I now have my $22 TCOOP ticket ready to use and was considering which of the 7 possible tournaments this might be best spent on. While some of this decision will be out of my hands due to social commitments, I thought it would be useful to go through the list and discuss the pros and cons of the available events from a purely value perspective.

If you have not yet got your free ticket,  then you can find instructions in a new tab in this blogpost from earlier in the week – this covers both existing and new Pokerstars players.

Pokerstars $22 TCOOP Token, Best Value Tournaments – Full list

Here are the tournaments you get to choose from with your free ticket:
- Jan 19th, 12:00 ET, 6-max NL Holdem with $200k Guaranteed
- Jan 20th, 08:00 ET, Pot-Limit Draw with $50k Guaranteed
- Jan 20th, 12:00 ET, NL Holdem (Rebuys) with $400k Guaranteed
- Jan 22nd, 15:30 ET, Pot Limit Omaha (2x Turbo) with $150k Guaranteed
- Jan 24th, 16:00 ET, Stud with $25k Guaranteed
- Jan 24th, 18:00 ET, NL Holdem (2x Turbo) with $300k Guaranteed
- Jan 25th, 14:00 ET, Stud Hi-Lo with $25k Guaranteed

Using Your TCOOP Token – Maximizing ‘EV’ or Getting A Return?

Everyone who has the token will have a slightly different idea of its best use. Some might like to take a ‘gamblers’ shot in the rebuys or 2x, hoping for a quick double (or treble!).

I’m going to be a little more ‘sensible’ (yeah, I know, I know) here and rule out the 2x turbos right away – you will need deep pockets to compete in these games and this article is more about taking a decent shot with your initial free ticket. My angle here is how to maximize your chances of a reasonable cash, while still having a shot at a final table.

The first tournament, the 6-max NL Holdem, will be a lot of player’s easy 1st choice. This is the most familiar game and right at the start of the event, when hype is at it’s height!

This will be a huge event, 5k+ entrants is probably a conservative estimate. With many bad players it should be +ev for anyone experienced – however the mid-game push fest in this environment means you are going to have to get through a minefield to reach the money. A good choice… whether it is the best choice is really the question which triggered this post.

PL 5-Draw: There are more specialists in this game than you might expect (hat tip to a big group in Kiev in particular). If this were limit I might suggest that staying solid might be a decent ‘in the money’ strategy… with Pot-Limit betting there is a whole new dimension to an unfamiliar game. Going to say no for this one.

NL Holdem (Rebuys): A possibility, you are really just saving a buy-in here – since entering a rebuy with just one shot is never going to make itself pay. If you have the bankroll to take the initial rebuy and the add-on and are prepared to get your chips active early then the risk could be worth the rewards… staying tight in these games lets the big stacks get so far ahead that they will dominate you later. Skip this one with your free token is you play with even the slightest touch of fear!

PLO 2x Turbo: No, you need money to play these games!

7 Stud: Here is one I like from the perspective of making your token pay. The hands are familiar, the betting in limit format and the extra betting round will often see people who try to get to showdown with their weak hands punished. I think this could be a good bet for cashing with a nice run, remember 3rd and 5th street are the places to fold and that you need to be careful the pot does not get so big early in a hand so as to price you in with vulnerable holdings!

NL Holdem 2x Turbo: No no no… unless you can afford that rebuy when blinds are already the size of half of your stack!

7-Stud Hi-Lo: Again, some value, the split pot game is beyond many players mathematically speaking (just watch the cash games and see how many players jam the pot with low only hands against a single high hand (rake) or re-raise to push someone out when they really needed a multi-way pot). You’ll need to be selective with those starting hands… it can be too tempting to play all of the high hands and too many lows too in this game. There should be a lot of dead-money in this game, which is one for the short list.

Which Tournament To Play With Your TCOOP ticket – Conclusion

On balance I feel that the first NL holdem game will just be too big. There are pros and cons for all of the others – however for value purposes I’m going for the Stud High. The game is familiar enough, early mistakes made by your opponents will get punished and the limit betting should give you enough of a chance to tune in if you are not familiar with the game
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Whichever game you choose – GL at the tables,
Mark

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