Phil Hellmuth is one of the most prolific players in the history of no limit hold’em tournament poker. He has won an impressive five World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets along with the gold bracelets at the Bellagio and AIAA Limit holding events.
While his bankroll may be substantially behind where it was at the 2003 WSOP Main Event, the man still has a lot of money to his name and there are no doubt several places out there that would wish to have a piece of it. With this knowledge in mind, we can understand that it is harder to win a poker tournament when you have a short stack than it is when you have a big stack. Of course, if you have a small stack then you can make things even harder on yourself because you are much less likely to protect it and you can be easily be caught by a play of luck.
If you ask Phil any given question, you are likely to get at least one of the following answers:
- How important is it to get good cards?
- How important is it to get all of the chips?
- How important is it to protect my chips?
While many players would agree with Hellmuth’s answer to the first question, there are those that would answer quite differently to the second. They would say that the more chips you have in a tournament, the better, while others would say that having more chips doesn’t guarantee anything at all.
If you look at it the other way, however, you can see that having more chips, even if it does nothing for you, is better than having less chips. At least you have the extra protection of the other players not being able to catch your huge hand.
You will always need chips, no matter how large or small the stack may be. Phil knows this from experience because he has been hit with a massive chip disadvantage in tournaments up to as high as 3500 chips. He has come back from it, but you will never be able to stay ahead of a machine that has built its stack to that point.
Many players are citing Hellmuth as an example of a player who can do it, but you can’t make a f***� decision just because he does it.
This may surprise you, but there are actually very few players in the world who can make the final table of a major tournament with less than the 1500 chips that Jay Heimowitz normally has.
If you get to the final table of the WSOP with less than the 15,000 chips that Gus Hansen typically has, don’t even think about calling it. Not many players would rather have less chips than more, but when you think about it, playing aggressively in the beginning stages of a tournament is the way to do it.
It may not be optimal to wait for premium hands to build your stack, but in No-Limit Texas Hold’em, you can’t afford to wait for premium hands to win the blinds, either.
Relinquishing blinds for free cash may not be a good long-term strategy for tournament bola88.
It is far better to take a hand to the river if there are few players left to act behind you. You give yourself a chance to win the pot that you are sitting in and you don’t have to it. Sure, you may have to commit some chips to see the flop later, but you are hoping that your hand will be good and you will win the pot when it pairs.
We want to show that it is possible to play TAG and win the tournament in first or second place without having to break the bank. You are already showing that you are capable of playing tight aggressive and the ability to push players around. How about one of those proprietary strategies that only a select few are capable of? You are not going to get another chance to prove your case unless you win a bracelet.