Archive for the ‘Poker Tournaments’ Category

The Blossoming Appreciation of Games of Cash and No-Limit Tournaments

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Among the variations of poker games, no-Limit tournament has far more popular appeal than either cash or limit poker games.  Tournament holdem and its variations is the game of choice among 75% of online players.  No-limit is the go-to game of all cash games and those who have a great deal of experience with tournament games will find the transition takes little effort.

Because the tournaments have gotten so much exposure, the new and naïve players flock to this arena where they are easily taken advantage of by their more experienced opponents.  Free-roll tournaments abound because they demand no deposit for the wary beginner to try his hand and maybe with a few passes from lady luck, the novice may find a new career or at least an addictive pastime.

Cash games are far more stressful than the sit-and-go games often found at tournaments.  In sit-and-go, the player forks over a fixed amount of deposit and then plays the ensuing hands for chips only, making for a relaxed game among friends.  One can easily find access to a tournament game as they are well advertised and may even lure in some players seeking a certain amount of celebrity status.

The frequent and rapid-paced SnG (sit-and-go) tournaments must be distinguished from the less accessible MTT (multi table tournament) games.  The most important distinction being that in the MTT, every game has the potential of going on forever and a player cannot depart the table without kissing his entire investment goodbye.  Add to that the length of time and the difficulty of the play that must be endured.  The players must be absolutely aware of these factors, else he may sink into despair, become too inert to leave, and lack the high-level of concentration necessary for skilled play.  Of course, those who can take the heat will wind up with quite a haul.

MTTs are also inaccessible even in the online situation.  Depending upon where you are playing (which country) you may find yourself able to locate such a game only in the wee small hours.  Add to that the fact that little is written about tournament and no-limit games, and the literature that does exist is mostly geared toward psychological strategy rather than strategies of technique.

It is not that difficult to transition from cash to MTT.  There is a close resemblance between them  Actually, there are less drawbacks to cash games than to MTT.  Lots of players are of the opinion that no-limit cash games offer more capability to foresee results than in any of the other online games.  It is in any case the easiest form of the cash game to find on the net with an abundance of players on fire to join a game and come out as huge winners.  Because there is so little written about it, there is ample opportunity for the talented player to use their skills of perception to successfully manipulate their less talented opponents.

On the other hand, literature on cash games is booming, but even the good stuff is fuzzy on teaching technique and concrete guidelines.  It relies rather on gleaning the expertise of the  human potential of ones individual opponents.  The only way to become a master at no-limit cash games is to practice, practice, practice and become very sensitive to the ways of ones opponents, thus building a vast memory bank to draw upon whenever one becomes involved in future and equally unpredictable games.

Dispersion rears its ugliest head in no-limit games which puts even the best players in serious jeopardy of losing many buy-ins in just one session.  In sum, the game is not cheap and not for the weak.

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No-Limit Tournaments and Cash Games – The Growth in Popularity

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Generally, cash games and limit games are far less popular than no-limit tournament poker.  At any point in time, there may be 75% of online players indulging in some variation of tournament holdem poker.  Those who have played many tournaments can more easily make the trade to the world of no-limit poker.  Of all cash games, no-limit is the most-played variation of poker.

Tournaments, due the media hype, are where the inexperienced novices go to play and where they are taken advantage of by the more knowing players.  Free-roll tournament poker is readily available at every venue day or night making them easy to find for the cautious rookie.  They can then make an attempt at a few hands with no ante and even luck into a win or two.  This can be a most addictive beginning to poker mania.

In a sit-and-go tournament game, the player enters with a fixed deposit and then only plays for chips, not money.  This makes for a much less stressful game than the cash game.  This relaxing nature accounts for its popularity as well as media coverage, and one may even gain his 15 minutes of fame as a celebrity poker player..

The importance of distinguishing between the oft-played and fast paced SnG tournaments and the less readily available MTT where the games go on stressfully forever, cannot be overstated.  A player taking part in an MTT will not be able to leave the table without losing his investment..  This requires that the player must have the endurance for endless hours of complicated play.  These games require tenacity and a marathon-like endurance to avoid lapsing into a depression, becoming too inert to get up and leave, and yet too unfocused to play one’s A game.  Add to this high dispersion, even though the final three remaining at the table stand to gain a lot.

Also, you can’t expect to walk into a poker club and find an MTT going on.  Even in online poker rooms, you may find yourself only able to play very late at night, depending on your country of play.  The literature available on tournaments and no-limit games tends to be scarce and dwells on the psychological and subjective aspects of the game rather than any precise techniques and strategies.

The transition between cash and MTT is not particularly difficult.  No-limit and cash games do have a lot of similarities, but there are more drawbacks to the MTT.  No-limit cash games are thought to be the most prospective of all online games by the majority of players.  Among all the cash games no-limit is by far the most available and can be found at all places and at all times with no lack of gung-ho players.  You can be sure that not all of those eager beavers are experts.  Because the game is not well documented in literature, the talented  players have an excellent opportunity to practice some psychological manipulations.  Those less talented need to be aware of this and proceed with caution.

With cash games, the literature is more available and growing, but even if it does have merit, it is not precise, lacks substantial guidelines and weighs heavily on the potential of the assorted individuals gathered around the table.  The only way to become expert then at no-limit cash games is through the experience of playing and closely observing your opponents, thereby piling up a memory of observations to carefully draw upon when involved in future, and just as unpredictable games.

No limit games offer the fiercest dispersion for even good players.  Experts have been known to lose five or six buy-ins in one round of play.  This is not a cheap game or one for the faint of heart..

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