Playing Mixed Tournaments

By Crystal Osgood

I have been thinking a lot about this subject for quite sometime.  Up until this year I had been playing mostly cash games and mixed tournaments.  In 2006 I began to find consistent reward in playing Ladies Only Tournaments.  My first ever ladies tournament was in 2004 at the Bike.  I remember not being able to put anyone on a hand.  I was very confused by plays and betting.  I sat quiet during the event, reflecting on how many women wanted to chat it up with me.  I was confused and skeptical, thinking that every casual attempt at conversation was merely an act just to get information.  After a few more Ladies Only tournaments I could see how women used the event to socialize and play straightforward poker.  While I realized the actions of most women were benign rather than calculated, the one thing that became clear to me was that Ladies-Only tournaments are often very different than playing with the boys.

When boys are playing -- aggression rules.  Nearly every movement or conversation is taken in and used against you.  It is a battlefield.  No distractions or chitchat will help you.  One false move, free card, or missed bet, and you are devoured.  But, being able to play in both fields, I believe has given me an overall advantage in my game, especially my cash game.

When playing in mixed events I prepare.  I bring a hat, glasses, ipod (whether on or off), a thick coat (amour), and stay very still.  I never chat - EVER.  I give one-word answers and offer a kind smile.  I mean I’m soooo nice, but reserved!

One of the big differences between Ladies Only and mixed events are more players in every pot.  You must pick your spots, even with a good hand.  Women play less hands, usually high cards and pairs.  Very seldom do you see a women come in with 5-3 os to make a planned play again a weak player.  For most women it seems aggression is not a comfortable action, so they look extremely uncomfortable executing a bluff.  But when they have the goods they are proud.

Where women excel is with their reading ability.  Many seem to “know” what everyone has, I hear the comment “good call” a lot when I play a Ladies Event.

With men however it is a different story.  They seem to delight in being able to use aggression to win a hand.  The most noticeable characteristic in their play is they love to play back at you.  If you raise you have about a twenty percent chance of getting re-raised.  And here is the news, they usually have nothing.  What it comes down to is when you are playing with the boys, there seems to be more variables in the game, more information, and much more play.  I have to be more observant in every situation to know where I am in the hand,

Men also have a weakness that women seem to shrug off.  Men seem to go on tilt much easier than a women, especially the young hotshots.  I can take a man out of his game by just bluffing and showing my bluff to him.  Tilt is an understatement most of the time.   In turn a women’s weakness seems to be her ability to be bluffed out of a pot.  In mixed events I can take small pots easily by just betting first small amounts at big pots.  But, if I make a big bet at a pot I have more of a chance to get called.  In turn, if I bet small in a Ladies Only event I will get called more often and if I bet big they seem to come off even a marginal hand.

Women tend to believe what they see.  Setting them up in the course of play is important. They remember and think they “know” how you play because they have seen a couple of your hands.  Men on the other hand expect you to mix up your game.  They take more time and are thoughtful of several plays you could be running on them.  Partly, most of the men you play against will have more experience than the Ladies.  But if you encounter a women playing in a mixed event, beware!  She is likely a very good and very experienced player.

Women are also very patient.  They can sit long hours waiting for that perfect hand.  Men on the other hand seem to need the adrenaline rush of playing marginal hands aggressively, not taking position or their opponents into consideration.  If they are young and seem to have cut their teeth on the Internet or TV they will put pressure on you every chance they get, regardless of their hand if they think you are weak.  And to most of them woman means weak!

My advice to all women out there is to pay more attention in a mixed event -- observe, observe, observe…. Observe chip stacks, weakness, position.  Do they play back?  Do they re-raise?  Pick your opponents and go for the juggler.  To quote a fellow woman player, if you decide to play a hand, defend it like it was your child.