| How to Change Gears |
| How to Change Gears in a Poker Tournament By Craig Berger Changing gears in a poker tournament is important to do if the player plans on surviving to the final rounds of the tournament. This means that a tournament poker player will need to know how to play slow, how to play aggressively, how to play tightly, how to play passively, and how to play loosely. If a player is not able to change gears when playing in a poker tournament they will fall into a betting and playing pattern that their opponents will be able to read, and they will be done for. The first situation that a player needs to shift gears in is changing playing style from tight to loose during the progression of a poker tournament. During the early rounds of the poker tournament the player will need to play tightly because the value of the blinds and pots will not be worth risking poker chips During the middle rounds of the poker tournament the player will need to loosen up and start playing more starting hands including strong and moderately strong starting hands. When the tournament poker player enters the final rounds of the poker tournament they will need to shift playing styles again. This time they will need to be very loose and very aggressive playing strong, moderately strong, and medium valued starting hands The next situation that will require a change in gears is when the player is in position to steal the blinds or bluff. To effectively execute either of these plays they need to have a playing history that reflects tight playing. This way when the player makes a strong move for the pot the other players will think that their hand is stronger than it really is and they will hopefully fold out of the hand leaving the pot to the bluffer. Another poker tournament situation that requires a change of gears is when the player enters into a heads-up situation where they go from playing against seven or more players to just facing off against one player. In this situation the playing strategies change. Bluffing is much more common in this situation. To be an effective heads-up player the poker player will need to be able to step out of their normally passive poker player persona, or they will need to be even more aggressive than they normally are. They should also be able to identify when it is a better move to fold then it is to stay in the heads-up face off. This may mean shifting from being a loose aggressive player to a tight player Whatever the situation is, whether it is a poker game or a multi-table poker tournament, it is important for poker players to be able to change their playing styles and strategies throughout their poker playing time. This is because changing gears helps to conceal the true strength of a poker player's hand, and because it helps a player better meet the changing dynamics of the poker game or poker tournament. If nothing else, it keeps things interesting |