Well, the big tournament is finally here as we watch the World Series of Poker Championship Main Event. This will be yet another long and grueling tournament for the few that make it to the money and then the Final Table. I must say I am a little more enthused this year than last year and I am finally over the delayed Final Table debacle too. I am looking forward to watching this years Main Event with nothing but good feelings about the entire event.

We can only hope that our favorite players can avoid the bad beats that rail them far too often. This ought to be fun!

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I know I may catch some flack with this post but I really do believe that there is something to be gained here. Playing No Limit Hold’em we all end up being short stacked more often than not. Some of us are short stacked more than others. The issue here is that when we are short stacked we obviously need to find a hand and get our chips in the middle. But here is a scenario that I believe a lot of players can play better. It is also one of the few situations in which I actually condone min raising. Yes, I actually said that I condone min-raising.

Shocking huh?

Let’s consider that our prayers have been answered and we have been dealt the Pocket Aces we had hoped for. Now what? Well, most of us would likely push our chips in the middle and pray that they hold up. Taking down the blinds only gives us a small bump to our stack. On the other hand, min raising from early and middle position gives us an opportunity to get our chips in the middle along with the limper’s that are priced in and likely to call. Why min raise? We are min raising because when I am short I want as many chips in the pot as possible. You can plan on the rest of my chips going in the middle after the flop regardless of what kind of board hits.

True, you may get caught by a set every now and then or a flush but that is the risk you must accept with this kind of play. The idea is to give you a legitimate shot at gaining some traction. This play is all about Chip Utility and having enough chips to make moves. If you bust out it’s no big deal but if you can double your stack on one hand it gives you a little room to breath and another opportunity to make a run for the money.

If you are in late position you can play the hand with a min raise with limper’s or you can push if there are just too many people in the pot. It’s up to you as to what you feel is the optimum strategy in playing the hand when you are short.

Things have heated up at the 2009 World Series of Poker No Limit Main Event Championship event and not in a good way. Apparently Harrah’s had to turn away 500 or so players because the venue was at capacity. Players included T.J. Cloutier, Ted Forrest, and Patrick Antonious. As it stands there is a total of around 6400 players that are playing in the WSOP No Limit Championship event. PokerStars had a few players that were part of this group as well.

WSOP commissioner Jeff Pollack says this problem will be his top priority going into the 2010 WSOP. We can only hope.

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I play on average around 700 online poker tournaments each year give or take a hundred or so. That is a lot of poker tournaments for a poker player that is not a professional. However, this year has been a particularly good year for me on PokerStars.

One of the reasons for this is that I changed my mental approach to the game just a bit. What I noticed from my self assessment is that I was not going quite far enough into some hands that I was playing. By processing and thinking just a little more in-depth I have benefited greatly.

I have also paid more attention to the tempo of the poker table. There is no reason to try and force or delay the action. That only brings stress upon you which you can avoid entirely and don’t need. Go with the flow and let the game come to you.

Be genuinely excited about playing and doing well in the poker tournament. There is no better feeling than to play well and capitalize on your poker skill and strategy. You may not win every session or tournament but you feel good about yourself and your game. Not too many poker players can say that without hearing a “gu-fau” in the background.

Can you?

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I am sure by now you know that PokerStars has announced the schedule for the 2009 World Championship of Online Poker. Also, the Heartland Poker Tour is in my neighborhood again at the Majestic Star in Indiana. I will be playing a couple of satellites again as I did last time. Also, you guys are the first to know that I will be playing in my first PokerStars WCOOP this year. I will be buying into the $215 No Limit $1 Million Guaranteed event. There is a forty thousand player cap and I am sure we will be awfully close with the smaller buy-in. I am really looking forward to this tournament. As usual I will let you know how things are going in both.