Poker News

Ashley Adams

Attitude is everything in tournaments. Truly. Once you have mastered the basics, nothing will help you as much as a winning attitude that keeps you focused and keeps you from conceding or playing recklessly during the requisite hours of play.

I’ve played inmany tournaments, stud and hold ‘em, during the past 12 years or so that I’ve been a serious poker player. Though I’ve taken an occasional stab at the large $1,000+ entry events, nearly all of my tournaments have been in the $10-500 range. I’ve won more than my share. There’s been a lot of luck involved and some skill too to be sure. Let me share with you some observations that have helped me win in these tournaments. I think you’ll find the lessons I’ve learned in tournaments to be applicable to ring games as well.

I remember reading words from a famous poker author who insisted that his students say to themselves, out loud, that a winning force surrounds them. It sounded corny then - and it does now too. But there is something very powerful in deciding that you are a winning player. It is especially important in tournaments when you have a finite amount of chips (at least after the re-buy period is over in rebuy tournaments).

If you haven’t learned to be successful in tournaments, here’s what typically happens. You enter a tournament. You wait around a bit as the tournament is getting started. You are at least a little nervous about making sure that you play your best game for the duration of the event - usually three to four hours in the relatively small events that I’m talking about. Maybe you kibbutz with someone while you’re waiting.

Then you start. You play very seriously at first - playing your best game. You are tight and aggressive as you know you should be - waiting for those Premium Pairs that you know to be highly valued - and backing down from fights on Third Street when you think you are second best. You consider, seriously, what your opponents are likely to be holding. And you push hard when you think you have a large edge.

Then, typically, one of two things happens - neither of them helpful. You win a few hands and your chip stack increases to more than average. Or you lose a few contested hands and your stack sinks below par. Either way, this throws you off your game somewhat. You start to play less thoughtfully and more wildly - either pressing your perceived advantage or trying to recoup your lost stack.

Perhaps you get lucky and your stabs are fruitful and your stack grows and you start to dominate. Sometimes this surge lasts all the way until the tournament is won and you are victorious. Invariably, however, your loose, wild, or otherwise careless play is punished and you sink into oblivion.

Here’s an alternate scenario. Start thoughtfully - from whenyou first sit down. Don’t engage in distracting conversation or prattle. Focus fully on the task at hand and resolve to play your best game throughout. And then follow that plan. Have a piece of paper with this affirmation on it if you want. “Play Best Game,” or something similar, to literally remind you. When your chips sink or grow, keep reminding yourself of that.

Avoid thinking, “I’m too low to win - I’ll fling it in” or “I’m ready for the ring games - this is a waste of time” or “I’m outgunned; it’s time to go for broke.” Keep telling yourself that you will play only your best game and nothing else.

Sure, if your stack becomes depleted, you need to be more aggressive when the ratio of the antes to your stack grows. But make it an intentional aggression, not a wild one. Think constantly about how you can win, not how you are bound to lose. This winning attitude, maintained consistently through each

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