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Texas Holdem Tournament Strategy
The flop, turn and river came and went without another Queen and it was done - my cowboys stood up and I had all of both Russian’s stacks, which included most of the other two poor maniac’s chips (who lost to the Russians earlier). This instantly made me by far the chip leader at our table with well over 22,000 chips!
I went from having an average chip stack to being the table chip leader, against tough, aggressive opponents, within less than half an hour by:
a) Playing solid, reasonable tournament poker,
b) Not taking big, undue risks with weak or "drawing" hands,
c) Studying my aggressive prey and where the chips were sitting,
d) Formulating and refining a battle plan while observing the game progress,
e) Remaining patient while waiting for the right hand to make my move, and
f) Executing this plan with precision against a predetermined opponent, and on terms of my choosing – not the opponent’s.
There was no luck involved at all – except that my opponent didn’t hold AA or pull some lucky cards with a trash hand – which was simply playing the odds in my favor.
I started out with a high-level strategy to target aggressive chip leaders, and go after them with strong hands from the right position. I planned this before I ever arrived at the casino that day, or knew who these players would be. Then, I refined my plan once I knew for certain whom the evening’s targets would be and how I’d provoke them. It certainly helped that I caught two decent hands during those first hours of play.
Unfortunately, I later lost to a legitimate full house, but made it into the top 40 – it happens…
The key to playing against aggressive and maniac players is having a viable Texas Holdem strategy you can profit from when you get some good hands. If you have a good plan, you can convert it into a formidable stockpile of chips - a stack that you‘ll definitely need as the blinds and antes increase and the tournament field narrows in the latter stages.
This is how I approach Texas Holdem strategy for tournaments now - at least when the tables are full with 8 or more players, some of them aggressive and maniacs. So, the next time you encounter wild and aggressive players at your poker table, get ready to have some fun! It's like Tae Kwon Do - using the opponent’s own energy and momentum against them.
In the next installment, we’ll detail this Texas Holdem strategy more formally, along with exploring some other tournament tips for playing better Texas Holdem poker.
Until then – good luck!
Rick
Rick Braddy is an avid writer, Texas Holdem player and professional software developer and marketer for over 25 years. His websites and Texas Holdem poker software specialize in helping people become better players. If you're a poker player, be sure to visit his BetterHoldem.com Poker Tournament Strategy website today and learn how you can play better Texas Holdem, too.
