Tournament poker is at the core of the “poker boom”. The multi-table tournament (MTT) is the most common type of event run in casinos and poker rooms. We are going to take a week or so to go over all of the basic information about multi-table tournaments. Let’s begin with what you need to know to play in such an event.

1. What’s the game? Not all poker is No Limit Hold’em. I know it seems like that sometimes and 95% or more of tournaments you find will be NLHE these days but many tournament oriented card rooms run at least one of two Limit or Omaha events on their tournament schedule; so first thing, check the game.

2a. How many chips do I get? Since tournaments are structured such that once you lose your chips, you are out; it is important to know how many chips you start with.

2b. Check the blinds or betting structure. After you know how many chips you start with, you need to know what the betting limits are. If you start with 1,000 chips then it makes a big difference if the blinds begin at 5/10 or 25/50.

2c. How long are the rounds? Just continue that last example: compare 5/10 blinds with ten minute rounds to 25/50 blinds with 60 minute rounds. Those are two very different structures for a 1,000 chip tournament.

3. Tournament Structures are a combination of starting chips, blind structure and length of rounds. When the blinds and antes go up fast, we call that a turbo tournament. When you have time to play and chips to play with that’s a normal structure. When you get lots of chips and time, we call that a deep stack tournament or a deep money event.

4. Number of entrants? Is the field limited to a maximum number of players and if not, how many are registered before you and how many do they usually get for this type of event? Once again a simple comparison, a tournament with 40 players and good starting chips and structure will play differently than the same structure with 400 players. The more players the more likely the blind structure will have a bigger influence on the outcome.

5. Breaks? How often and how long. In bigger tournaments, you need to consider food and rest. In shorter events, just stretch time and bathroom breaks. In conjunction with this, ask how long the tournament generally takes; you don’t want to be rushed at the final table because you have show tickets or dinner reservations.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #87

Much of the information in this Beginner’s Poker Blog is good for all poker games. Most of our examples are presented as Hold’em hands and when specific advice is different from one game to another, we attempt to point out the differences.

As far as play of the game is concerned, Omaha is very similar to Hold’em. In Omaha you get four down cards, in Hold’em you get two. In Hold’em you can use one or both of your hole cards along with three or four of the community cards to make your best hand. Heck, you can even “Play the Board” and use all five of the community cards. In Omaha you must use two of your down cards and three from the board. And there you have the differences between Omaha and Hold’em. The deal, betting, flop, turn and river are the same.

Now, of course, strategy and odds are hugely different when everyone starts the hand with four cards. At a full ten player table this means that 40 of the 52 cards are in play before the flop and 45 of 52 are used by the river. Omaha is also played most often as a Pot Limit game, although Limit Omaha is spread in many card rooms and online you can even find No Limit Omaha. Also the Hi/Lo version of Omaha is very popular, often that variation is referred to as Omaha 8 or better. In the Hi/Lo game the pot is divided between the highest poker hand and the lowest, however, the low hand must be five cards lower than an eight. So the best Lo hand is A2345 but A2349 is not a Lo hand and does not qualify for the low half of the pot.

Like all poker games, we recommend learning the game by playing for free online to acquire the basics of the game and also reading books and participating in forums. The Omaha section of the Online Poker Forum is one of our most active threads. We welcome you to participate and join in the Omaha conversation.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #86

Unlike every other casino game, when we play poker we do not play against the house. There is no house edge to insure a profit in a poker room. The casino or card room is simply renting the seats at a fixed rate and providing the tables, chips, cards and dealers for the poker players to compete against each other. We are talking about cash games here not tournaments.
Most commonly in low limit games the house collects a rake on each hand played. You should know what the rake is when you play because that is money being taken out of each pot before it is pushed to the winner. Most card rooms have the rake posted right on the table. Expect to pay a 10% rake up to a fixed limit. In Las Vegas the standard rake is between $4 and $5 a hand. Be aware that there may also be an additional bonus rake for various cardroom promotions; while additional charges do not go to the house but accumulate to be awarded back to the players, nonetheless that is money coming off the table and out of the pot each and every hand.

If you are playing a $4/$8 cash game with a 10% rake up to $4, then when the pot reaches $10, the dealer will pull $1 out to “drop” for the house rake. Another dollar at $20, a third at $30 and the full $4 maximum rake when the pot reaches $40. So if three players see a flop for $4 each, the pot of $12 is reduced to $11, if you bet out on the flop and get no callers, you win $7 on your $4 investment. In an standard hour, good dealers will get out an average of about 35 hands, if they all pay the minimum that means $35 has left the table. Since most hands pay more than the minimum, it is quite possible, even at low limit tables, that one hundred of the smallest denomination chips will go down the house drop each and every hour.

This means that to be a winning cash game player, you must not only beat your opponents at the table, you also have to win enough to overcome the rake.

Many rooms charge differently at the higher limit tables. At these tables there is a “time charge” or “collection” taken. This charge is either by the hour or by the dealer change. If you are playing in a time charge game, you need to be aware of how much and how often the charge is taken. Generally, speaking you are better off financially at the collection table over a raked game, but in most houses you do not have a choice between the two.

However, the house makes money on poker players, you simply need to be aware of the charges and factor them into your wins and losses. The game is not just between the players when you play in a public poker room.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #85

The All In bet has become the most famous and exciting move in poker but that is not the whole story or all you need to know about the All In.

Let’s start with limit games. What if you get short stacked and do not have enough chips remaining to call a bet? When a player is faced with a bet that he has insufficient chips to call, he may bet the remainder of his stack and declare himself all in. The player keeps his cards for the remainder of the hand, but he may not win any more money from any player above the amount of his bet. You cannot be shut out of a hand because you cannot call a bet, not by modern betting standards, nevermind what happened in those old movies.

In no-limit games, the all in bet is completely different. A player may bet by going all in at any time. But the same rule applies regarding short bets, if your all in bet does not cover a previous bet or if someone betting after you has a shorter stack, they can move all in. Basically, you can always play for your full stack and so can anyone else in the hand but you play for a pot that includes only your chips and those of anyone who calls your bet.

With the rise in popularity of No Limit Hold’em there has been a lot of discussion about the use of the all in bet. Traditional old time players say that the all in is used as an excuse for not understanding poker fundamentals. After all, they say, once you push all in, you don’t have to make any more decisions, you don’t have to play your hand. On the other side of this argument is the fact that the all in bet has become a powerful way for intermediate players to overcome the skill level of more seasoned players. Make them play for all their chips and the game changes is the reasoning behind frequent all in moves.

It really doesn’t matter which side of this debate you fall on; the All In bet has become both a more used and a more skillful play in the hands of the better players and a lifeline at the tables for the less talented. It also has spawned one of the most famous lines in poker lore. From Scotty Nguyen we all know his All In mantra: “All You Can Eat, Baby!”

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #84

The check-raise is one of the most powerful moves that can be made at a poker table. In some ways it is a stronger bet then even the all-in. Quite simply when it is your turn to act, you check. When another player in the hand bets and the action comes around to you, most players will expect you to fold (you did check after all, you must have a weak hand) or you might call in order to see another card. But instead, you raise! The message is clear: you have a big hand and you checked just to get another player or players to put their money in the pot so you could take it from them.

There are some big advantages to using the check-raise and because they are different, the use of the check-raise will spread doubt in your opponents minds. First, if you are first to act in a hand, you are at a disadvantage but if you check and then raise, suddenly your position is much improved and your opponents will be very concerned about your action in the next round of betting.

You may simply be trapping your opponents for an extra bet and they will either have to fold and give up the bet they already put into the pot or call your raise and continue the hand against a player (you!) who has just made a very powerful statement about their hand. The check-raise really puts a squeeze on your opponents.

The ripples of the check-raise go well beyond the current hand. Imagine the next time you are in a hand and you check; won’t they be worried about another check-raise. And if you simply call their bet, won’t they worry that now you have changed up your game and you might be ready to check-raise them in the next round of betting. You have added deception to your game and skill to your table image.

Also the check-raise can be used as an enormous bluff. You check-raise on the flop and then fire a big bet on the turn. Other players will look at the board and wonder just how strong your hand really is and often they will just lay it down rather than face yet another bet on the river.

One final but very important point. Some rooms and many home games don’t allow the check-raise. This is a sin against the game of poker. Deception is part of the game an the check-raise is a legitimate expression of that aspect of poker. Allow it in your home game, if you really are playing poker and refuse to play in any public card room that bans the check-raise; they are just bingo players in disguise.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #83