Card Dead

Quinner

I would love to know what the pro's do when they can't seem to catch a card to save their life. Do they get more aggressive with worse hands in position? And especially if the tourney has a bad blind structure, almost like a turbo online (4000 starting chips blinds up every 20 minutes blinds start at 25/50). How do you cope when you don't see a facecard for 20 hands and then you pick up something like A9o in the SB with a raise and two callers in front of you?

It's situations like these I never know what to do, it seems like I should start playing aggressive to try and win chips, but being aggressive with really bad starting hands....doesn't usually bode well for me.

I've heard of players that have gone through low buy in tourney's (and won) without ever looking at their cards!
Reference: How to win a tournament without looking at your cards … - Poker - ESPN

This article has always amazed me because I can't even fathom how she pulled that off, and yet I want to be able to play that good. Anyway I know there's no "formula" anyone can give me to play amazing poker but I wish I knew how to still win at this game when my cards are no help to me at all!

RAM_Eh

Their was a good article in the Canadian poker mag....playing like a nit..or somthing like that.

Cards are not everything, read the article. I am such a nit sometimes by complaining about the cards.

herschelw

There are lots of spot in a poker tournament where you can accumulate chips wthout having a hand. For example, if someone is opening light often from late position and you're card dead there's no reason you cant 3bet with a hand like j9o from time to time(obv not constantly). Additionally reshoving when you have 12-22BB's with any hand that has decent equity if called is also a spot to pick up chips without cards. Stealing from early position in higher buyins can be effective if spaced out correctly. Basically you should be looking for opponents who are doing things that are repetitive and counter that repition with aggression in spots where it makes sense based on stack sizes.

JimmyHo

play the players, not the cards. learn to recognize which players can be bluffed off a hand, and which can't. Pick your spots. Bluffing works a lot better with fewer players in the hand. If you are card dead in a tournament, you have no choice but to start playing crappy hands.