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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Graham Easton
Middle of The Game – Are You Still In This Texas Holdem Contest?
If you’re still in, it’s time to tighten up. If you’ve been following this series of articles, this should have given you a lead over most of the players that simply play high cards. If you are holding above average chips you need to tighten up significantly.
To change up, play only premium hands, meaning only pairs (low-medium pairs in the hope of catching a set only) high face cards and suited connectors only if there are many players to the flop and you can see the community cards at minimal cost. Patience is the virtue of the middle game, and it can be a long boring place to be.
The advantage of tightening up is that come the final part of the game; people will have you down as a rock and fold to your raises. This is a problem when catching good cards in mid-tournament but it’s a Texas Holdem Strategy that pays off later when you are looking to pick up sizable blinds around the bubble (the part of the game when many players are trying to make it into the junior prizes).
Don’t be frustrated that your chip advantage over the average player has been diminished during this period to the point where you now hold average chips. If you have more that’s great, but most often I find my chip stack falls to average during the middle section.
Finally Hitting The Good Players In Texas Holdem
The final part of your Texas Holdem Tournament begins just before the bubble explained above. You now have achieved a table image of being like a rock – good. This is exactly what you want come the end of a tournament.
Blinds will likely be around 200/400 at this stage so the period of seeing speculative flops has well and truly ended. You now need to open up to steal some pots. Start by opening on lousy cards – a decent sized bet will have most folding as you’ve sat quiet for a good deal of the tournament.
Usually players will fold to this a couple of times. If you can do this in relatively quick succession then not only will you have picked up lots of chips but if you actually hit a hand say within 2 or 3 hands of those bluffs then your opponents will think you’re now bluffing.
The perfect situation is a high pair shortly after a couple of bluffs, although this is unlikely. You now need to get into pots with all high cards (two picture cards or higher) and pairs. If you hit top pair then bet it hard.
Using statistics, you will be unfortunate to lose such a hand as by this stage there will be many people who are short stacked. Short stacks will look to go all in early with Ace high or post flop with any matching pair. If your Holdem hand is higher than middle pair you should win. Even if you lose it will not be the end of your evening’s poker because by their nature short stacks do not have many chips.
Using Your Chip Lead to Your Advantage In Texas Holdem
At any stage in the game you may have a significant chip lead. If this is true, then you need to use it to your advantage. This is really easy to do at the end of a tournament because your opponents are fighting for cash positions and will fold all but the very best hands. Remember, most people can bluff once; many people do not fire a second or third bullet.
Really successful No-Limit Texas Holdem players do this regularly – the extra chips taken for these bets are well worth it because you increase your chance of catching a hand and the probability of bullying your opponent off his increases.
Following this poker strategy you should be able to suck up hands regularly, and you have the cushion to survive some losses. Your strategy must change if you come across another equal or larger chip stack. Learn to recognize the need to back off the occasional hand when these players call your bet at this stage in a game.
Blinds are going to be there, so sitting on the sidelines will not be an option. If you catch good cards at this stage, more than any other, you will be a major beneficiary.
Hopefully the use of these poker strategies will, on occasion, get you to a final table. Once there you need to realize that the players you are now confronted with are good, or very good at Texas Holdem. At the very end, it is lady luck who will determine the outcome. Good Luck!
Graham Easton is the Webmaster at http://www.texashold-empoker.com. He has a track record in large No Limit Texas Holdem Poker Tournaments including three runner-up finishes out of ten attempts in the last six months, two of which came against fields in excess of 1400.
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