ON THE BUTTON: Choosing Your Poker Table

"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious." - Sun Tzu

Nov. 20, 2007

By Nick Lanteri
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

The hardest part is admitting you have a problem.

Take online poker, for instance. I made several final tables against fields of 120 players or less and even won three of those tournaments, spanning a time period from mid-May to late July of this year. Then I got greedy and started entering multiple tournaments with more prize money against bigger fields.

Not a good idea.

Suddenly, I went colder than a well digger's ass. But I was stubborn and kept plugging away. I didn't want to believe that I couldn't overcome my "bad luck" in those 400-plus player donkaments. I kept trying and figured sooner or later I'd make a big score (I took first place for $1,100 in a Bodog $4,500 guaranteed tournament late in 2006, but lightning hasn't struck twice). Oh sure, I got in the money a few times but made zero final tables during the bad run. Then a few weeks ago, I finally decided it was time to go back to basics.

If your cards have dried up in recent months, it's time to roll up the sleeves and go back to basics, which consists of four things that will get your bankroll heading in the right direction again:

1. Small buy-ins with small fields

Most poker players will tell you that when a losing streak hits and your confidence is low, it's time to swallow your pride and return to the lower limits for a while. If your bankroll is shrinking because of a bad run in big tournaments, then it's imperative to go back to the place where you had the most success in the past.

When you're on a cold streak, it might be time to get back to the basics.

Playing poker tournaments against manageable fields is a smart way to get the ball rolling again. For me, it happened in late October in a $15+1 pot-limit Bodog tournament with 51 players and $765 in the pool. I got heads up that night but finished second for $153, which isn't bad for a $16 investment (my confidence level soared, and a few nights later I cashed again). I entered the tournament after I noticed that the top-nine spots would be paid, although the tournament had only 50 players with less than a minute left to sign up. That's important.

I highly recommend Bodog tournaments with 45-90 players because the top-nine spots cash, which means Bodog will pay out as much as 20 percent of the field. Take advantage of these types of tournaments, instead of trying to take down the big fields all the time.

2. Sit and Go tournaments

These tournaments are still the best format in my opinion when it comes to looking for the right spots to make money playing online poker. You really should be spending more than half of your online poker time playing Sit and Go tournaments (SNGs), because if you're willing to play tight aggressive, you absolutely will increase your bankroll in the long run and very often in the short run, too.

Consider this: Bodog SNGs are 10-player, single-table tournaments, where a top-three finish will get you in the money. That's 30 percent of the field! A third-place finish earns you double your buy-in, and that's why it makes more sense to spend most of your time in SNGs.

3. Cash games

Remember, cash games are part of a well-balanced poker diet.

Without a doubt, cash games should be a part of your online poker repertoire. Most often, the no-limit poker tables are filled with players who will play loosey-goosey and will chase any type of draw for any price. Forget pot odds in this forum.

Always test your luck by playing a few orbits, because if it's your lucky day, you will double up. Then you can bail from the table whenever you want and feel good about an inflated bankroll. In tournaments, you might get lucky early, but too often, the cards dry up late when everyone is stalling to the money. How aggravating is that, right?

4. Limit poker

If you're running bad at the no-limit tables, then spend some time in limit poker cash games, if for no other reason than to just give your pot-odds brain a break. In limit poker, you are always getting the right pot-odds to chase flush draws and open-ended straight draws. It's the easiest form of poker to play. And I believe that it's a good refresher course for Holdem, because you almost always get to the river. And that definitely will improve your ability to read boards.

TOP PHOTO: Sun Tzu knew when to pick his battles.