H.O.R.S.E. Tournament Strategy

November 12, 2009 - by admin · Filed Under General Poker Leave a Comment 

While the games that comprise H.O.R.S.E. are for the most part old standards on poker tours and in the larger poker rooms, the H.O.R.S.E. tournament structure is something totally new for most amateur (and even many professional) players. H.O.R.S.E. is a multi-game tournament.

The letters represent each of the five games played:

The tournament begins with Texas Hold ‘em and proceeds at set intervals through the remaining four games. All five stages may take place at different times on the same day or over several days depending on the size of the tournament.

While all of the games in H.O.R.S.E. have draws, the same playing style won’t cover the board when you’re aiming for a high hand in Hold ‘em and a low one in Razz. In fact, this is a common mistake when playing a H.O.R.S.E. tournament—not knowing the games. Before you even pay your buy-in, you should be comfortable with all five games. The internet offers a terrific opportunity to sample such rarities as Razz and to familiarize yourself with the unique betting structure of Limit.

H.O.R.S.E. Strategy

Because this type of tournament requires strong play in five significantly different games, it can be hard to develop a comprehensive strategy to cover all of them. The basic idea though when playing in a H.O.R.S.E. poker tournament is the same as in any other tournament—to win more than you lose. To do this, you will need to approach each game stage independently. The best way to come out on top overall is to focus on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. This usually means playing your best games aggressively and playing your worst games tight and conservative.

Another thing to consider is that most of these games are accelerated (also called “Turbo”) to keep the tournament from dragging on. That means that playing too conservatively won’t cut it for long with blinds going up every few hands (or even every few minutes). For Turbo H.O.R.S.E. tournaments you are often forced to play as if you were already at the final table—betting big and strong on hands that are marginal at best in hopes of building a stack fast. The final round is as always the one that will determine your placing, but remember that to get there you will have to hold your own through four other games first.

Razz Tournament Strategy

May 6, 2009 - by admin · Filed Under Razz Poker Strategy Leave a Comment 

The characteristic low-ball style of Razz poker already puts many players off their game (especially when their game is normally high hand oriented), so a Razz tournament where the competition is tough and the stakes are high can be that much more disorienting. If you’ve been putting in time testing your skills at the Razz cash tables, and you feel ready to compete for the big cash in a Razz tournament, then we’ve got a few important razz tournament strategy tips to help you get to the final table.

Razz Tournaments Tip #1 – Use Your Position

In many other poker games, having the high card is a good thing, but in a Razz tournament turning up the high card is a double-edged sword. The downside is that you’re obligated to make the first bet, but the upside is that it helps you to conceal both good and bad hands while giving you an opportunity to observe your opponents’ bets. Of course the very best betting position to have in a Razz tournament is the last one. Like the bring-in you get a chance to observe your fellow players’ hands, but unlike the bring-in you can bet whatever pleases you. You can often limp through on a weak hand, or try to fold out the field by raising aggressively. The late position becomes especially valuable when you also have the lowest visible hand. You should always bet in this scenario, and if the other players’ bets are weak then you have a good shot at stealing the antes by raising.

Full TiltDid you know Full Tilt Poker has some of the best Razz Poker action online? They have limits from $0.01 all the way up to $1000. There are also plenty of razz cash games and multi-table tournaments to satisfy your cravings. Check out the Full Tilt Review or Play Now.

Razz Tournaments Tip #2 -Know the Starting Hands

Most poker players have memorized the hierarchy of possible poker combinations, and almost as many know by heart the best starting hands for their favored games. For high-only games, these hands often contain high pairs or suited kickers. For Hi/Lo games these hands should have draws toward flushes and straights. But in Razz, you’re looking for something totally different. In fact, you’re pretty much looking for nothing. The only card that remains valuable in both high and low style games is the Ace. Remember that you absolutely don’t want pairs, regardless of their individual face value.

Razz Tournaments Tip #3  – Bet Wisely

There are potentially as many as five betting rounds in Razz plus an opening ante. That means that hands can become very expensive if more than one player follows through to the showdown. Unlike games like Omaha and Texas Hold ‘em where you get three cards for the price of one, in Razz you’ll pay for every single card. Remember that when you decide you want to see the second round of dealing. If your initial hand is dreary and you’re assigned to the bring-in position, don’t let that puny bet tie you to the hand. If you’re holding JQK after the first deal and one of your opponents is kind enough to raise, then by all means fold.

Razz Tournaments Tip #4 – Fold Wisely

Speaking of folding…While it’s ideal to start off with a hand of A23, even this beautiful hand can get ruined in the long run. Remember that a lot of evidence is on the table. Even if your down card is an Ace, if you’re showing 239J and an opponent is showing 2456 nothing you bet is going to convince them to fold. At this point, it is you that should be folding.

Common Mistakes Playing Razz

May 6, 2009 - by admin · Filed Under Razz Poker Leave a Comment 

It’s hard for most players to adjust to the radically different playing objectives promoted by Razz. In HORSE tournaments especially Razz can really trip up players that are used to approaching a poker table with a high-hand mindset. Mistakes are made in all poker games, but significantly more are made in Razz. While nothing will safeguard you completely—hey, even pros make mistakes—this article can help you to recognize the most common Razz mistakes before you make them yourself.

Chasing Low Cards

In Razz, it’s very tempting when you get a good or even mediocre starting hand to wait it out and see if it gets better. Many players will call their way through the rounds even after a couple bad cards. Remember that once you’ve gotten a couple bad cards, the remaining two have to be good if you’re going to salvage your starting hand. That’s not a friendly reminder—it’s a wake up call. If you’ve been playing poker (or really any casino game) long enough, then you know you don’t want to bet your chips on luck, and that’s what you’re doing when you chase low cards. If a quick look around the table shows that your opponents have gotten luckier than you have, and they’re betting to back that luck up, then it’s time for you to stop chasing the ghost and fold.

Underplaying Good Hands

In many cases, you can avoid chasing low cards altogether by protecting the ones you get in your starting hand. If your starting hand yields three cards under five, and the card you’ve got showing is significantly lower than most of your opponents’, then you can consider yourself well-placed. Protect your position NOW. Your low up card should guarantee a later betting position, which gives you a great chance to observe the other players and gauge which ones you might be able to eliminate with a strong bet.

Getting into Raising Wars

Once you’ve made your point about the strength of your hand, you can back off. Other low-carded players hoping to steal the ante might challenge you. Call their raises, re-raise even if your hand is that good, but don’t get into a raising war. Remember that the next card could always be a brick; your opponents’ could be too, so save some of your chips for the next round of betting.

Ignoring the Obvious

It’s good to come to the table with a consistent Razz strategy, but don’t let your analysis of your own hand blind you to what’s right in front of you. Razz gives every player the opportunity to see more than half of their opponents’ hands. The way you use this information can make or break you.

The Importance of Position in Playing Poker

January 18, 2009 - by admin · Filed Under General Poker Leave a Comment 

For beginner strategies, much emphasis is placed on knowing the best starting hands and yet one other important advantage is just as frequently overlooked. Some amateur players go years without utilizing this important tool. It’s not really about the cards, betting, or even reading your fellow players and yet it can improve your ability to use all three. What is this amazing secret to immediately improving your poker game? It’s your seat. Or more specifically, it’s your position at the table.

To newbies, this concept may be somewhat confusing. After all, regardless of where you sit you have the same odds of drawing good or bad cards and the same options to bet, raise, call or fold. How then could playing position possibly matter? The truth of course is that to observant players it can matter a lot.

The early position is obviously the least advantageous position. You must start the betting, and all of the other players will be able to observe and analyze your decisions. If you bet aggressively early, you are forced to continue on this way or admit to a weak hand and fold, and unlike the late position you do not know if calling will get you through to the flop. If you are in the early position, unfortunately there’s not much you can do about it, but you should be taking advantage of your opponents when they are in it, the same way they will take advantage of and manipulate you.

The middle position is true to its name in that it offers very little in the way of advantages or disadvantages. While you will be able to see and react to the first players’ decisions, you will also be judged in kind by the players betting after you.

Virtually all seasoned players believe that the best position you can have in a hand is the late position. As the late position player, you get to see everyone else’s bets first. This has two-fold advantages. For one, if you have a average hand you can gauge your ability to get your opponents to fold on a raise, thus stealing the blinds. If you have a strong hand, you can allow other players to bet and pump the pot for you instead of betting yourself and causing them to fold. Alternately, if you have a weak hand, you may be able to limp through to the flop if all other players call. Later in the hand, this also gives you a good idea of where your opponents stand prior to making your own bets and allows you to raise accordingly.

You should take advantage of your late position every time it comes around in the same way you would take advantage of a good starting hand.

Full Tilt Poker Razz Sit And Go’s

January 14, 2009 - by admin · Filed Under Razz Poker Tournaments Leave a Comment 

Full Tilt Poker offers great choices in Razz single table tournaments, offering round the clock sit and go’s starting from as low as $1 and climbing all the way up to $200 in both 8 man tables and heads up Razz sit and go tournaments.

Offered in both turbo and non-turbo all Razz sitngos at Full Tilt are played in the fixed limit format, with $1,500 in starting chips.  The blind structure can get a bit fast at the turbo games as fixed limit Razz can take awhile to get through a match, but most aggressive Razz players prefer the turbo sit and go’s as the fast structure allows more tournaments played per hour.

Full TiltDid you know Full Tilt Poker has some of the best Razz Poker action online? They have limits from $0.01 all the way up to $1000. There are also plenty of razz cash games and multi-table tournaments to satisfy your cravings. Check out the Full Tilt Review or Play Now.

Full Tilt Razz Sitngos

Razz sng’s at Full Tilt fill up and get started in just a minute or two, except at the higher stakes where player volume and game selection is a bit light.  Even so, if you find yourself wanting to play a $200 Razz sng the game will fill soon after you enter.

On occasion it is not uncommon to see some professional players like John Juanda playing multiple Razz sng tables at a time, are you ready to play him at the Razz tables?

Play Razz Poker at Full Tilt Poker Now!

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