Top Ten Tips to make the final table in a Texas Hold’em Tournament.

If you are an occasional Texas Hold’em Tournament player read these Ten Tips before the cards hit the felt, and remember your good luck charm.

Be Patient:

Texas Hold’em requires a great deal of patience. Know your starting hands and your table position. Remember the top ten starting hands:Ace-Ace, King-King, Queen-Queen, Ace-King (suited), Ace-Queen (suited), Jack-Jack. King-Queen (suited), Ace-Jack (suited), Ace-King (off suit), 10-10. Smaller pairs and suited connectors can be valuable depending on table position and the pot odd’s.

Bets and Raises eliminate opponents:

One way to increase your odds of getting to the final table is to give your opponent the reason to fold by making a bet or a re raise. You don't want someone on a drawing hand catching their cards in the next betting round and stealing the pot. Be careful against opponents who will call anything.

Remember the reasons to fold:

Remember everyone in the tournament is trying to make the final table, do not immediately assume that a large bet is a bluff. The player may be trying to get you off a drawing hand with his made hand. Remember the tournament is marathon. When you decide to play a hand be aggressive and have your opponents looking for their reason to fold

Check with a big hand:

When you are dealt one of the Top Ten hands, or making trips on the flop, mix up your play and consider a check or a smooth call when you have table position, This trap gives you a look at your opponents betting, gives them a feeling they have the best hand, which potentially increases the size of the pot you are favored to win.

Be carful of larger straights:

If the board completes a straight be cautious, there could be a larger straight out there. When you completed the high end of a straight bet aggressively.

Be carful of the flush:

When the flop has two suited cards and your bets are being called keep an eye out for the possibility of a flush. Your seemingly strong hands that can be beaten by the flush can cost you a lot of chips.

Watch your opponents:

Even when you are not in a hand you are in the game. You should be picking up on styles of play and poker tells of your opponents so can you exploit those characteristics when you are in the hand.

Don't fall in love with your hand:

No one hand will get you to the final table. You can’t win pots just by betting your favorite hand, there are times when pot odds tell you to call, but you are beaten. The chips you have put in the pot to that point are not yours anymore, and you won't get them back by calling.

Use an All in Bet to get back in the game:

If you are about to be blinded out any reasonable starting hand can be used to double up your chip stack, (or you can pick up some blinds). Remember if you don’t double up on that Ace high starting hand, you will be blinded out in any event.

Use All in Bets to eliminate opponents:

If an opponent is about to be blinded out any reasonable starting hand can be used to put them in jeopardy of having their tournament play ended, (giving them reason to fold), or calling with a poor starting hand trying to double up.

copyright 2011 Joe Bagori