Card Rooms

NLHE Small Buy-In Tournament Strategy Making Moves

What makes a successful move in a small-stakes tournament? The most common you see are the slow-play and the check-raise. By varying up your game, you keep your opponents on their toes, and force them to make a decision. Usually, you need to have these factors working in your favor:

States with a long history of gaming, such as North Dakota, once had poker rooms in the late '80s and early '90s. This was before slot machines and video poker had really taken hold; people went to casinos to play card games, for the most part. These poker rooms flourished in those days. When electronic gambling arrived, these poker rooms shrunk or even closed altogether, and it's only now that the tradition is returning. It's almost like they're getting the band back together.

[See Also: The Card Room Directory entry for Sam's Town]

Poker tournaments are like movies. Both offer drama, excitement, exhilaration, shock, sadness, and silliness. There are expensive epics like the WSOP and serials like the World Poker Tour. A people's favorite, the "Fall Pot of Gold Tournament", is currently being played at the RENO HILTON to large crowds.

Near Palm Springs, California, the Agua Caliente Casino and Spa Resort Casino are offering several new promotions in October and November.

I've been a busy guy this past week, and one of the things I did was to take in the new Folies Bergere show at the Tropicana. I can see why this show has been running for an unbelievable 45 years, every one of them at the Trop. The reason is simple. They keep it fresh with new numbers, new themes, great sets and costumes and, of course, the entertainers.

Autumn -- the start of the poker season, when cards hit the air, flops fly and players try to "bundle up". Three big tournament thunderheads cover the Fall calendar.

The next big event is the "Fall Poker Round-up", Nov. 2nd -12th, at the WILDHORSE Resort & Casino, in Pendleton OR. This is the premier poker rodeo in the Northwest.

As mentioned two weeks ago, the histories of Indiana and Illinois gambling are intertwined. Many riverboat casinos along Lake Michigan are considered to be Chicago-area tourist attractions, but several reside across the state line, in Indiana. It gets even more confusing when you consider that East Chicago is an Indiana city.

Not as bad as having two Kansas Cities across the state line from each other, but it's getting there. Gambling in Indiana had an auspicious beginning.

Las Vegas Hilton (directory entry)
3000 Paradise Rd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
1-888-732-7117
www.lvhilton.com

Editor's Note: This feature is an adaptation of material that is part of Ms. Eolis' book in progress, Power Poker Dame.

When Matt Savage, premiere tournament director and current co-star in the highly anticipated Lucky You movie, calls, poker players listen! Matt has more connections than the ubiquitous poker gods when it comes to putting players center stage on television.