Posted by Johnnymac 7:43 PM
Great Post from Fro.

If I may, I have a few more that I will add (and I promise that someday I'll find the time soon to come up with some original post ideas of my own instead of just commenting on what Dr Fro has to write):

2a. Don't call pre-flop raises unless you have a monster hand. Fro says to raise with pairs and call with drawing hands. That's good advice, but the only calling you should be doing is of the blinds (maybe this is implied). If someone else raises either in front of you or behind your initial raise or call, you should probably fold unless you have AA, AK, KK, or QQ, and even then you should be careful.

3a. If you flop a set or make another very strong hand on the flop, then protect it and win with it. This might be a little complicated for a completely new player, because it requires you to do a little hand reading, but I think it's a key piece of strategy at any game where the size of the bet can vary. That is, if you were to flop a set or make top two pair on the flop and there are also two cards to a flush or straight, then you should make it very expensive for your opponents to see another card. Don't go overboard with this and don't bet big unless it's very clear that you are way ahead of everyone else (again, this takes practice). The moral here is not to let other players "catch up".

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see from players who aren't necessarily new to poker but who are new to Big Bet Poker. The first time I met Jimmy Promubol (2nd place in the September Tourney) was at a NLH poker tournament in July where an incident just like this occurred. Now, Jimmy is a good player and this story isn't about him - it's about the other guy who flopped a set of 3's from the button and then bet the minimum bet on both the flop and turn and then called Jimmy's all-in bet on the river when an obvious straight had come. Aside from the error of calling in that situation, the other guy had already made a bigger mistake on the flop. Jimmy never should have seen 4th Street and would not have if he had been forced to call a large bet.

4a. Sets are very powerful hands on the flop. Fro is right to tell you to throw away pocket pairs most of the time if they don't improve or if there are overcards on the board, but you should also be on the lookout to make a set. If you flop a set and there is neither a straight possibility on the board nor a three card flush, GO ALL IN. Again, make sure that there are no made hands already there, but this usually will not be the case on the flop alone. However, to repeat Fro's advice - if you do not make your set on the flop, it's almost always best to throw away those pocket pairs, especially if you are inexperienced.

4b. Don't call raises with small pocket pairs. This one speaks for itself - if you have a small pocket pair pre-flop (JJ or lower) and there is a raise behind you or someone reraises you, you should fold before even seeing the flop. You are likely already beat.

11a. Don't give them evidence to put a label on you. I have said this before, but I will repeat it. Never ever show your cards at the end unless you know you are the winner. This seems simple, but it's quite a powerful weapon, especially if you are a novice and up against players with more experience.


Finally in the spirit of NLH Tourney advice for beginners, David Sklansky's Tournament Poker for Advanced Players book has a good description of what he calls the "system" for newbies playing in no limit tournaments. The original system is very simple (basically, "go all in with big pairs or fold") and not that hard to understand. He then builds a more elaborate "modified system" which is fairly complicated. I don't think it's necessary to really memorize the elaborate point totals and rules in the modified system, but I do recommend reading the chapter because it's an excellent analysis of the mathmatical rules behind no limit poker and tournaments. If you are a little experience under your belt and want to "fill in some holes" in your tournament and no limit games, this is a very good place to start, but Beavis should probably just stick to Craig's advice for now.

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