Playing at the Final Table 2

This is all theoretical, but you will notice it to be true the more you play. Once the action gets down to 4 people, there is usually less than one good hand, so if you do get a good hand, you have to feel you are in the lead.

In the 4-person game at the Final Table, there are 2 players that do not have to put money in each hand. If you are in the blinds, you most likely have a bad hand. You did not want to bet the hand you have, but the order of the game forces you to. So, when someone who is not in the blinds bets, don’t you have to assume he has a better hand than your terrible 82os?

He volunteered to play this hand. You were forced into it. This is the thinking in the end game. Pay the blinds, steal the blinds back, get ahead.

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When you are out of the blinds, and have a decent hand, raise at least twice the blind. If you aren’t so sure about your decent hand, then raise 3 or 4 times the blind. At 100, if you only raise to 200, more often than not, the BB will call.

You don't want that at the Final Table!

You want them to fold, collect your 150 chips and move on. You are most likely playing, say, K7 os. This is not a good hand. Granted, the BB may have 83os still, but the 100-chip raise is affordable to see the flop, and make you question the weakness of his hand. Maybe he did catch something.

If you are UTG, and raise, more often than not, the guy on the button will fold.Why would he want to get into a match with you, unless he has something decent, when it’s a free hand for him and you’ve already raised?

By raising, you are in essence saying, “I have something decent, and it’s going to cost you twice the blind to find out if you can beat it.” So the button folds. Also, the SB folds, as he’s on the button next hand, and he actually has to spend 3x the amount to see the flop as he’s currently invested. So, more often than not, barring someone actually having a good hand, it will be you against the BB.

DEFENSE at the Final Table:

The correct defense for this action is not just calling. If you are in the big blind, and someone is starting to raise over you, as I’ve described, if you have a “decent” hand, go all-in. Prepare for a call, just in case the raiser finally has something good.

I play this way all the time, and I just hate running into the all-in guy. You have to look at your K 3 os and say, “Do I really want this to be my last hand?” More often than not, I fold it down.

If you run into an all-in guy, you have to be worry from now on. You don’t know if he’s one of those guys until the second time he does it. The first time, maybe he actually had something. The second time, you know it’s some sort of bluff, and you can expect it to continue.

If he gives you the all-in every time you try to raise over the top, pre-flop, you can just start calling to the big blind with a decent hand. The next time you get a good hand, you raise over the top. Say, AA, KK, QQ, or AK. You know the good hands.