Tournaments Are Good = Tommy Likey!

[Part 1 of 2]

When I started playing online poker some 5+ years ago, tournaments were it. No cash games. I usually played small events, 50-100 players, NLHE. And I started off well, winning my share of events and cashing a bunch.

While there was the "new car smell" to the whole online scene, there was much to learn about it all. Rakeback and bonuses. Collusion and soft play. Disconnect abuse. Data mining. Multi-accounting and ghosting.

And eventually, poker site misconduct.

So I'm dedicating this post to why I think tournaments are worth playing. I have not been a fan lately, but there are good reasons to play:

-Tourneys are the quickest way to run up a big bankroll. Everybody dreams of pulling a Moneymaker, playing a $40 satellite all the way to a WSOP title. All that you need to play tournament poker is your entry fee and time. Unlikely as it may be, you could enter your very first tournament and have the cards fall your way, resulting in a big score.

Almost every pro on the tournament circuit got there by winning a large sum in a tournament (live or online).

-Tourneys are the best value for your poker dollar. Once you pay your entry fee, that's all you can lose in that event. (Let's save rebuys for another day.) If you are learning the game, there is no better value than playing tournaments. You can literally play (competitively) for hours for just a buck or two.

The largest field I ever vanquished was a $500 added freeroll on UB back in 2003. It took over five hours to take home first place for $125. While the prize is quite small by today's standards, I'm proudest of the fact I beat 2499 opponents.

-Tourneys best protect the weakest players. In a cash game, there are always sharks waiting. Heck, you might already be a cash game shark. But at one point, you were the fish. You learned to become a shark by playing better players.

Not only does a tournament help protect our bankroll, but it allows us to play a wide variety of opponents. While watching good players is a teaching tool, there is no substitute for experience.

Weak players can win in the short term scenario against better opponents. Win a couple of races and you're in the money.

-Tourneys are the way to rub elbows with the poker gods. Poker is one the FEW fields of competition where you can play the very best in the world if you have the money (to enter). Satellite your way into the WSOP and you might sit next to Doyle or Jesus.

You can't just buy a ticket to a Yankee game and take BP with Jeter. Or shoot layups with 'Melo in Denver. But poker is different. High and low society meet quite often. Jerry Buss could well be sitting next to someone who just peed his pants.

In poker, it's more about the fame than the money for many folks. And that's why they play tourneys.

-With tourneys, there's always tomorrow. While this is an optimist viewpoint, it's necessary to maintain the right frame of mind. There is a tournament starting EVERY SECOND online. Wherever you play, there will always be a game coming up soon.

No matter how bad the beat, or how horrible you played, or how bad the tilt set in, your next tourney welcomes you back on equal footing with all other players. You all start with equal chips and the same rules. So have fun and try again.

Good reasoning, methinks. Did I miss anything?

There also reasons NOT to play, which will be covered next time.