PRACTICE OPPORTUNITY # 2:
One of the ways to sharpen your no-limit holdem skills is to attend a major tournament in person and observe. At all of the World about Poker Tour championship events, the best poker players on the planet compete for the gold and the glory, plus a chance to appear on television. Observing how these top players compete against each other can give you insights into some of the finer points of the game. There is no greater thrill in poker than playing in the championship event of a major tournament except for winning practice it, of course. Excitement permeates the air just before the first hand is dealt players and observers alike can feel the electricity. Anybody who is at least twenty-one years old can compete in a poker tournament if he/she is willing to pony up the buy-in. Many fine amateur as renowned as the "name" players, are top players in their own right. You can also learn by observing these lesser-known players.
As an observer, what should you look for? If it is early in the competition, look for a table that has several well-known players and observe what they are doing in the early rounds. Often, they have very different styles of play, which makes it all the more interesting and educational. Try to read them. That is, think about what type of hand they might be betting, calling or raising with. At every stage of the competition, think about how you might have played the hand if you were sitting at the table.
The longer the tournament runs, the more exciting it becomes. On days two or three, as the players get closer to the easy gaming money spots and the final table, you can often feel the tension and see the concentration in their eyes. As the antes and blinds get higher, conservative play often goes out the window. Noticing when top players start making very aggressive plays can give you valuable strategy hints for your own future use.
The one disadvantage of watching a live tournament, as opposed to viewing a televised event, is that you do not get to see the players' hole card game unless the action goes to a showdown. Nevertheless, it can be rewarding and enlightening to see in person what it is like to compete at a high low poker level. Further, since televised tournaments only concentrate on the final six players as a general rule, you will be able to note the strategy that top players use to make the final table. That is indeed worth observing and studying.
PRACTICE OPPORTUNITY # 3:
Set Up a Home Tournament or Cash Game
A great way to practice your no-limit holdem poker tournament skills is to set up a home game. Both Brad and I started our poker careers playing in home games, and believe me when I say that they can be both fun and profitable.
One way to set up a home game is to invite a few friends to play a one-table tournament. Even after I moved to Las Vegas to play poker professionally, I often had a tournament in my home to have some fun with friends on my birthday. One of them dubbed these annual affairs "The McEvoy Memorial Birthday Bash Tournament. "
One possible structure for a home tournament is to charge everyone $20 and pay one or two places. If there is $200 in the prize pool, you could give 70 percent ($140)to the winner and 30 percent ($60) to the runner-up. You could also pay more places if you have more than ten players, or you could even make it a winner-take-all tournament.
I suggest starting everyone with $500 in chips and blinds of $10-$15. The blinds could go up every twenty or thirty minutes, with the next increase rising to $15-$30. After the $15-$30 level, take the $5 chips out of play and go to $25-$50 blinds, then $50- $100 and so on, until a winner has Been crowned.
You could, of course, use any amount of chips you want and make the betting rounds longer. Usually, you want to have more than one tournament per night, so getting it over in a timely fashion will allow the losing players to get back in action without too long a wait.
You can even set up a home tournament using the World Series of Poker structure. You start with $10,000 in chips and $25-$50 blinds. Around the fourth or fifth level, you might also start using an ante, just like the WSOP and WPT events. If $20 is too little or, in some cases, too much to play for, adjust the buy-in to whatever the players are comfortable with.
If a tournament is not your cup of tea, then play no-limit holdem as a cash game. I would suggest small blinds to start with, such as $1-$2 or less, with a maximum amount that each player can buy in for. You can also limit the amount of buy-ins permitted if a players goes Broke. You want to keep the game how too play friendly and interesting while making sure that nobody loses too much. A well-run game with clearly defined rules will keep players interested and wanting to play more.