It seems like we have barely finished the last Full Tilt Online Poker Series event when we find ourselves preparing to play in this gauntlet of poker tournaments again. Of course there is not a Texas Hold’em player out there who doesn’t want to win an event, but FTOPS is providing an incentive for applying the “discretion is the better part of valor” poker strategy. While most people try to create a game plan that has them finishing in the money, there is a pot of gold for those who can get to the end of the rainbow by cashing in 17 out of the 27 events. Those who can do this will get a million dollars for their efforts. This may change some of the overall poker strategy for a lot of the competitors.
As we all know, a lot of poker players take the kamikaze approach to the early goings of a poker tournament. This “double up or die trying” may makes a certain amount of sense, why waste time in a tournament if you are just treading water? Those who want the million dollar bonus though, can only swing and miss ten times before they are disqualified from the chase.
Restraint doesn’t often come into the equation with most online poker players, and they are going to have to temper their instincts if they wish to try for the extra million. Adding the carrot of a million dollars may cause many players to hold off on using the stick of the all in bet during the early rounds of the event. It may result in a more measured form of Texas Hold’em being played in FTOPS XV. We look very forward to seeing how it all pans out.
