Play the player, not the cards
Dear Antonio,
I am a good poker player and I have been playing in small tournaments in my area. I play great hands, but have been beaten by players who play small hands and end up catching straights and full houses and my high cards don't come up on the flop when I get them and called to see the flop. I have tried to buy the pot from the beginning, but they call me with their small cards. Are the bigger tournaments like this in the beginning (before the final table)? Do people usually play smaller hands? I am frustrated with this and it seems when I hold out for all of the good hands and play a tight game in the beginning, my chips (due to the blinds) get smaller and the players who are playing the small hands build the big stacks. A little advice from someone I look up to would be great. Thank you for your time
Jenna
Dear Jenna,
It sounds like you're doing everything right (though without seeing you play I'd wonder if you're really putting enough heat on your enemies when you've got strong cards) and you're just a victim of a little thing called bad luck. Look, sister, bad players play bad cards every day, and sometimes those bad cards get there. If you let it rattle you, if you start playing that same cheese, then you're just gonna go down the drain.
In big tournaments, top players play all sorts of strange hands, but that's cause they know what they're doing -- and more often than not they're playing the players and not really playing their cards at all. But comparing top tournaments with small buy-in events is kinda apples and oranges, ya know? Be in the game you're in. Push your big hands hard! Don't worry if they call and suck out. It won't happen forever.
If you wanna take a page from the pros, think about playing the players, not playing the cards. When you know you're up against suck-out artists, put them on draws and then punish the crap out of them when their draws don't get there. Though it seems like they hit their hands all the time (and you, never) most of the time they'll miss.
· Antonio
