Best forum strategy posts

In their 1992 hit single, Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross sang that ‘the best things in life are free’. While we’d like to think that sentiment rings true for poker, it’s often not the case. In strategy terms, invariably you have to pay someone for their knowledge, whether it comes in the form of books, training sites, or one-to-one tuition. However, that’s not to say you can’t get some crucial information for free. There are some quality resources out there on the internet across various sites and poker forums. The trouble, of course, is finding it – it can be a bit like hunting for a bargain in TK Maxx at times!

That’s where PokerPlayer comes in. We’ve scoured the web for the best poker advice available for players of all levels. While little of what’s contained in these articles could be considered groundbreaking, all the advice contains solid, practical solutions to help you beat low to mid stakes games. In no particular order, then, this is what we found…

Shaun’s beginner’s guide to 180s

Author: Shaun Deeb
Game/variant: No-limit Hold’em 180-man sit-and-go tournaments
URL: tinyurl.com/sdeeb

American online pro Shaun Deeb knows a thing or two about these tournaments having played over 5,000 of them to date with an ROI of 54%. In this article, written in February 2007, Shaun puts forward a step-by-step guide to beating the 180-man sit-and-go tournaments that at the time only ran on PokerStars, but have now been imitated on various other sites.

In addition to the strategy Deeb also gives six good reasons why you should consider playing these tournaments, including a crucial one – time. While many MTTs on PokerStars and Full Tilt can run on for hours and hours, these SNGs are all done and dusted in about three hours.

It’s also worth noting that this article is about the standard structure tournaments, not the turbo variety that now exists, and that Stars has added some blind levels to the structure since 2007. Sample quote: ‘You can’t really beat 180s for their low buy-ins, which are great for anyone trying to build up a roll.’

A guide to single-table tournaments

Author: Adam Small
Game/variant: No-limit Hold’em single-table tournaments
URL: tinyurl.com/ Adamstt

Single-table tournaments (sit-and-gos) are a fantastic starting point for players new to poker. For as little as $ 1 you can play an entire tourney where you’ve got roughly a 33 percent chance of cashing. They’re far superior in that respect to multi-table tournaments and with less financial exposure than cash games.

But before you start playing some STTs, or indeed if you play them already but think there’s room for improvement, you should read this article by Adam Small. Written in 2005 the advice he dispenses is just as useful today as it was back then, as the optimal play in sit-and-gos has barely changed over the past few years. Print it out, have it by your computer and follow it to the letter. As a basic no-frills guide to solid sit-and-go play it’s perfect.

Sample quote: ‘Most of the players in these tournaments are flat-out bad, and just sitting around without taking any silly gambles will allow you to watch half the field get eliminated.’

Things it took me a while to learn

Author: Tony ‘Bond18’ Dunst
Game/variant: No-limit Hold’em multi-table tournaments
URL: tinyurl.com/bond18

This series, which currently stands at 17 parts but is sporadically updated, is a must-read for anyone wanting to solidify their fundamental poker skills. This is clear when you learn that the first two parts cover stack sizes and position, arguably the two most important trunks of no-limit Hold’em, as most everything else in the game stems from there.

Elsewhere Dunst, who is a highly successful tournament poker pro, covers core subjects such as bet sizing, ranges and bankroll management, as well as more abstract material such as time and tilt management, all in his witty, chatty style. Quite simply, you will be a better player for reading this series.

Sample quote: ‘I’d like to do what I can to try and dispense some concise information that will answer a lot of the basic questions.’

My Christmas gift to some

Author: Allen ‘AawwNutz’ Carter
Game/variant: No-limit Hold’em turbo rebuy satellites
URL: tinyurl.com/6x2lwg

A satellite is a smaller buy-in tournament, which enables the top x% to qualify for a larger buy-in tournament. They differ from regular tournaments in that they have a flat payout structure and award seats to an event rather than cash. What’s more, they’ve revolutionised poker as they enable low stakes players to take an inexpensive shot at a larger tournament that they wouldn’t usually be able to play.

On any given Sunday you’ll find hundreds of these on every major poker site and network as thousands of players attempt to satellite into the big Sunday majors. Allen Carter has written an awesome guide, which just may give you an edge in getting there.

Sample quote: ‘I look for turbo satellites where a buy-in, rebuy and an add-on will equal at least 8-10% of the seat value.’

Inside my tournament game

Author: Justin ‘ZeeJustin’ Bonomo
Game/variant: No-limit Hold’em tournaments
URL: tinyurl.com/ZJmtt

Players giving you their individual tournament reports are so boring, right? And what about someone taking you through hands they played in an online tournament, telling you what they did and why? Snooze-fest – who cares, right? Well, for the most part that’s true, but this article by top online and live pro Justin ‘ZeeJustin’ Bonomo bucks that trend, and then some.

Written way back in 2005, Bonomo’s brilliant feature is a walkthrough of a $ 350 tournament that he played in. It originally appeared on his now defunct blog, but hasn’t made it over to his new site justinbonomo.com. Thankfully, a keen member of the PocketFives.com community, pasted it onto that forum, meaning you can still read it. We suggest you do.

Sample quote: ‘I’m going to take you inside my best tournament game, and show you what players at the highest level are thinking.’

Pillaging short-handed six-max

Author: Pete
Game/variant: No-limit Hold’em six-max cash games
URL: tinyurl.com/ 6maxcash

A lot of seasoned players profess that cash games are the best place to earn a steady poker income, hence the saying ‘tournaments for show, cash for dough’. Online, at least, six-handed cash games are proving increasingly popular, yet players who are making the move to them often lack the experience playing short-handed, deep-stacked poker, as it’s rare those situations ever emerge in sit-and-gos or MTTs.

This article very simply covers a number of areas vital to six-max cash games. If you’ve never played a hand of cash you won’t be overwhelmed by jargon, and if you’re already logging thousands of hands a month you’ll find different ways to think about common situations. Topics discussed in the article include pre-flop opening ranges, aggression and stack sizes.

Sample quote: ‘Here’s our general strategy: tight and aggressive. Groundbreaking, I know.’