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The Poker Tournament Formula 2:
Table of Contents
By Arnold Snyder
(Cardoza Publishing, 2008. Paperback, 368 pages.)
© Arnold Snyder 2008
- INTRODUCTION...17
- Most Of What You Know Is Wrong...17
- How This Book is Different From My First Poker Book...18
PART I: PRINCIPLES...23
- 1. THE BIG SECRET: CHIP UTILITY...25
- Chips Are Ammunition—Not Money...32
- The Functions of Chips in a Tournament ...33
- Preflop Utility Functions...33
- The Post-flop/Turn Utility Functions...35
- The River Utility Functions...37
- Short On Chips Equals Short On Utility...38
- Emotional Intelligence...42
- The Fundamental Law Of Chip Utility...44
- The Skill Factor...46
- Chip Utility and Pot Odds...48
- Chip Utility —The Pros' Secret...53
- Why Is Everyone Playing Wrong?...55
- The Big Boner...56
- How Chip Value Theory Affects Strategy...62
- The Debate Over Chip Utility Theory...63
- What about Trivial Wins and Losses?...66
- Can We Ever Assign An Exact Dollar Value To Our Chips?...67
- Chip Utility and "Game Theory"...68
- The Monopoly Connection...72
- Quantifying Chip Utility...74
- Dominant Utility...75
- Full Utility...76
- Competitive Utility...79
- Moderate Utility...80
- Low Utility...81
- No Utility...82
- How Style Affects Utility...83
- Putting Numbers On Utility...84
- Summary...86
- 2. ANALYZING A TOURNAMENT'S STRUCTURE: THE UTILITY FACTOR...87
- The Patience Factor...88
- World's Most Patient Player...88
- Measuring the Blind-Off Time...89
- Implications of the Blind-Off Time...92
- Blind Structure Makes a Big Difference...93
- The Patience Factor In Slow-Structured Events...95
- Comparing Seven WSOP Events...98
- Structure and Tournament Speed...99
- The Tournament Utility Factor...100
- Ranking Tournament Value By Structure...103
- Utility Factor Below 5: Rank 0 Tournaments...103
- Utility Factor 6-20: Rank 1 Tournaments...104
- Utility Factor 21-40: Rank 2 Tournaments...104
- Utility Factor 41-60: Rank 3 Tournaments...105
- Utility Factor 61-100: Rank 4 Tournaments...105
- Utility Factor 101-200: Rank 5 Tournaments...106
- Utility Factor 201+: Rank 6 Tournaments...106
- Buy-In Does Not Equal Utility...107
- Adjustments To The Utility Factor...110
- Utility Factor...111
- Beware of Weird Blind Structures...113
- Summary...115
- 3. UTILITY ODDS...117
- Pot Odds: The Wrong Measure...117
- $1,000 WSOP Example...117
- WSOP $10,000 Main Event Example...120
- Another WSOP Main Event Example...122
- Utility Odds Require Judgment...122
PART II: TOOLS...125
- 4. SMALL BALL VS. LONG BALL VS. UTILITY...127
- Small-Ball Strategy Overview...127
- Long-Ball Strategy Overview...128
- Small Ball And Utility...129
- Small Ball Hands To Play...129
- Raising Hands and Situations...132
- Keeping Your Chips in Action...133
- More Small Ball After the Flop...135
- Small Ball In Action...137
- Long Ball...139
- Long-Ball Philosophy...140
- Manipulating Your Opponents' Utility...142
- Dominance With a Big Stack...143
- Off To The Races...145
- Making Race Decisions...146
- The Conventional Wisdom on Coin Flips...147
- The Mathematics of Racing with Big Slick...149
- The Mathematics of Racing with a Big Pair...150
- Can a Profitable Racing Strategy Be Devised?...151
- Races: A Utility Decision...153
- John Phan—Snapshot of a Long-Ball Legend...156
- Three Tips on Getting Started in Pro-Level Events...160
- Tip One...160
- Tip Two...162
- Tip Three...162
- 5. SHIFTING GEARS...165
- Forget the "Gap" Principle in Tournaments...165
- How to Play a "Rush" and How to Fight a "Rush"...167
- How to Play in Low Gear...168
- Play in the Dark...169
- 6. BLUFFS, READS, AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THEFT...173
- Stealing Small Pots vs. Stealing Big Pots...177
- Petty Larceny...177
- Grand Theft...178
- Five Easy Fleeces...179
- 1. The Blind Steal...181
- Discussion...181
- Stealing the Blinds from the Hijack Seat...182
- Stealing the Blinds from the Cutoff Seat...186
- Stealing the Blinds from the Button...190
- 2. The Continuation Bluff...191
- Discussion...192
- 3. The Position Bluff After An Opponent Limps (Or Checks)...195
- Discussion...196
- 4. The Information Bluff...197
- Discussion...197
- 5. The Value Bet Bluff...198
- Discussion...199
- How to Make Up Your Own Bluffs...199
- Three Common Bluffing Myths...201
- 1. It's Too Early to Bluff...201
- 2. It Takes a Stu Ungar to Fire Three Shots...203
- 3. Amateurs Don't Take Shots...203
- Why So Many Players Today Make Bad Bluffs...207
- Why Bluffing According to "Game Theory" Is A Mistake...208
- A Pro Poker Player Chimes In...212
- Sklansky's Bad Bluffing Advice...213
- Don't Blame Von Neumann...215
- Real World Bluffing...215
- Player Types in Pro-Level Tournaments...216
- The Harringbots...217
- The Killers...218
- The Superstars...219
- The Hangers-on...220
- The Groupies...221
- Looking for Tells on Your Opponents...222
- When a Player Starts to Act Out Of Turn...224
- What Is A Read? (The Amazing Karnak)...226
- Summary...227
- 7. ATTITUDE: TWISTIN' THE KNIFE WITH A SMILE...229
- Test Question...229
- Adding Attitude to Your Weapons...229
- Developing the "Right" Attitude...230
- Daniel Negreanu Showing Down a Bluff...235
- Be Careful About Announcing Opponents' Cards...236
- Depersonalizing the Enemy...237
- Test Answer...239
- 8. TABLE IMAGE: THE FEAR FACTOR...241
- Table Image in Tournaments vs. Cash Games...241
- John Fox's Three Advantageous Image Types...243
- The Intimidating Image: How to Tighten Up Your Opponents...244
- The Wild Image and Blind Snipers...248
- Enhancing Your Wild Image...250
- Don't Show Every Trash Hand...251
- Defensive Play: Don't Tread On Me...252
- Defending the Blind...252
- Information Bet...253
- Continuation Bet...254
- Against Weak Players...255
PART III: STRATEGIES...257
- 9. THE FIVE PHASES OF A POKER TOURNAMENT...259
- Phase One: Stack Building...259
- Phase Two: The Minefield...260
- Phase Three: The Bubble...260
- Phase Four: The Money...261
- Phase Five: The Final Table...262
- 10. PHASE ONE: STACK BUILDING—TAKE THEIR CHIPS WHILE THEY'RE NAPPING...265
- The Survival Fallacy...266
- Mark Seif Gone Wild...267
- Seif's "Big" Hand...268
- Analyzing the Hand...270
- Risk and Reward In Pro-Level Short-Stack Tournaments...273
- Short-Stack Phase One Strategy: 7 Guidelines...277
- Deep-Stack Phase One Strategy: 6 Guidelines...280
- On to Phase Two...264
- 11. PHASE TWO: THE MINEFIELD...285
- Waiting for the Carpathian...285
- Using the Stacks At Blind-Off Time As A Tell...286
- The Story Told by the Stacks...288
- It Starts Getting Dangerous!...289
- You'll Know When the Minefield Hits...291
- Bumping Into Short Stacks...292
- Short- and Deep-Stack Tournaments...292
- Attack Dynamics...293
- Playing a Medium Stack During the Minefield...294
- Getting a Real Hand...298
- A-Q During the Minefield Phase...299
- Tight-Guy Arguments In Favor of Folding A-Q...299
- Arguments Against Folding A-Q...300
- Why You Don't Fold...300
- Playing a Short Stack During the Mine Field...301
- Playing a Big Stack During the Mine Field...303
- Big Stack vs. Average Stack...305
- The Bitch Slap...306
- Big Stack vs. Big Stack...309
- When a Player Pushes All-In...309
- Isolating When You're Not Utility-Constricted...310
- Ganging Up On A Skillful Player...311
- Ready for the Next Phase...311
- 12. PHASE THREE: THE BUBBLE—A BUFFET OF CHIP SANDWICHES...313
- Making Chips or Making the Money?...313
- The Bubble in Rank 1-3 (Short-Stack) Events...316
- The Bubble in Rank 4-6 (Deep-Stack) Events...317
- Playing a Short-Stack During the Bubble...318
- Jam or Fold...318
- Two Live Cards...319
- Playing An Average Stack During the Bubble...323
- Two Live Cards With An Average Stack...327
- Playing A Big Stack During the Bubble...330
- What Comes After the "Dinner" Phase?...333
- 13. PHASE FOUR: THE MONEY—EXPLOITING MASS RELIEF...335
- The Thinning of the Herd...336
- The Money Phase In Rank 1-3 Events...338
- The Money Phase In Rank 4-6 Events...339
- The Seabiscuit Move...341
- Guarding Against Seabiscuit...346
- Short-Handed Play...348
- Short-Handed Strategy Considerations Based On The Math...350
- 14. PHASE FIVE: THE FINAL TABLE—LAST CHANCE TO SCREW UP...355
- Power Plays and Trappers...355
- Short-Handed Play with Fewer Than Five Players...356
- My Own Final Tables Experiences...357
- My Tournament Record...359
- How Not To Play A Final Table...360
- Mistake #1: Giving "Free Cards" By Pushing All-In...360
- Key Utility Decision...364
- $5,000 Circuit Event Hand...365
- Mistake #2: Utility Blindness...367
- 15. CASHING OUT...371
PART IV: FOR HARD CORE PLAYERS ONLY...373
- Appendix A: Bankrolling Your Play...375
- Introduction...375
- Quick, Easy Guide to Standard Deviation...376
- How Much Bankroll Is Needed?...379
- How Much Of An Advantage Does A Top Tournament Pro Have?...384
- Analyzing Player Of The Year Results...385
- The "Weak Field" Effect...390
- Snyder's Bankroll Fudge Formula...392
- Skill Level Adjustments...393
- Appendix B: Satellites—Are They Worth It?...399
- Satellites and Risk of Ruin...399
- The "House Edge" On Poker Tournament Satellites...400
- Satellite Value for the Average Player...402
- Satellite Value for the Better-Than-Average Player...403
- The Satellite Professionals...405
- The Top-Of-The-Line Satellite Pros...406
- Other Satellite Formats...407
- Using Satellites to Lower the Buy-In Costs of Major Tournaments...409
- Different Levels of Aggression...415
- The More Aggressive Hypothetical Tournament Player...415
- The More Conservative Hypothetical Tournament Player...416
- Lower Buy-In Costs Mean Lower Bankroll Requirements...420
- What Risk of Ruin Should a Player Consider Safe?...423
- Frequently Asked Questions...424
- Conclusion...426
- Notes and Acknowledgements...426
- Appendix C: "True M" vs. Harrington's M...429
- The Basics of Harrington's M Strategy...430
- What is "M"?...431
- Why Tournament Structure Matters in Devising Optimal Strategy...433
- True M in Fast Poker Tournaments...435
- True M in Slow-Structured Poker Tournaments...436
- True M Adjusts for Tournament Structure...436
- A Blackjack Analogy...437
- When Harrington's Running M Is Occasionally Correct...438
- Why Harrington's Strategies Can't Be Said To Adjust Automatically for True M...439
- Simplifying True M for Real-Life Tournament Strategy...441
- But Do Tournament Players Need to Know Their "True M"?...442
- HOH II vs. PTF 1: A Sample Situation...444
- The Good News for Poker Tournament Players...446
- Glossary...449
- Index...481 ♠
There are few books that substantially increase a player's chances of winning tournaments. This powerful work is one of them.
—Doyle Brunson
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