I received this question from a reader named Jim:

I have been playing poker for over a year now, and I have had a problem with my tournament play. I play lower buy in events ($1 to $10) and conventional poker just doesn't seem to work for me. You have maniacs in the beginning of these tourneys pushing Ace rag or worse trying to chip up, and by the first break if run into a cold deck (which I have been recently) you are one of the shorter stacks and are relegated to coin flip situations anyway. How do you adjust your game to this? Or should I just save up until I can deposit a bankroll that will get me into the higher buy in events, where the play is a little more conventional. Any advice you have would be appreciated.

I’m going to answer the second part of that, first. Unfortunately, no matter what levels you play, you are going to find these maniacs. They are at the $100-$500 events almost as often as they are at the $1-$10 events, so saving up to deposit more of a bankroll is not going to help this particular problem. Many people have a misconception that the higher the level, the better the players are – it usually isn’t true. The ironic thing is, no matter how frustrating they may be, these are the types of players you actually do want sitting across the felt from you. 

Rather than trying to avoid them, which isn’t possible, you basically have two options. 

The first is to tighten up your game even more and only play prime hands or positional opportunities against them. When you are in a hand and have the best of it, you are going to get paid off in a big way since they can’t seem to keep their chips out of most pots. Most of the time, these maniacs just end up knocking each other out in the first hour of a tournament, so by playing tight and smart, you will outlast them anyways. Even if you are a bit short-stacked, you are better off continuing to play tight rather than allowing yourself to land in coin flip situations. Protect your chips (no matter how few) until you know that you are making a smart play. 

Second, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em

Now I am not saying you should become a maniac yourself, but knowing when to switch gears and become aggressive is important in poker. One of the best books I have read about this subject is Killer Poker Online, by John Vorhaus. He fully details how to play strong, smart, aggressive poker, and may be able to help you recognize some of these opportunities. 

Remember that cold decks happen in poker, but eventually the cards will turn in your favor. Many players make the mistake of trying to jump levels/entries to combat their losses, but in the long run they just end up losing more. Stick to the levels you are currently comfortable with, and wait out the losing streak.

(Thanks, Jim)