Why people play sit and go poker tournaments

The motivations that a player might have to play in a live sit and go poker tournament are many, here are just a few.

• To have a win or loss decided: Some people have to have a decision as to weather they have won or lost a game. The sit and go gives them that answer very quickly.

• To set a limit on their investment: The amount of money that a player has to put up is limited to the buy in for the tournament.

• To compete with others: For some players the competition is the main reward for playing. These players need to know they are the best, so they play to beat others. Any monetary gain is secondary.
  

• To manage time: If a player is limited in the amount of time he has to play then the sit and go is ideal for him. In Las Vegas many tourists find they don't have the time to play in a ring game or a full tournament because of the demands of sight seeing and other activities that they have to take part in. Therefore the sit and go poker tournament can fit their schedule nicely.
  

• For self esteem: To play and win in a Vegas poker tournament is quite a boost to a tourist's ego.

• Impatience: Many players don't have the patience to sit through an entire tournament of two or three hundred people to find the outcome of a session. The sit and go is the ideal way for these players to play without losing their focus.

All of these reasons may apply to any one player at any time. All of the players may be in the game for different reasons and will play their cards in very different ways because of this. You should look at your reasons for playing and adjust your goals accordingly.

Good Luck

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Sit And Go Poker Tournaments-Online vs. Vegas

Sit and go poker tournaments in Las Vegas are quite different from the online sit and go games that you may be used to. These differences call for a change in strategies if you want to win.

The main differences are:

• Pay Out Structure: The pay outs online are usually for the first three places in a single table ten player tournament. In Las Vegas the pay outs are usually for first and second place only.

• Early Level Blinds: On the internet the blinds usually start out low (10/20), in Las Vegas they normally start at a much higher level (25/50).

• Starting Chip Stack: The number of chips that a player starts with online is much greater in relation to the blinds than it is in Las Vegas. Online you start with around seventy (70) times the big blind. In Las Vegas your starting stack is about twenty (20) times the big blind.
  

• The Number of Hands per Hour: On the internet there will be about sixty(60) hands dealt per hour. In a Vegas card room expect about thirty(30) hands per hour. This means that the blinds will go up just about every full circuit of the button in the early levels of the tournament.
  

All these differences mean that playing strategies have to change somewhat between online and live card rooms.

The first change has to be how you play the early levels of the tournament. Online you want to play very tight early on. In a live Las Vegas game you can't do this as the blinds are so much higher in relation to your chip stack. After the first level you will be short stacked if you haven't added some chips. This means that your starting hand requirements have to be somewhat lower than online.

The next change has to be how aggressively you play your hands. Remember the other players are in the same boat as you. When you have a good starting hand and position you have to push it to gain chips.

In short, you have to play as if you are at mid level from the start.

Good Luck

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Bargain Sit and Go Poker Tournaments in Las Vegas

In doing research for another post on sit and go poker tournaments in Las Vegas, I found that most of the poker rooms are offering them at a fairly high buy-in. Although this may not bother some of you, it does cause a problem for the novice who is just trying to get his feet wet in a new type of poker tournament.

There is one poker room, however, that has sit and go tournaments at a very reasonable buy-in amount. The Plaza Casino, downtown, offers sit-n-go tournaments for a $40 buy-in from 9:00AM until 12:00AM, seven days a week.

These start as soon as there are 10 (ten) players signed up for a tournament. Usually this happens about three times an hour. So there is always a game going on or just getting started. When you sign up for the tournament don't go too far away as they fill up quite fast. If you're not there when the tournament starts, you will lose your seat.

The pay outs for these tournaments are $240 for first place and $90 for second place.

See you there.

Good Luck

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Texas Holdem Poker Terms

Below is an article about the terms used in Texas Hold'em that you should know before you sit in a game in Las Vegas. It is nowhere near complete but will give you an understanding of what the dealers and floor people are talking about.

The Glossary of Texas Holdem Poker
By Claire Bowes

Before you can actually play the game or even learn it from a book, you must first be familiar with the terms used in the poker game. This will help you make sense of some of the process involved in the game as well as in the strategies that are used in the game. Below are some of the terms used in the Texas Holdem Poker game that can help you immensely in understanding the game.

Fixed limit Texas holdem poker:

This is one of the types of Texas Holdem poker, which allows for a limited betting. Players are only allowed to bet a predetermined amount at the start of the game as well as on the succeeding rounds.

Pot Limit Texas Holdem Poker:

Although this type of Texas Holdem Poker also has limits on the amounts that players can bet, the limit will depend upon the size of the pot. As each round of betting happens and the pot grows, the limit of the bets also grows.

No Limit Texas Holdem Poker:

In this type of Texas Holdem Poker, there is no limit on the amounts that players can bet in the rounds.

Blind Bet:

These kinds of bets are forced bets. This is used to start off the game. It is called blind bets because players are asked to bet money even without seeing the cards that they are dealt with. The first two players to the left of the dealer must always place blind bets.

Call:

This is a betting option where one player can bet to match the amount of the bet of another player.

Check:

This is another betting option used by a player who does not want to place a bet. This can only be done when there are no other bets have been placed in the round. This means that you are still in the game unlike when you fold, when you are already surrendering your chance.

Fold:

This is another betting option used when the player decides to quit the hand. This means that he is not going to play anymore and has no more chance to get the pot money.

Raise:

This is another betting option where the player ups the stake by placing a larger bet than the player who placed his bet before him.

Going all in:

A betting option used when the player wants to bet everything he has on his hand. If you do this and win the hand, you will be paid a portion of the pot money relative to the amount of money you placed on the bet.

Dealer Button:

This is a token which is passed to each of the players in a clockwise direction after every hand. This is used to determine who among the players will be the dealer for that hand. This will also determine the players who will have to place blind bets, which are the two players that are seated to the left of the dealer.

Pre-flop:

This refers to the first round of the Texas Holdem Poker hand where the players are given two cards that are faced down.

Flop:

This is the stage where the players are given by the dealer three community cards that are faced-up on the table. These cards can be used by every player in the hand to create a good combination with the pocket cards that they were dealt with.

Claire Bowes is a successful Webmaster and publisher of My Poker Tips. Claire provides more information on her site about Online Poker Rooms that you can research at home.

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About The World Series Of Poker (WSOP) - 2007

Well it's less than three months until the start of the WSOP at the RIO HOTEL-Las Vegas. If you want to view the entire schedule, the way it stands right now, click here.

We still have to review the schedule in more depth. But one of the things that stands out is that there will be more H.O.R.S.E. events this year. And it looks like many of the complaints made by some of the pros have been addressed.

There are still some problems that need to be reviewed. One is the number of tables being planned for the tournament and the ring games (more in a later post). Another is the money the dealers and floor people will make. This is so important that many of the dealers, that we have spoken with, are not even going to apply for the tournament. If this happens some of the most competent and experienced personnel will not be available.

We hope that Harrah's will have all this taken care of by the start of the poker tournament on June 1, 2007.

Until next time Good Luck.

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Fight Bad Beats and Tilt in Poker

If you are a good hold'em player you will see more bad beats than a mediocre player. The reason for this is that you are only playing premium starting hands. This means that when you are beat, someone has to make a hand that they shouldn't have drawn to.

What is a bad beat? A bad beat is a loss to a hand that the odds say shouldn't have been drawn to. An example of this would be a player drawing to a hand that only has two outs and the pot odds don't justify the draw (see post about odds). If a player makes a hand that the odds say he should have been drawing to then this is not a bad beat.

The first question to ask is. Was this really a bad beat? If not just take it in stride and move to the next hand. But try to learn from the experience by watching the odds that the pot is offering a player to call a bet.

If it is truly a bad beat. Then you have to look out for tilt. Don't get angry because of it or berate the other player. Just remember that this bad draw, or something like it, will happen again and the player will probably make the same mistake again. If you let your emotions take over, your game will suffer and so will your bankroll.

What is tilt? When you go on tilt you play without rational thought. Your emotions take over and you start to play to get even or to teach another player a lesson. You could be angry, desperate, afraid, or have many other feelings. When you find yourself getting like this you have to do something.

One of the hardest things to do is recognise when you are on tilt. If you find yourself playing hands that you know you shouldn't have played, you are on tilt. If that happens take a break. Walk around the room or get a cup of coffee at the snack bar. If that doesn't work leave the game, there will be another one later on.

If you're in a tournament you can't leave the game but you can sure take a break. It will cost you a blind or two but you won't lose your whole stack.

In short don't let bad beats get the best of u and fight going or staying on tilt.

Good Luck

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Action in Downtown LV Poker Rooms Early in the Day

It's 10:00 AM in downtown Las Vegas and all the rooms seem to be dead.

At Binions there's a no limit game going on and the regulars are reading papers or talking to each other, waiting for a game to start.

At the Fitz the room hasn't even opened yet.

At the Golden Nugget there's a 3/6 game going but nothing else.

At the Plaza it's quite different. There are players waiting for the first sit-n-go tournament to start. There is a no limit game running, and two 2/4 tables going.

The difference is that the Plaza is offering a $40 buy-in sit-n-go tournament. These tournaments run from 10:00AM to 5:00PM daily. As soon as there are ten players signed up, a new table is started. This goes on all day and keeps the action going continuously. Players jump from one sit-n-go to the next one, or they get into the ring games.

When all the rooms are slow go to the Plaza. You'll find action there.

Good Luck

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