Lex Not Live: Tips for playing your first High Roller
Thereâs only one thing more exciting than tuning in to watch your favourite poker streamer battle in a big high roller tournament live on Twitch, and thatâs playing in a high roller yourself.
For most of us, however, $530 to $10,000 buy-in high roller tournaments are a pure spectacle. It can take years of hard work to build a bankroll large enough to withstand such buy-ins regularly, so many poker players grinding the low to mid-stakes prefer to live vicariously through the likes of Lex Veldhuis, Parker âtonkaaaaâ Talbot, Fintan âeasywithacesâ Hand, and Ben âSpraggyâ Spragg.
Of course, there are other ways you can play in a big event without buying straight in. PokerStars runs satellites to just about every high roller tournament, meaning players can win their way in for just a small fraction of the actual buy-in and then have a shot at binking a score far bigger than theyâre used to. Tickets for such events can often be won in Spin & Gos and other promotions, too.
Whichever way you find yourself playing a high roller, youâre bound to have some butterflies in your stomach. Here are a few tips to remember when youâre playing your first high roller.
Remember: itâs all relative
Itâs hard to imagine, but even high roller crushers such as Niklas âLena900â Astedt and Conor â1_conor_b_1â Beresford once considered the Big $11 to be the âhigh rollerâ of their sessions when they were first coming up in poker.
The truth is a high roller tournament is entirely relative to your bankroll. To a player with an average buy-in of $1.10, an $11 tournament is a special thing. They have the chance to play for a massive bankroll-boosting prize which could change their poker future. On the flip side, to a successful business owner or hedge fund manager, playing a $10,000 high roller event might not feel high to them at all.
Thatâs why events like Lex Not Live–which kicks off today and runs from May 18-23–and series like MicroMillions are so important for poker. They present micro and low-stakes players with far bigger guarantees than theyâre used to, the opportunity to play against tougher competition, and the perfect time to take a shot in some bigger buy-in tournaments.
Lex Not Live Event #5 (May 19) is a $55 High Roller with $40,000 in the prize pool. During a series like the recent Spring Championship of Online Poker, $55 is often the medium level buy-in. But for the vast majority of Lex Veldhuisâ Twitch community, itâs going to be at the very top of their buy-in range, if not far exceeding it.
And thatâs what makes it a high roller. Itâs all relative. So get excited!
Donât get pushed around
When youâre playing in the biggest buy-in tournament of your poker journey so far, itâs common to seek advice on how you should approach it. Lex Veldhuis has been asked for advice by his Twitch community more times than weâve had hot dinners, and his answer is always along the lines of:
âDonât be intimidated. Donât let them push you around.â
If youâre playing in a tournament you normally wouldnât due to bankroll restrictions, chances are youâre going to find yourself up against some tough competition from regulars used to such stakes. Itâs never fun to find yourself sitting on the same table as a screen name you recognise as a great player, but you know what? It can be quite exciting, too.
Whether you feel outmatched or not, donât let yourself be intimidated. Try not to drastically change the way you play. Your opponents get two cards just like you do, so all you can do is try to play those two cards the very best you can. Donât start over-folding or over-bluffing–that just means theyâve got into your head.
A lot of us have a fear of elimination when playing a big event. We have an attachment to the buy-in and the fear of losing it prevents us from playing our best.
Just play your game. Whatever you did to get yourself in a position to play the tournament, keep doing that!
Believe you can win
The best poker players have something in common: a belief in themselves.
When Fedor âCrownUpGuyâ Holz was a young whippersnapper in poker, he didnât have the success and admiration that he enjoys today. But one thing he certainly had was self-belief.
âI believed [I could win] from the beginning,â Holz says. âI think a big part of success is having the right mindset. When I struggled I motivated myself by watching motivational videos and I got right back into it. Believing in yourself and making the right decisions is the key to winning, in my opinion.â
Even if you feel like an underdog, that doesnât mean you donât stand a chance. You could win this thing. Remember that.
You can find more High Roller tips at PokerStars School.
Enjoy it!
Tournament poker can be frustrating, challenging, even downright bizarre (it shouldnât be legal for quads to get beaten by a royal flush, but every now and then it happens). But above all else, it can be–and should be–fun.
Youâre playing your biggest buy-in yet! Enjoy every second of the experience rather than getting bogged down and beating yourself up when you think youâve done something wrong. Relish every bluff you get through, every two-outer you hit on the river, and every pot thatâs pushed your way.
If you have fun while youâre playing then youâll have succeeded, regardless of the outcome.
LEX NOT LIVE RUNS ON POKERSTARS MAY 18-23. FIND ALL THE DETAILS HERE.
