Page 20 - May 2003 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
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Succeeding in tournaments takes a different set of skills than succeeding in money games, although if you know how to play a game for money, you are off to a good start in knowing how to play it in a tournament. Let’s assume that you do know your game (tournaments are offered in almost every variation of cardroom poker) for money. What adjustments are needed to play in a tournament?
The single biggest adjustment needed is a constant focus on money (chip) management and knowledge of how many chips an “average” player has at any given moment. Because the blinds and antes are continually increasing in tournament poker (that’s how they can get a tournament over in a day), it’s vitally important to focus not just on the ideal play for one given hand, but to manage your chip stack with the tournament big picture in mind.
Let’s say you are given $500 in no-cash value “tournament chips” at the start of play. These chips
cannot be cashed in, but only used in the tournament, and you will continue playing until you are either knocked out—hopefully in one of the money-paying
positions — or until you have accumulated every chip in play, meaning you are the winner!
When the tournament starts, an average player has $500 in his stack. After 100 of our hypothetical 200 players have been eliminated, though, an average (or
“par”) stack would be $1,000. By keeping track of where you are, relative to a par stack, you know whether or not you must be aggressive, or can afford to be more conservative.
If you nd tracking par dif cult, you can also keep an eye on how big your stack is relative to the blinds and antes. If you only have enough left for a few blinds, it’s pretty easy to realize that you will need to win some chips pretty quickly, even if your cards aren’t cooperating.
One of the best ways to learn about tournament poker is to read about how the world’s best players go about it. You can nd my own articles about not just this year’s World Series of Poker, but also prior years, online at www.casino.com/poker, where you can also subscribe to the free bi-weekly poker e-newsletter,
“Wednesday Nite Poker.”
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a casino that will “track” your play for comps at the level you want to play; if you want to play $5 blackjack, don’t play at a casino that only tracks green chip ($25) action.
5. Learn all you can about the comp system in the casinos where you play. There is more to this comp game than reading the slot club brochure. You need to learn the ins and outs of the club: How much you have to play to get direct mail offers, what comps you can get without using your points; when points expire. You need to nd out if there are slot hosts. If there are, you need to talk to one and ask what other comps you can earn beyond those given at the club booth. If you play table games, you need to talk to a pit boss or a table-game host and ask what comps you can earn at the level you play. A few casinos spell out their comp systems, but the vast majority does not. So you have to use that powerful tool I am forever recommending: Ask!
6. And finally, remember to never play beyond your bankroll or your comfort zone just to earn comps. But, on the other hand, work to get all the comps you have earned. The casinos have put comps in the budget to reward their players; be sure you get your share!
Page 20 May 2003