My name is gripsed.com and I recently had the opportunity to play in Tower's biggest tournament, The Grand Tournament. I was fortunate enough to reach the final table for a very nice payday. I would like to take some time to share the experience with you and offer some tips so hopefully you can enjoy a similar experience.

 

Before I get into the actual tournament, I will describe some major traits it takes to be a winning poker player. In a saying that is as old as time itself and often falls upon deaf ears, to be successful at anything in life you must "leave emotion at the door". In poker this saying is truer than in many walks of life. To be a successful player you must realize that poker is just a game and to be successful, the best thing you can do is make as many correct decisions and let the cards do their part. While there is money involved (sometimes even life changing money), you can't let this affect how you play, always keep your mind on the ultimate goal of making the best decisions, and in tournaments, going for that number one spot. You must be aware that sometimes doing the right thing isn't enough and that bad beats are inevitable.

 

For example:

Long before the bubble in the first level of day 2 I had the following hand

Seat 3:  ($78,821 in chips)   Seat 4: brendo_8 ($104,194 in chips)   Seat 5: gripsed.com ($32,371 in chips)   Seat 6:  ($32,421 in chips)   Seat 7:  ($32,985 in chips)   Seat 10:  ($69,727 in chips)  

Seat #6 posts blind ($400), Seat #7 posts blind ($800).

Seat 10 folds, Seat #3 bets $2,000, Seat 4 bets $5,994, gripsed.com bets $14,999, Seat 6 folds, Seat 7 folds, Seat 3 folds, Seat 4 bets $40,000, gripsed.com calls $17,372 and is all-in.

FLOP [board cards: 7C,QD,6H ]

TURN [board cards: 7C,QD,6H,AH ]

RIVER [board cards: 7C,QD,6H,AH,KS ]

 

SHOWDOWN

Seat 4 shows [ AC,KH ]
gripsed.com shows [ KD,KC ]
Seat 4 wins $13,623, gripsed.com wins $67,942

 

Needless to say, I got very lucky to hit my 1 outer on the river. But, had I not hit the case king and I wasn't going to allow this to get me down or negatively affect my play. Once you get your money in good, if that extremely unlikely card hits and you brick out to lose the tournament you just need to tell yourself 'I did the best I could, I got my money in ahead, unfortunately things didn't work out, but there's always another hand'.

 

The best way to get your game to a level where you're comfortable taking chances and knowing when to make plays comes from four things:

1) Bankroll management

2) Making the most of your resources

3) Practice

4) Tower Gaming

 

For bankroll management this just means to never play over your head, don't go sit in a game above your limit because you took a bad beat and need to recoup losses. If you play over your head, you'll most likely be scared money and you won't allow yourself to make proper decisions. My advice for players unfamiliar with bankroll management is to keep at least 20 buyins for the game you're playing (for 100NL this means 2k minimum) and the same for tournaments; 20 buyins for whatever stake you're playing. Personally I like to keep 50-100 buyins so that the relative amount of money I have in play is very minor and if I go on a bad run, I’m not going to lose my entire bankroll.

 

To make the most of your environment I suggest talking to friends about poker, or even talking to players in the Tower Gaming community to get outside perspective on your game. It’s much easier for someone else to see any flaws because, we as humans, have pride as an issue. Take criticism constructively, it will only help your win rate in the long run. Also try helping other players with their game, not only is there a great feeling you get from helping others, it will also reinforce concepts in your game that you might have been overlooking.

 

Finally you must practice. I know it’s said over and over, but it's the truth. Once you know what moves are available you must practice until you find out which moves work best in which situations. Playing tens of thousands of hands has helped me make the most borderline decisions correctly and there's no better way to learn than to play.

 

You're already one step ahead of the game if you're reading this article, because that means you're playing at Tower Gaming. Tower Gaming has by far the best point store and bonus offers available on the network and I encourage all serious players to take advantage of their bonus system.

 

If you take the above advice to heart it will already put you ahead of half the players you're going to see in your experiences at the poker table. With the knowledge that anyone can be a champion it should be clear why these tips are so important to successful play. Along with this information there is one last tip I will offer that has helped me get comfortable playing big buyin events. Get into a routine when you play poker and play in a comfortable environment. This has a small psychological impact on your game; however, every little % in edge will drastically affect your results in the long run. For example I always make sure I shower and eat before I sit down at the tables to get my head clear and ready for the game. I have a music station that I always put on when I play because it 'puts me in the zone'. When you're at your most comfortable and your head is clear you will be making your best decisions, and this is what ultimately will lead to great results. Confidence is paramount in playing these big buyin events, and if you feel like you're at the top of your game, your play will reflect that.

 

As for the tournament, I would like to thank Tower Gaming with giving me such a great opportunity to play in this event. The Grand Tournament has by far the best structure I’ve seen for any online tournament and I encourage everyone to take a shot at it. It allowed me to really play poker as opposed to a lot of other tournaments where it's pretty much all-in or nothing. This tournament structure allows the skill to play a greater role than luck and that's why I encourage everyone to work hard to improve. I'm always looking for ways to improve my game and there's no end to the amount of poker related information available.

 

Going into the tournament I felt on top of my game. I'd been putting in 2-4 hours a day for a couple weeks leading up to it and felt I had a very good chance to win if the poker gods were nice to me. During the tournament I just did my best to keep my emotions balanced and level, whether I had it in with a lock hand or down to a 2% dog. The key for me was to simply play my A game no matter what got thrown my way. Fortunately for me I never put my full stack in as less than a 70% favorite, and a coin flip if it was for half my stack. The ability to put myself in these spots is from all of the advice given above, and I honestly think that given the motivation and determination anyone can learn to be a solid poker player. So I guess you're wondering if I’ve got all these great tips, why didn't I take down the 160k first prize? Well, as I said earlier sometimes making the right move isn't enough:

 

Seat 1: ($699,708 in chips)   Seat 5:  ($1,008,412 in chips)   Seat 6: gripsed.com ($382,576 in chips)   Seat 7:  ($2,056,621 in chips)   Seat 8: ($1,594,702 in chips)   Seat 9: ($727,981 in chips)  

Seat 9 posts blind ($15,000), Seat 1 posts blind ($30,000).

Seat 5 folds, gripsed.com bets $99,999, Seat 7 bets $169,998, Seat 8 folds, Seat 9 folds, Seat 1 folds, gripsed.com bets $282,577 and is all-in, Seat 7 calls $212,578

FLOP [board cards: TC,5D,6C ]

TURN [board cards: TC,5D,6C,9C ]

RIVER [board cards: TC,5D,6C,9C,8C ]


SHOWDOWN
gripsed.com shows [ AD,KH ]
Seat 7 shows [ AH,TS ]
Seat 7 wins $810,152. _   BAD BEAT!!! (Is what the old me would've said)

 

After this hand I’ll admit I felt a tad bit unsatisfied, a little empty. It's tough to put in 12 hours of poker only to lose to a 3 outer but, that's just the breaks of the game. It took a few hours to sink in but once I realized I’d just received $20,000 simply for playing a game I love to play, I was ecstatic. I would really like to thank Tower Gaming for providing me with the opportunity to play this event. Thanks to their great qualifiers (I myself qualified off a $5 rebuy). I am also very thankful that I was about to win my flips and my dominating spots when the money went in. That's why I encourage everyone to take a shot, if your stars are aligned and you play well, you could be the next Grand Champion.

 

Just remember, when the beats come, don't let them get you down, poker's a game and it's supposed to be fun!

 

Hope my thoughts have been helpful.

See You at The Top

-gripsed.com