"Okay, I can crush those fish in $1 Sit-and-Go tournaments online and I can easily bluff my dad out with 4-9 off suit in our family game. I guess it's time I tried a real casino tournament". Has this thought ever occurred to you? That's perfect because that happened to me too, and now I want to share my experience with you. My dream of participating in a tournament in a casino came true last week, I did it twice, and here are the most important things that I understood.
Please note, I'm going to talk about small tournaments with up to 60 players and buy-ins less than $100. If you are going to play in WSOP or WPT, some of these tips might not be relevant to you. Well, if you are about to play against Phil Hellmuth or Daniel Negreanu, you probably wouldn't read it anyway :)
I will split the text into two parts because there are just too many things that I picked up. Part one will be focused on preparation and in-game stuff, part two will continue the in-game things and also look into the way you have to behave at the table.
credit: butchersound.com
1. Prepare yourself mentally.
You are going there to win the tournament, right? This idea is applicable to online games too but when you are going to play in a casino, you must bear this in mind: I'm going to win. This is your mantra for the night, so repeat it over and over again because otherwise, you are going to be eliminated. You don't want to just get to the final table or survive until the bubble bursts, although you need to be aware of ICM and not go all-in with A8 against a chip leader on the bubble when someone is short-stacked. On my second day, I got to the final table only to lose after a few hands with AJ to Q8. I had around 4 Big Blinds so I had no choice, It happened because I made a terrible mistake right before the final table, and one of the main reasons was that I just wanted to be in the top 10. Do not do this, play carefully throughout all stages, especially on the bubble! It's easier live because it takes a lot more time to play hands so you won't lose as many blinds and antes as you would if you played online.
Don't repeat this mantra out loud while sitting at the table. People will just get you wrong.
credit: Doug Polk Youtube channel
2. Deal with your emotions.
This could go to the previous point but I decided to highlight this one. You will probably feel anxious before and during the game. It's absolutely normal. There were guys with 500-700 tournaments played and sometimes their hands would shake when they reached for chips. Don't let this discourage you in any way. As a matter of fact, you can use it to your advantage because no one probably knows that you are nervous because it's your first time. People might think that it is a tell and you are trying to bluff them. Make them pay for it when you show your Ace-high flush!
Also, DO NOT TILT. If Phil Hellmuth is your role model, learn how he plays, not how he behaves. When you play online and you get a bad beat, you can tear your pillow, break your laptop or peek out of your window and yell "F YOU!!!". No one will know. Tilting, however, is very obvious when you play live and those experienced guys will start raising and re-raising you in every hand you try to play.
Don't drink too much to calm yourself down. Otherwise the mantra that you've learned will become pointless.
3. Read on most common tells beforehand and pay attention to your opponents.
What is the biggest difference between live and online tournaments? Yes, you can't go to a casino wearing nothing but your underwear. Anything else? Yes, you can actually SEE your opponents. And they can see you. Unless you are playing in a tournament for blind people.
There are a lot of websites and youtube videos that teach you different tells. Let me say, most of them are complete bullshit. If a player pinches their left armpit with their right hand and then shoves all-in, it doesn't mean anything!! At least, for the first time. If a player does this move a lot of times and when he gets to showdown you see that he had nothing or a monster hand, this will give you some more information for the future use.
There is just one tell that is really reliable, players just do it unconsciously. On preflop, when it's your turn, look to the left. If players who have a word after you hold cards in the hands, and you know that they've seen them, you can be almost sure that they'll fold. Do not let your opponents read you like this, and the best way to do it is to look at your cards only when it's your turn to play. Another tell that might give out an idea of what your opponent has - the way they look at the board. If they stare at community cards for a long time, there is a high chance that they missed the board, and vice versa: a fast glance at the board and looking away afterward might indicate that they have something strong. This one doesn't work for everyone though, I myself usually look at the board quite often.
Anyway, pay attention to what your opponents do, their timings and bet sizes, it is very important.
Thank you for reading, I hope it helps! The 2nd part will be written within two days. If you have anything to add or to argue about, I would love to read it on the comments, I am by no means a professional live player :)
Some really good advice on tournament prep. I never realized that staring at the board for a long time might indicate a missed flop. Great tip.
Thanks =)
It's psychological. The idea behind this is that a person wants to take their eyes away from their treasure so others wouldn't hunt for it too, something like this. And when you stare for a long time, it's like you imagine "Oh god I wish there were Ace of clubs and Jack of clubs instead of these 3 and 5".
By the way, the same thing usually works when you look at your hole cards for the first time. So whatever you have, you need to spend the same time looking at your cards before you fold or you raise with American Airlines.