Most poker books are very similar. Its had to find a book that suggests a different method. Each book I read may suggest slightly enhanced strategies but very few are as bold as the new book I am reading by Arnold Snyder. The book is called the Poker Tournament Formula 2. This book basically refers to other books like Harrington, Sklansky and the like and literally says they are wrong.
How can that be. Harrington is a bible for a lot of tournament poker players. Snyder refers to them as 'Harringbots' - players who blindly follow the Harrington methods and are easy pickings in tournaments. How credible can this guy be? Maybe Snyder is wrong!
I googled Snyder and found an interesting thread in 2+2 poker forums where Mason Malmuth and David Sklansky take great offence at Snyder and call him out as an idiot. But there are other posters who are far more positive and say his original Poker Tournament Formula book changed their game and helped them immediately become more successful at winning tournaments.
So what is the big revelation in the book and did it help me. The answer first - yes it helped me right away. I started enjoying poker more and came 2nd in a Pokerstars tournament. The revelation is something we all know but do not practice.
Play your opponent
Build a stack, then use this stack to dominate
I saw this in Vegas. While I was doubling up through small pairs that made a set, and occasional showdowns with AK or AQ and creeping towards the final tables, some guys were building monster stacks. When they eventually came on my table they piled on the pressure. If I called a preflop raise my post flop decision was ALWAYS for all my chips against these guys. If I tried to check to see a flop they always put in a huge 5 or 6x raise. Basically everyone else at the table had to shut up shop and wait for hands while the big stacks stole blinds and antes again and again and got bigger and bigger.
This is exactly the point Snyder makes. He talks about Utility odds and chip utility and other things but ultimately he is saying you must do everything to build a monster stack early in the tournament when everyone is playing tight (the Harrington way). Even if you bust out trying to build the huge stack it is worth the effort to try. When you have this stack you have "full utility" and can basically run the table. Snyder points out several pro players like John Phan play exactly this way - they do anything and everything to get a big stack and then use it to steam roller the other players.
So how to build a monster stack. Some people on 2+2 say Snyder does not explain exactly how to do this but I think he does. He says to pretty much ignore your cards. Play position and other players regardless of your cards. To me this means you will be betting preflop, postflop, after the turn and on the river sometimes with complete air. You must spend some time scoping out the players at the table first to see who seems to fold to pressure. Then you will be the guy applying that pressure against those players regardless of your cards. Another important point - Snyder suggests we forget the GAP concept and be more than willing to call preflop bets made by weak players. Especially loose or aggressive players. They will be more prone to fold to post flop pressure. Snyder emphasizes you must be willing to gamble early on to double up your stack. For example J-10s v an all-in raise may be a callable hand, because if you double up your chip utility will be massively enhanced. And if you bust out - just play another tournament another day and do not worry about it.
Its certainly an interesting book. In the next post I will explain how I put his ideas into action and how they worked for me.
