It's Turbo Time! TCOOP 2012

As I'm sure you are all aware by now, the first annual TCOOP is now underway on PokerStars and offers a great opportunity for players that enjoy fast-paced tournaments to hit a big score. I've personally set aside around $1,000 worth of buy-ins to play with and enjoy turbo tournaments a lot. I've taken a look at the schedule and have circled all of the events that I'd like to play in (almost all NLHE $30-$215) but don't have any kind of schedule set in stone. As of now, I've played about half of the tournaments that I plan on playing and have airballed them all :( I can take some solace in my defeats knowing that most of my losses have come from bad beats so hopefully I can continue playing alright and pick up a few late cashes.


Turbo tournaments are a lot of fun because they're largely action packed. With the blinds increasing at a quick rate, everyone is forced into playing a short stack where 10 big blinds will often be the norm and a 20 big blind+ stack will be big. Playing a short stack can actually be quite relaxing because there aren't very many decisions that need to be made. In turbo tournaments, everyone's edge is reduced simply because shallow stacks allow for very little post-flop play. As a cash game specialist, I welcome the more levelled out playing field because I know that there are some great tournaments players out there. With that said, there is still a ton of skill needed to win a turbo tournament...you need to be more aware of pre-flop ranges and push/fold strategy rather than post-flop play and sick 4-bet bluffs. It's no secret that you need to be aggressive in turbos to win...especially when your stack starts to shrink in comparison to the blinds and antes and you should be aware that other good players will be adjusting their ranges as well. Keeping that in mind, you also don't need to panic and start going all-in with any 2 cards when you fall to 10 big blinds or less. Remember that there will be so much money in the pot pre-flop from the blinds and antes alone and you will often be getting called so light that a little patience can pay off in a big way if you can find a hand.

If you haven't given turbo tournaments a chance, now would be a great time to start. The field sizes are quite big and soft and there are always a ton of satellites running if some of the buy-ins are out of your bankroll range. Hopefully you all have some fun with the TCOOP! Good luck.