What Are Turbo Games In Poker And How To Play Them
You may have come across turbo games on offer whilst you are browsing in your online poker client. In case you weren’t aware, turbo games in poker are not the same as regular tournaments. Turbo is basically a type of tournament structure in which blind levels go up much faster than normal. These games are commonly found in online poker rooms.
For example, let’s say that most live poker tournaments will have blind levels that last for around three quarters of an hour up to an hour. In a game of turbo poker, these same blind levels are reduced to around 15-30 minutes.
Naturally, this makes the game and the action much quicker hence the name turbo. Of course, whether you are looking at the strategy for the start of an event or as a whole, changes are going to be made so your decision making is also going to be directly affected.
The main draw for these turbo tourneys is that they do not take a very long time to play. However, the trade off is that there are less opportunities to play and a heavier emphasis on luck. The types of players that you are going to be playing against will likely be different as well and it could very well be that you are not cut out to play in turbo tournaments at all.
There will also be much higher levels of aggression in a turbo tournament than you might find when playing in regular events. As ever in poker, there are a lot of variables that you will need to take into account when you make the switch from one type of tournament to the next.
Player Types In Turbo Poker
In general, the types of players that you will come across in turbo poker events will be quite different from those you have faced in a normal poker tournament. In the latter case you will find more passive players and grinders playing at amateur levels.
This is because, not having any interest in being competitive and failing to have fun with the game, many poker players are only here for the game’s recreational value. This is the main reason why normal tournament poker can prove to be so profitable for so many.
However, when you make the switch into the turbo tournaments you will still be coming up against many weak players, but the difference is that these players usually tend to be better adjusted to their own type of game and are likely to have a more diverse skill set. Just like in any variation of any game, turbo poker’s uniqueness creates more specialised players in its tournaments.
Approach To Play
Interestingly, your typical approach to strategy for a turbo event does not need to be overly different than what you might want it to be in any other event, the main and most obvious difference being the pace of the action. There will not be as many players at the table sitting around waiting for hands as the structure doesn’t allow for this to work.
You will require wider hand ranges right from the start in order to give yourself the opportunity to get involved before the rising blinds get you. In turbo tournaments, aggression is going to be met with more opposition than in regular tournaments. In a regular game, there are likely to be more players who will drop out and give way to the pressure so that they can make the next hand and pick another spot.
However, because the odds of survival are greatly decreased due to the speed of the blinds, turbo event players are far more inclined to fight back. This does not mean that you should be decreasing your own levels of aggression though, not by a long shot. Instead, all that this really means is that you will need to be ever more willing to stick in with raised and re-raised pots.
In turbo tournaments the play is always going to be much more aggressive as a whole from beginning to end meaning that you will need to adjust your play accordingly.
Much Needed Luck
You cannot overestimate the role that luck can play in a poker tourney. When you play in turbo events, you will be exposing yourself to even more volatility than usual. The fast paced nature of the game means that there is much less opportunity for players to really play a ton of hands over a longer period of time. Instead, you will be playing in less pots, but for a greater amounts of chips.
While there isn’t really anything we can do to alter this dynamic of the game, there are steps that we can take to reduce the extent to which luck personally affects us. One of the best ways to minimise the role of luck in a turbo poker tournament is to be the aggressor whenever you can. Generally speaking, the player leading the betting is far more likely to win a hand than their opponent calling down the bets.
To that end, you should be attempting to take down as many of the uncontested and unraised pots that you possibly can. Just because people are going to be more active in a turbo tournament, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t going to quite a bit of dead money on offer.
You should make open raises, bet the flops and utilise your aggression in order to squeeze your opponents into a corner. There is no better environment than a turbo tournament in which you can use your aggression to your advantage.
Going On A Deep Run
A deep run in a turbo tourney is going to mean two very different things. Luck wise, you are going to need things to go your way in a turbo. Of course, this is completely true in any form of poker tournament, but the lack of actual play creates an even greater requirement for bigger hands that can win on their own.
Most of the time in regular poker tournaments even players at the final table will have at least 50 big blinds to work with whereas in a game of turbo, the amount of big blinds could easily be more like 5-20 big blinds in a range. This inevitably handcuffs players and results in a wave of all-ins. As mentioned previously, in a turbo tournament you can’t simply just fold and wait for hands. You will need to have the determination and the will power to take down pots and make plays even when you are running low.
Accepting that this is a risky play and that you will be putting your life on the line time and time again, this is the only way that you can realistically expect to win. Learn how to play your opponents as much as you possibly can because your cards can only help you so much. Turbo tournament poker is far more reliant on picking the right spots than it is about having a good hand. So long as you can learn to successfully manipulate and control your opponents it should not always matter whether or not you are being dealt the best of hands.