advantage. As we sit at the table try to ascertain
which group each player belongs to. Now when they are in the
hand, especially if it is against us, ask ourselves what possible
hands they might have. If we have placed them in the correct
category we can predict what their hand is with a high degree
of certainty.
The Pros will always have something, watch their play, learn
from them and avoid confrontations with them like a dose of
the clap. If you do find your self in a hand against him,
he will lay it down. Remember, to the professional poker player
"time is money." He may be wasting time while waiting
for a real tournament. He might get discouraged and throw
his stack away so that he can get in a more lucrative game.
Watch for erratic play 10 or 15 minutes to the hour as he
decides to leave this tournament to play in another. You can
take advantage of this.
The Recreation Players will come with anything but tend to
have some standards. They will not play trash but they are
here to play so they will play more hands than profitable.
They will play Ace, rag, any suited cards and will call to
the river with a draw. If they have top pair, you will have
to show them a winner. Their play is a great chance for profit
as long as you play only the good hands. Look for them to
play loosely before the flop and with some skill except for
chasing.
The Beginner is another matter. They will play the same hands
as the Recreation player but will tend to overplay marginal
hands. Again this is a great chance for profit when you restrict
yourself to good hands.
Use the chat feature. Ask, "Who has read, Sklansky's
Hold'em for Advanced Players?". The
responses will give you a lot of information. Generally the
Pros will critique the book, Beginners will quote the book,
and Recreation players haven't read the book.
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not
fear the result of a hundred battles." -Sun Tzu
Sarge
Editors Note: jbharshaw has written articles for me for over
two years now, and has his own poker information site at www.bestpokerguide.net
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