Best Advanced Texas Hold’em Strategy That Will Make You Win Big

What you’re about to read “Best Advanced Texas Hold’em Strategy That Will Make You Win Big” intentionally contradicts the last article I wrote on poker strategy for tournaments: “Should You Stay Out Of The Way?” That article (the one previous to this one) is best suited for roughly 90% of players.

That isn’t a number I randomly came up with. I thought about all the poker tournaments I have played in and all of the playing styles I witnessed, as well as what worked and what didn’t work for those players.

Playing Your Poker Style vs. Being a Robot

I have been told by several poker pros that playing poker has nothing to do with choosing a playing style that fits your personality and that playing poker is all math. I couldn’t disagree more. Let’s just state the simple fact that Mental Fortitude plays a tremendous role in someone’s poker career.

You can know every detail about the game and still fail due to a lack of Mental Fortitude. Can you stay calm when things go south, when you’re on the bubble, and when you’re at the final table? That’s the player I want to be.

My dilemma is that I can’t prove I’m correct. While I have better results than most people reading this, I don’t have the same results as many others out there. However … not everything is as it seems.

When I look at players who have a lot more in earnings than me, they have all been playing in poker tournaments longer than me, often by 5-15 years. Remember, I was a cash game player up until a few years ago.

In my mind, and due to the way my mind operates, this is no excuse for not having exceptional numbers. At the same time, I have learned a lot in a very short period of time, but in a different way than most people. I’m playing the human side.

A Clear Poker Mindset

At this moment, with so much going on in my life, and while waiting for a feature film to be produced, I simply do not have a clear poker mindset at the poker tables. I know that clear-mind feeling and I miss it. I’m confident it will return, but I don’t know when. I need to get past one specific thing (I will). I have been down this road before in sports.

This was a long way of saying that even though I’m not winning as much recently, I see, register, and retain most things taking place around me. This is actually more so the case in real life than in poker, but at the table as well. That little smile over the shoulder that the waitress gave to the guy sitting in Seat 5? Yeah … I noticed that. I just don’t say anything about it. For instance, I’m not going to reveal who was sitting in Seat 5. But let’s get to how to win at poker and poker tips.

The ultimate point here related to poker strategy for tournaments is that the “Big Pot Poker Strategy” isn’t suited for everyone. If you’re naturally risk averse and you attempt taking the approach that is written about below, then you’re going to end up making mistakes. You’re going to get nervous and pick some wrong spots. Then you’re going to lose confidence in the process. We don’t want that. If you’re risk averse, read: “Should You Stay Out of the Way?”

That approach will limit your rebuys, lead to more cashes, and you will win some tournaments outright. The Big Pot Poker approach, on the other hand, will lead to more rebuys, but you will also ship more Texas Hold’em Poker tournaments.

If you would like to take on more risk and ship more Texas Hold’em Poker tournaments, then keep reading. Just know the following. This information is not best suited for the majority of my readers. Nothing from this point forward in the article should be viewed as poker tips for beginners.

If you treat the following information as poker tips for beginners because you’re a beginner, then you risk losing your bankroll prior to getting off the ground and truly gaining experience.

Vegas Daily Impact

For the poker hand example written about later in this article, let’s pretend it’s taking place playing in a World Series of Poker Circuit ring event at the Tampa Hard Rock.

I’m using this as an example because it’s taking place right now and I couldn’t be there, which makes me sad. It doesn’t literally make me sad, but it doesn’t make me happy that I couldn’t be there.

I couldn’t be there because I have to go to Las Vegas this week to write Vegas Daily. I will be playing in ten poker tournaments over the course of six days. The premise is that me and Stuart (a friend and fan who won an auction) will be competing against each other to see who ends up with a better net.

These are all Daily and Nightly tournaments, so the risk isn’t too high, but it’s still ten poker tournaments, which isn’t cheap. Even though we will be competing against each other, it’s more about fun and adventure. And as far as the poker rules go for this adventure, there are only two.

The first of the two poker rules for Vegas Daily is that we can only fire a second bullet one time. With different buy-ins and a set schedule, this adds off-the-felt strategy. For instance, will I want to rebuy in a $105 buy-in with a $2k guarantee early in the trip? No. Also, by rebuying later in the trip, I know what I need to accomplish to win if I’m behind, and I know what speed I should use if I’m ahead.

If I’m behind, I want to take on a little more risk. This might mean firing twice at one of the bigger buy-in tournaments and/or speeding up my play for chip accumulation mid-tournament in an effort to go for the win.

If I’m ahead, I might save my only second bullet for the second-to-last or third-to-last tournament. I don’t want to save it for the last tournament because it could be wasted. If I save my only second bullet for the last tournament, go deep (past registration), and don’t cash, I will have wasted an opportunity.

Also keep in mind that my readers are rooting for me, regardless of how Stuart does. That is interesting to them as well, yes, but they like to see a + sign at the end of the book. As far as style of play, I will play more TAG than AGGRO if I’m ahead going into the last day or two. But things can change fast, which brings me to the other rule.

When one of us busts a tourney, cashes a tourney, or fires their only second bullet in a tourney, they must message the other person immediately. For example, if I fire my second bullet at The Wynn and Stuart isn’t there, I need to text him that I’m doing that. This keeps the game fair.

And, yes, there was a point to me telling you all of that. One reason is to drive excitement for the book. The other reason relates to Big Pot Poker. If I’m playing in ten Daily and Nightly poker tournaments and I’m only allowed to use a second bullet one time, I’m not going to use the Big Pot Poker strategy unless I’m in a bind.

This approach would be too high risk. I’m not saying these fields will be easy by any means, especially on the weekdays, but remember that you want to decrease risk when you feel you’re one of the stronger players in the tournament. You want to increase risk when you feel like you’re one of the weaker players in the tournament.

Let’s say I’m at Table 4 and everyone at my table is a fish. I don’t want to flip a coin for all my chips with something like AK vs. 55. There is no sense in doing that if I can outplay them over the course of several hours.

In fact, if a fish jams on me early in a tournament and I have a strong read that it’s a race, I’m folding. I will methodically accumulate my chips by picking good spots. You’re not going to only have one opportunity in a poker tournament. You need to understand that. It’s okay to fold. You’re certainly going to have a better spot than AK vs. 55 for all your chips. Take the scenic route. It’s more enjoyable anyway.

If I’m at Table 5 and the table is full of beasts, I’m going to increase risk. I’m going to snap-call with AK in that spot. If I lose, so be it, I went out swinging. That’s okay! If I win, I just doubled-up and can now play real poker. This is especially advantageous for me because I like playing against strong players. I seem to play better at those tables. I understand how they’re thinking.

More importantly, I understand how they think I’m thinking. That doesn’t happen with a table full of fish. The only way I can get to that high confidence level is to have more chips. If I have an average stack at the table, or if I’m short-stacked, it just doesn’t play the same for me. They don’t make many errors and the good spots are few and far between. Hence why I want that coin flip.

The Big Pot Poker Strategy

The irony here is that some of the best players in the world are ‘increasing risk.’ But it’s for a different reason. They aren’t intimidated at all. By anyone. They just use a different kind of poker strategy. This doesn’t apply to traditional poker games. They would do terrible in traditional poker games if applying Big Pot Poker. This is an advanced Texas Hold’em poker strategy for tournaments.

If you want to know how to win at poker in regards to the tournament arena, there are plenty of Big Pot Poker players out there that have proven this approach is effective. And they wouldn’t be happy if they knew I was sharing these poker tips.

Big Pot Poker Example:
Let’s say you’re dealt J♠10♠ on the button. You have an average stack on Level 7.

An AGGRO player in middle position raises 3.5x the BB. You call. This is a great hand to see a flop in this spot. The SB folds and the BB, a NIT, calls. There are three players in the hand.

Flop: A♣4♠8♠

BB checks.
MP bets half the pot.
You call.
BB min-raises (this is also a check-raise)
MP calls.

Now you have to evaluate what’s going on. The BB flatted a 3.5x BB raise pre-flop. He’s a NIT. Therefore, he didn’t call with 84, and there is no way in hell he has a gutshot there.

First of all, he wouldn’t have called pre-flop with those poker hands.

Second of all, he definitely wouldn’t be check-raising with a gutshot. That’s insanity for anyone, especially a NIT.

We know he doesn’t have AA because he would have put in a scared (very large) raise pre-flop. It’s possible he has AK, AQ, AJ. The latter two are more likely possibilities, but I have seen NITs limp a three-way pot from the BB with AK.

AQ is more likely because you have a jack. It’s also possible that he has A8s or A4s. A NIT will usually protect his BB with these kinds of hands. As far as 88 and 44 go, these can’t be ruled out because there is a flush draw out there.

But most NITs will slow-play here anyway. They don’t check-raise to protect sets against flush draws. If we really look at this though, a NIT isn’t check-raising with one pair. Therefore, we can deduce that he most likely has A8s or A4s.

What about the AGGRO player in middle position? He plays a ton of poker hands, which means he has a wide range. He raised 3.5x the BB pre-flop. Most AGGRO players raise bigger when they have a monster, whether they realize it or not. And almost all AGGRO players will raise the flop with top pair, even if check-raised. He wouldn’t bet out with a set, so we can eliminate that possibility (to a certain degree). And he’s unlikely to have a flush draw since you have one.

At first evaluation, it would seem like he has air, but he called the BB’s min-check-raise. The hands that make the most sense here are 99 and 77.

Since you need to trust your gut in this game, let’s assume you’re correct on both accounts. Let’s say the BB has A4 for two pair and the player in middle position has 77. What are you going to do with that flush draw? If you want to actually win the tournament, as in ship it, 1st place, then you know what you need to do. You need to jam it.

Jamming It

I know this because I watch some of the best players in the world do it all the time. They have even done it against me. If they fail, they go to the cage and rebuy. If they succeed, they’re on their way to 100k in chips, the dinner break, the money, the final table, and 1st place.

Of course, they need to win these kinds of hands many times, but their theory (I have overheard them talking about this on more than one occasion) is to win those big pots 4-5 times. If they run good 4-5 times in a row in those big pots, they’re at the final table. This is how they win so many poker tournaments.

Getting back to that hand, if the player in the BB is a NIT, he might just fold. Not likely, but it’s possible. The middle position player is always folding there, unless he’s an idiot. Is this a great spot? No. Is it a good spot and a rare opportunity to double your stack? Yes.

Pressure Campaign

This isn’t the only route to winning a poker tournament. It’s not my route. At least not at this time. But it is an effective route. The only caution here is that you must have a big bankroll to pull it off. If you do, you’re going to win a lot more poker tournaments, but you might have to fire a lot more to do it.

It’s basically a game of Pressure, Pressure, and more Pressure. It is just not street-by-street pressure. It’s Big Pot Poker pressure.

These players know that most people don’t have big bankrolls like they do. And it’s often not their money (they have backers). Therefore, they know that when they apply this pressure, they’re either going to get a fold or they’re going to have a shot at doubling- or tripling-up. If they fail, they will fire again.

When you see the same people with massive chip stacks over and over again, how do you think that happened? That’s not entirely fair though. There are players that are exceptional and can grind their stack higher on a consistent basis, but those players are few and far between (but they are out there).

Final Thoughts

If you want to win more poker tournaments, you need to increase risk. When you find spots to get all your chips in the middle, do it! One thing I forgot to mention above. You must be the one jamming. Don’t call-off in these spots. If you call-off, you can’t get folds.

Apply this pressure and you will find yourself at the cage firing more bullets, but you will also find yourself taking more pictures at the end of poker tournaments, and you will be smiling. Once again, not recommended for all poker players. Only if you have a big bankroll and massive cajones.