Smash the old adages

Hoyazo recently put up a great post on why pot odds are over rated in a tournament. It reminded me of a post that has been in my head for some time now and it seems like this is a good time to record it.

I recently have come to understand how to be a true winning player (last nights results excluded). It not about the match, the odds, the cards, or the like. Its about competing with an opponent or group of opponents with a finite set of rules, and producing better results. Note: I did NOT say "out playing them". (Does the best TV Survivor player always the winner?)

In that vein, I give you...

Things that players cling to as truth in tournaments, but are not:

Myth: If the table is tight, play loose. If the table is loose, play tight.
NO. That is cash game talk. In a tournament: When the table is loose, Trap. When the table is tight, Bully.

Myth: Take flops with marginal cards against big stacks that will pay you off on implied odds.
RARELY (this only works with deep stacks). Most tournaments, its better to AVOID the big stacks as the field shrinks.

Myth: It's all about the chip lead/accumulating chips
ONLY in big fields. In a field of 50 or less, pick on people who have to go broke to call an all-in.

Myth: Play tight, play solid starting hands.
FEH! Do not have expectations for a starting hand. Select to play a hand for a reason, which can be playing tight, playing loose, playing by the book, etc as long as it is SITUATIONAL and changeable. And dont continue with a hand when you are being just because you were ahead BEFORE the flop. If you are losing, then get away!

Myth: Use pot odds to determine whether to make a big call.
Are you kidding me? Did you read Hoyazo's post yet? Don't use pot odds to make tournament survival decisions. If your beat, your beat.

Myth: There are the 3 levels of thinking. What I have, what I put him on, what he puts me on.
Ignore that "levels of thinking" crap. You are selling. Is your opponent buying? If he is, then your hand is going to push him to a decision (see doubleas and pressure points). If he isnt, then you make your decision on whether you are ahead or behind. Simple really.

Myth: Opponents using game theory or advanced math have a statistical advantage over us.
Ha, only if you are not following the above paragraph. Those advanced theories are just alternate ways of doing the above. Being different make you less predictable, but not necessarily better.

Myth: Hoyazo is the authority on bad play.
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