How to prepare for $25,000 freeroll...

[cashmoneymomma 0]

My casino is having a $25,000 freeroll for the top 100 players with the most hours accumulated in a live game(from April-May) I will definitely qualify...they are thinking only 50 or so players will have enough hours to qualify...the less the better! But I was wondering what you would do to prepare yourself for the tournament? Any good books you can suggest? I play Limit for the most part and this will be a NL event so I need to brush up on my NL skills a bit! I did start out playing NL but I haven't played on a regular basis for a while. I am super excited about this tournament though. I love playing NL but I hate the risk involved in putting all your money in up front in the tourneys...so in the freeroll I feel like I really don't have a huge buy-in at stake and the pressure is not horrendous. Also, most of the players who will qualify are guys I play with every day. Mostly older "regulars" who are used to grinding away at 4/8. I know most of them have the Limit mentality so I am thinking it will be hard for them to switch over to NL. Any advice anyone can give would be great!

[akishore 0]

harrington on hold'em.other than that, if you're playing against mostly limit players, use that to your advantage!they'll overvalue hands like A-J, Q-Q, etc. make them pay when you get A-K/A-A/K-K.most limit players auto-call a raise after they limp, so raise extra big for value. most limit players also three-bet T-T and Q-Q, so re-raise (or push) when you get A-A, etc.also learn to fold to a raise after you've limped.stuff like that.good luck,aseemp.s. go to cardplayer.com, click on magazine->writers, go to thunder keller, and read his earlier articles about making the transition from limit to NL. GREAT articles.

[dmoneypoker 0]

I do well in NLH tournaments online and in casinos, and the best advice i can give you is to stay CALM at all times. do not get worked up, especially in the opening rounds. If you dont pick up a hand in the beginning dont worry, the structure of the tournament will probably be so that you can mostly fold for the 1st 3 rounds (an hour or so) and still have 80% of your stack. A few weeks ago i made a final table at the Trop after not playing one hand at all in the 1st hour (best hand i got was a-4 off). After the 1st hour i had exactly 4,000 of my original 5,000 stack.... after the break i lost some pots, got down to 2400. after that i stayed calm and got a rush. the key is to survive long enough to pick up hands.Early in the tournament is not the time to try and get cute by outplaying people. sit back, relax, play your premiums and try to get reads on your opponents. more importantly, get comfortable with your setting.

[runningKingz 0]

well a book i suggest reading would be mike caros pro poker tells. very good book. you have got to read this book to become successfull in my opinion. but anyways good luck! and lets us know how you did!

[JG8191 0]

I do well in NLH tournaments online and in casinos, and the best advice i can give you is to stay CALM at all times. do not get worked up, especially in the opening rounds. If you dont pick up a hand in the beginning dont worry, the structure of the tournament will probably be so that you can mostly fold for the 1st 3 rounds (an hour or so) and still have 80% of your stack. A few weeks ago i made a final table at the Trop after not playing one hand at all in the 1st hour (best hand i got was a-4 off). After the 1st hour i had exactly 4,000 of my original 5,000 stack.... after the break i lost some pots, got down to 2400. after that i stayed calm and got a rush. the key is to survive long enough to pick up hands.Early in the tournament is not the time to try and get cute by outplaying people. sit back, relax, play your premiums and try to get reads on your opponents. more importantly, get comfortable with your setting.

I completely agree with Dmoney's post here... the key in the early rounds is to not get too cute with your cards. Just take it easy, stay calm, and get a feel for your table. Another important thing as mentioned earlier is to be sure to take advantage of your opponent's skill level... this also ties in with the don't get too cute thing. Along with skill level... keep an eye on your opponent's stack... this has a big effect on my decision to play some marginal hands.Harrington on Hold Em is an amazing book... if you have time, you may want to skim through it beforehand. If not, be sure to read through it before your next NL tourney.Remember, this is not cash NL... it's a tournament. It's about survival, not just about getting your money in with the best hand at the time. Keep this in mind and be sure to only put your entire stack in jeopardy when necessary.

[Deepkoncntrtion 0]

Harrington's book is excellent...if u can't read it in time do some research on the net...two plus two is an excellent site for this...Also, read this thread it will give u an intro. into what needs to be done in the middle levels.http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-foru...9442&highlight=

[iveyfan30 0]

My casino is having a $25,000 freeroll for the top 100 players with the most hours accumulated in a live game(from April-May) I will definitely qualify...they are thinking only 50 or so players will have enough hours to qualify...the less the better! But I was wondering what you would do to prepare yourself for the tournament? Any good books you can suggest? I play Limit for the most part and this will be a NL event so I need to brush up on my NL skills a bit! I did start out playing NL but I haven't played on a regular basis for a while. I am super excited about this tournament though. I love playing NL but I hate the risk involved in putting all your money in up front in the tourneys...so in the freeroll I feel like I really don't have a huge buy-in at stake and the pressure is not horrendous. Also, most of the players who will qualify are guys I play with every day. Mostly older "regulars" who are used to grinding away at 4/8. I know most of them have the Limit mentality so I am thinking it will be hard for them to switch over to NL. Any advice anyone can give would be great!

may i suggest running in place?? hehe

[rwood 0]

dmoneypoker wrote: I do well in NLH tournaments online and in casinos, and the best advice i can give you is to stay CALM at all times. do not get worked up, especially in the opening rounds. If you dont pick up a hand in the beginning dont worry, the structure of the tournament will probably be so that you can mostly fold for the 1st 3 rounds (an hour or so) and still have 80% of your stack. A few weeks ago i made a final table at the Trop after not playing one hand at all in the 1st hour (best hand i got was a-4 off). After the 1st hour i had exactly 4,000 of my original 5,000 stack.... after the break i lost some pots, got down to 2400. after that i stayed calm and got a rush. the key is to survive long enough to pick up hands. Early in the tournament is not the time to try and get cute by outplaying people. sit back, relax, play your premiums and try to get reads on your opponents. more importantly, get comfortable with your setting.

this is by far some of the best and simplest advice to follow when playing tourneys such as party poker and B&M's where the blinds move up every 15-30 min. great advice...most players just dont have the patience to do this...good luck