If you play tournaments, either sit and go or regular multi-table
tournaments of any kind, online or offline, you need to be aware
of what your “X Factor” is and what to do about it.

So, what is this X Factor? It’s an abbreviated name for your
stack-ratio. OK, that really clears things up, doesn’t it?

Here’s a simple equation for calculating your X Factor:

X = STACKSIZE / INITIALPOT

where, STACKSIZE is your current stack size, and INITIALPOT is the
size of the pot at the start of the hand, once all blinds and antes
are in the pot.

For example, let’s say the blinds are 100/200 with antes of 25, and
there’s 8 players. That’s a total pot of 500 (100 + 200 + 200).

If your stack size is 5,000, then your X value is 10 (5,000 / 500).

If your stack size is 3,000, X = 6, Stack size 1,000, X = 2, etc.

When calculating your X, just use estimates (don’t worry about the
fractional accuracy). For example, stack size of 2,800 is “5 to 6″.

So, why does this X factor matter? Basically, X represents how many
“rounds” we have remaining against the blinds and antes. It turns
out to be a very useful rule of thumb for making some important
tournament decisions. Here’s the general guidance X provides me:

X greater than 20

At this point, we’re on easy street, in great shape and can hold out,
take a few calculated risks, become aggressive when we have a good
hand, good position or good oppt’y to bluff. We can afford to take
more chances, play a bit looser when appropriate, mix up our play.

X of 15 to 20

At this point, we’re in OK shape, can hold out for better hands,
better bluff opportunities and run some good trap plays. However,
we must try to avoid playing more than 5 X on any one hand, in order
to remain above an X of 10 (and avoid placing ourselves at undue risk).

X of 8 to 14

At this point, we should be tightening up some, protecting our stack
(and X), waiting for a good hand or bluff opportunity to come our way.

X less than 8

At this point, our stack size relative to the the blinds is becoming critical.
When our X reaches a value of 5 to 7, it’s time to shift into “push/fold”
mode (described below).

So, we should be constantly tracking our X value, and taking the X
value of our opponents into consideration as we track our situation
in the game (to predict opponents better, as well as to guide our
own play).

The rules I present above are how I play, given my solid
to tight/aggressive style (feel free to experiment and come up with
your own X Factor rules, but these will get you “in the zone”).

Now, when our X value drops below 8, I said we enter “push/fold”
mode. Here’s what I mean about an X of 7 and less and push/fold…

Push/fold is where we do one of two things: All-in or Fold. We go
all-in in order to push the other players out of these pots by
giving them poor pot odds and forcing them to either fold or enter
a showdown with us.

When I think about Push/fold mode, I treat it as much like
aggressive heads-up play as possible. That’s because if I do
end up in a showdown, it’ll likely be against one other player
who has a strong enough starting hand to call with bad pot odds
anyway (watch out for weak players, they’ll call you anytime).

At an X of 5 to 7, I’ll play any hand with an Ace in it, and
any pair that’s 5 or higher.

At lower X’s, I’ll add all pairs and any two face cards. If I
don’t pick up a decent starting hand, then it’s an instant fold.

No limping in, no calling – there’s no halfway – it’s either all-in
or it’s a fold (there’s only one exception, which I’ll discuss
below).

Every time the blinds go up, I immediately look at my stack size
vs. the new pot size and figure out where my new X = 10 stack
size boundary will be, and whether the new blinds/antes put me into
push/fold mode risk.

For example, if the blinds go up and my new X Factor is 7 or less,
I silently begin my shift into push/fold mode.

Push/fold is basically a super-tight, super-aggressive extreme mode
of operation. This strategy provides the best opportunity to get
back into the tournament by using your remaining stack and the NL
Hold’em all-in move to your advantage (provided you pick your shots
properly).

If your X value drops and you don’t go into push/fold mode, you’ll
just end up having your stack size eroded by the blinds and antes to
the point that going all-in will change the behavior of your
opposition from having a “fold unless I have a great hand” to a
“let’s pounce on ‘em!” mode of operation (probably too late for
you now).

By waiting too long to enter push/fold, you’ve lost your No Limit
power – you can’t damage or threaten anyone with an all-in move
any more… a very dangerous place to be in this game… like a
shark with no teeth!!

Of course, if you don’t get some decent starting hands, at some
point you’ll be forced to take your best shot anyway (something
that was coming no matter what).

I recommend taking that shot while you still have an X of 4 to 5
and can inflict some damage, and preferably when you’re in later
position (dealer button or the cutoff). This will give you the
best shot at stealing the blinds.

The only exception to going into push/fold mode at an X of 7 is
if I’m on the bubble (almost in the money), and other players are
in push/fold mode. By riding things out a round or two (down to
an X of 5, ideally), you have a higher liklihood of getting in
the money by letting the other short-stacked players get knocked
out first (since they’ll likely also be in push/fold mode).

If you don’t see that kind of opportunity, you’ll likely have to
take your best shot when the next big blind arrives, and see if
you can reconstitute your position.

Of course, the X Factor is only one of many factors of the game you
should be taking into consideration, but it does provide a general
framework that will help you manage your tournament play better.

I hope this information is helpful to you in your next tournament
encounter.

Until next time, may the poker force be with you!

By: Rick Braddy

Welcome to the fifth in my Texas Holdem Poker Strategy Series, focusing on no limit Texas Holdem poker tournament play and associated strategies. In this article, we’ll examine starting hand decisions.

It may seem obvious, but deciding which starting hands to play, and which ones to skip playing, is one of the most important Texas Holdem poker decisions you’ll make. Deciding which starting hands to play begins by accounting for several factors:

* Starting Hand “groups” (Sklansky made some good suggestions in his classic “Theory of Poker” book by David Sklansky)

* Your table position

* Number of players at the table

* Chip position

Sklansky originally proposed some Texas Holdem poker starting hand groups, which turned out to be very useful as general guidelines. Below you’ll find a “modified” (enhanced) version of the Sklansky starting hands table. I adapted the original Sklansky tables, which were “too tight” and rigid for my liking, into a more playable approach that are used in the Poker Sidekick poker odds calculator. Here’s the key to these starting hands:

Groups 1 to 8: These are essentially the same scale as Sklansky originally proposed, although some hands have been shifted around to improve playability and there is no group 9.

Group 30: These are now “questionable” hands, hands that should be played rarely, but can be reasonably played occasionally in order to mix things up and keep your opponents off balance. Loose players will play these a bit more often, tight players will rarely play them, experienced players will open with them only occasionally and randomly.

The table below is the exact set of starting hands that Poker Sidekick uses when it calculates starting poker hands. If you use Poker Sidekick, it will tell you which group each starting hand is in (if you can’t remember them), along with estimating the “relative strength” of each starting hand. You can just print this article and use it as a starting hand reference.

Group 1: AA, KK, AKs

Group 2: QQ, JJ, AK, AQs, AJs, KQs

Group 3: TT, AQ, ATs, KJs, QJs, JTs

Group 4: 99, 88, AJ, AT, KQ, KTs, QTs, J9s, T9s, 98s

Group 5: 77, 66, A9s, A5s-A2s, K9s, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, Q9s, JT, QJ, T8s, 97s, 87s, 76s, 65s

Group 6: 55, 44, 33, 22, K9, J9, 86s

Group 7: T9, 98, 85s

Group 8: Q9, J8, T8, 87, 76, 65

Group 30: A9s-A6s, A8-A2, K8-K2, K8-K2s, J8s, J7s, T7, 96s, 75s, 74s, 64s, 54s, 53s, 43s, 42s, 32s, 32

All other hands not shown (virtually unplayable).

So, those are the enhanced Sklasky Texas Holdem poker starting hand tables.

The later your position at the table (dealer is latest position, small blind is earliest), the more starting hands you should play. If you’re on the dealer button, with a full table, play groups 1 thru 6. If you’re in middle position, reduce play to groups 1 thru 3 (tight) and 4 (loose). In early position, reduce play to groups 1 (tight) or 1 thru 2 (loose). Of course, in the big blind, you get what you get.

As the number of players drops into the 5 to 7 range, I recommend tightening up overall and playing far fewer, premium hands from the better positions (groups 1 – 2). This is a great time to forget about chasing flush and straight draws, which puts you at risk and wastes chips.

As the number of players drops to 4, it’s time to open up and play far more hands (groups 1 – 5), but carefully. At this stage, you’re close to being in the money in a Texas Holdem poker tournament, so be extra careful. I’ll often just protect my blinds, steal occasionally, and try to let the smaller stacks get blinded or knocked out (putting me into the money). If I’m one of the small stacks, well, then I’m forced to pick the best hand I can get and go all-in and hope to double-up.

When the play is down to 3, it’s time to avoid engaging with big stacks and hang on to see if we can land 2nd place, heads-up. I tend to tighten up a bit here, playing very similar to when there’s just 3 players (avoiding confrontation unless I’m holding a pair or an Ace or a King, if possible).

Once you’re heads-up, well, that’s a topic for a completely different article, but in general, it’s time to become extraordinarily aggressive, raise a lot, and become “pushy”.

In tournaments, it’s always important to keep track of your chips stack size relative to the blinds and everyone else’s stacks. If you’re short on chips, then play far fewer hands (tigher), and when you do get a good hand, extract as many chips as you can with it. If you’re the big stack, well, you should avoid unnecessary confrontation, but use your big stack position to push everyone around and steal blinds occasionally as well – without risking too many chips in the process (the other players will be trying to use you to double-up, so be careful).

Well, that’s a quick overview of an improved set of starting hands and some general rules for adjusting starting hand play based upon game conditions throughout the tournament.

Until next time, best of luck to you at the Texas Holdem poker tables!

Rick

By: Rick Braddy

As there are more coverage and advertisements for poker, poker has become the most popular card games among people all over the world. To win a poker game, you need to have the best combination of cards in your hands. And to get the best combination, sometimes it really depends on luck and skills.

Now, if you know how to play poker and want to get more advanced tips, this article is for you.

One of the biggest mistakes that poker players made is that they like to play multiple hands at the same time. My advice for you is not to play too many hands at one time. This is because if you are new to poker, you want to stay in the game as long as possible. Playing more hands at one time does not increase your chance of winning. Instead, it increases your chance of losing. So if you want to stay long in the game and gain experience, do not play too many hands.

Also, when you are playing poker, make sure that you are alert and sober. You should never play the game if you have taken alcoholic drinks. If you are tipsy, you will end up playing the game loosely, causing you to lose money eventually. If you are angry or depressed, you should not play poker too. This is because when you are in this state of mind, you are not calm enough to observe the game and make the right decisions. Remember, poker needs you to think on your feet and make good decisions fast in order to win the game. Therefore, if you do not have a clear mind, your decision will not be accurate and can cost you the game.

Last but not least, you do not need to bluff in order to win a game. Some people feel that they have not won a game unless they have bluff at least once during the game. This is the biggest misconception. You need to know that bluff only work on some players and in some situations. Not all players will fall for it. So, do not be obsessed on bluffing during a poker game.

Most importantly, when you are playing poker, pay close attention to the cards on the table and your opponents. The more games you play, the better you will get. So go out there and challenge players to gain experience and skills now. Good luck!

By: Aeon George