By DANIEL NEGREANU
I’m often asked poker strategy questions by amateurs who hope to get concrete answers in return. That’s rarely how poker works. There are simply too many variables to consider. The best approach in one situation might be the absolute worst in another.

In tournament poker, it’s not a bad idea to have a game plan right from the start. Unlike football, though, you shouldn’t script your first 15 plays of the game as many NFL coaches do. If anything, your game plan must be adaptable to the players that you’ll face.

Let’s say that you come into a tournament with the following game plan: Sit back early and play conservatively, and then, after a couple of levels, start attacking the blinds.

That’s not a bad game plan against certain opponents. But what if you find yourself at a table where most of the players simply call before the flop and play weak after the flop? That would require an immediate change of plan.

When up against bad players like these early in a tournament, you shouldn’t avoid playing marginal situations. In fact, you should welcome them. If your opponents don’t raise before the flop and commit big mistakes after the flop, make every attempt to play any two cards that have any value at all. The payoff at a table like this could set you up for a good run in the tournament.

Now, the second aspect of the game plan needs to be addressed: After a couple of levels, start attacking the blinds.

Realistically, that’s not going to work when you’re facing weak players. They play too many hands before the flop for this approach to be effective. So, forget about trying to steal their blinds. Rather, in this type of game, focus on…. Read rest of article at chron.com

By Sasha
I suppose there is a library of advice that can be offered in regards to every poker play; however, the stealing blinds is a necessity in tournament play if you hope to build your stack towards the leader, and maintain a workable stack as the blinds increase and players decrease. The pre-flop re-steal is simply a re-raise based on an initial raise that someone has bet in an effort to steal the blinds. So if you were thinking it had something to do with robbing a bank with gymnastic ability the day after someone else robbed it, you’ve come to the wrong place.Often times in a game of No-Limit Texas Holdem, players will lose patience when they feel the looming blanket of desperation begin to wrap around their tournament run, or perhaps their cash game budget. They realize that they will need to make an effort at stealing blinds or they won’t have any blinds to offer. At this point, it’s not uncommon to see a player move all-in pre-flop, but in the case that they make an effort to simply raise and steal the blind, they are a prime target for a re-steal. If you are sitting further down the line, a re-raise will put the pressure on the remaining competitors; and if you happen to have posted the blind and sit on a strong pocket, it may be worthwhile to challenge the thief and retain your stack.

There are many strategies for most effectively utilizing a re-steal, but ultimately it comes down to reading opponents. The player with a stack that is smaller than yours might as well have a target on their back if they raise early; as much as they want to add the blinds to their dwindling stack, they’ve also got to think to protect. If they were remotely confident in what they were holding pre-flop, they would more than likely…  Read rest of article at Smoke Poker

by nowapowa
It is often said of posthumously successful artists who were underappreciated in their lifetime that they were somehow ahead of their time. Their contribution to their craft could not be appreciated at the time because of its deviation from commonly accepted notions. Moby Dick is considered by many authorities and readers alike to be a brilliant work of fiction. However, looking at the reviews upon its release, one might think it was doomed to obscurity and failure.

Blind-stealing. The squeeze play. The resteal. These plays represent just some of the ways winning tournament players have stayed ahead of the field by employing strategies that vary from traditional card dependent methodologies. Today these plays are common knowledge, though they did not always exist. We have a handful of enterprising…. read rest of article at PocketFives.com

by PokerListings.com
The Zone System was first introduced by Dan Harrington in his highly acclaimed book Harrington on Hold’em, Volume II: The Endgame. The system divides a poker tournament into five different zones based on a player’s stack size as compared to the blinds and antes. Each zone will affect your play and correct strategy will vary dramatically as a result. The ratio of your stack compared to the blinds and antes is referred to as your “M.” For example: You have $750 in chips and the blinds are $25/$50 with no antes. This means that you have 10 times more than the starting pot and your M is 10.
The Green Zone: M is 20 or More
In the Green Zone all weapons are at your disposal and you can play in all different kinds of playing styles. This is the place to be but you must be careful to balance your play in a way that allows you to continue building your stack while simultaneously protecting it. You can afford to play in both a super conservative style as well as in a super aggressive style.
The Yellow Zone: M is 10-20
You can no longer play conservative (tight) poker. The blinds and antes are starting to hurt your stack and you must…. read rest of article at PokerListings.com

By SamENole
When Adam asked me if I’d be willing to write a monthly article for pocketfives, I originally had some concerns.  Having graduated from college more than a year ago, would my writing skills be up to the task?  As a player who plays on instinct and habit, would I really be able to put my style into words?  Lastly, what topics could I write about?