Not sure what you are saying here. Do you think that if you get premium hands at the beginning you will not see them again later? What is to say you w ill not get premium hands throughout the whole trney? I also do not think that getting dealt premium hands insures wins. What if the flops are all low cards?

Can't say that my post here is what you're looking for. But my thoughts on the subject goes like this. I think everyone is going to get good to great starting hands at some point(s) in the tournament, the key is to still be in the tournament when it's your turn to get them. Pretty simple huh, which is what I am, simple. LOL Take care

Well my thoughts are that early in game is good to get the hands build your bank roll up .U know your going to go card dead for while.SO u sit wait for cards to change the longer u play and people get knocked out.cards change. then premium hands will return but all this is just my thinking so u still have wait for good hands just me thinking out loud VILLIANS NINER 187

If you roll a 6-sided die 5x & a 6 does not come up,what are the odds a 6 will come up on the next roll? The same as the first 5; 1in6

Same principle with a deck of 52 cards.The odds stay the same every new hand dealt.
The odds of getting certain combinations of cards remain constant.Running hot or goin card dead are as random as the next hand.
Good Luck eh

I don't think it's getting premium hands early or late that matters. It all really comes down to how you play them. Do you maximize your winnings? Can you get away from them when you have to? Premium hands play differently early than late and also depending on stack sizes.

It's not so much when you get them as how you play them.

If I had a choice I would take premium hands late in game but cant control that so play them when you get them,as Brann6 said above its about mazimizing and or knowing when to fold but i will take premium hands when I can get them.

Getting premium hands at the start of a tournament will in no way minimize your chances of getting premium hands at the end of a tourney. If the cards are truly dealt randomly (and I think they are) what cards you get dealt are in no way related to any hands you've had previously. If you flip a coin and get heads 10 times in a row, your chances of getting a head on the next flip is still 50/50.

I will take the premium hands whenever they occur. Doesn´t matter at what time in the tournament. Main thing is THAT they come up some time.

OK......my $.02 is this......I am a firm believer in.....ANY 2 cards can & will pay, IF you have the BALLS to play em & play em correctly.........& the other thing I want to say or ask is this......NO matter when you may have a 'premium' hand dealt to you, are you playing it/betting it accordingly to GET PAID with it? Or are you over zealous & shoving in, when you could slow play it and possibly dbl/trip what the blinds pay you if being to anxious to soon, or have you limped with it allowing the s.b. to min call & or check the flop with their 2 4 off suit & you watch the flop come A 5 7 & turn or river is generally the card the s.b. needed for the wheel & yet you still bet your 'premium' NO MORE hand & in turn pay the limper 1/2 - 3/4 of your stack.....things that make ya go hmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! Just sayin~~~ I think if you are truly comfortable with your game & abilities you take em when they come and be patient if they dont:) Good Luck & That is why it is called 'Gambling'

ditto ^

Also, it doesn't seem like many players in the micros I've been playing in even pay much attention to how many hands I have been playing in the early going. I actually love it when I get dealt a monster for the 4th or 5th time in first bit because instead of them thinking "Oh wow, she must have a big hand now cuz she's just opened 3 hands in the last orbit & now she's opening again!" THey seem to think "wow, she's full of it! She's a loose cannon & I'm getting tired of this. I think I'll play back at her now!" (meanwhile it's much more likely I have an even stronger hand than before, lol). This has been my experience so far but I'm still only just getting my feet wet in online poker.

Something else popped up in my mind from reading the orig. post. "playin' my game'. I try to alter 'my game' based on how I perceive the other players on the table are playing. Which means I might be playing tight or I might be playing passive & trappy, or loose & aggressive. As they say > 'it depends' (< hee hee hee, I was waiting to use that as it always gets used on me when I ask my foks questions about poker)

EXACTLY!

I used to think this,too.I would ask myself rhetorically,"Didnt you just see me fold 25 hands in a row? I just folded every hand in 2 1/2 rotations & then check-raised you!WTF did you think i was playing...ace-rag?"

After years of playing the micro's(i just play for fun,& its much more fun if i have a wee bit on the line), ive come to the conclusion that,honestly,they're not paying attention at all.

Is this b'cuz they're multi-tabling? Is it b'cuz they just dont care? Is it b'cuz the lights are on but nobody's home? Who cares!
I have small rolls on Carbon,Luvin,RPM,PartyPoker,& PokerStars,& the last time i deposited was at FoolTilt in 2009. I now COUNT ON them not paying attention!!

Good Luck eh

Im going to play them strong later in the game generally you have a lot of chips to put in the pot im saying with AA or KK iv lost early in games with the best hand more often then later in the game

What I find for my tuppence worth is that if I get premium hands early on I tend to hold my play with marginal hands and wait the 'turn of the dice' [quote CZ ]for the next round of premium cards, albeit that ATC can win a hand [ quote ImQ ] if played at the correct time.

Paying attention to the hands played at a table [ quote madmaddie & CZ ] is not an attribute for 90% of the players that play online poker, most are oblivious to what goes on around them at a table and couldnt care less I think as they mostly gamblers anyway.

The strongest keys to going deep in any multi table game is PATIENCE and OBSERVATION!!

As if you're allowed only a certain number of premium hands . . . . .

I will say though, if I had the choice, I would prefer to have them later. Premium hands early might not even get any action, and when they do, the blinds/bets are small.

But don't let your mind dwell on concepts like this, it has nothing to do with the game at all, and to think it does is to swerve away from optimal play

I mean what u get now has nothing to do with what you get later.....Just cause u have pocket aces 2 hands in a row doesn't mean you won't them right back. I'll take a top five hand anytime I can get it I will add though if u do get them early you should play them with more caution especially in micro's. Sick when your aces get cracked by 10.4 etc. People don't like to fold in micro's so your odds of those top hands holding up are better later imo. But as I said I will take them anytime.

In tournament play I kind of like to ease into it, i usually hope to not get premium hands in teh first 5-10 hands, so I can sit back and kind fo ease into the tournament. Of course if i get aces or kings, i will obviously play them, but will try to play them cautiously

As a precursor to my post I have not read all of the replies and I am just replying to the OP.

How you play after you get these premium hands is paramount to whether or not getting them early was a good thing. If you are winning hands with no showdown then you may have to tighten up or you will have to hit with your speculative hands big when you play them because your perceived image will now be tight. If you are fortunate enough to go to showdown and people see hey this guy isn't just going crazy he is getting a run of good hands exploit it for a bit and play all of your hands the same until people start playing back at you.

I will agree with a few of the replies I did see that made a comment about getting them now means you wont get them later. First off you do not have a stockpile of premium hands that you are given per tournament or session. You are either dealt one or not every hand. It is completely random, and based on statistics you are just as likely every single hand you get to get a premium holding. Furthermore I feel like it is not how you play or if you get premium hands that win you a tournament. Sure those hands are nice to get, but if you play your speculative hands and medium strength hands to perfection, or you are capable of running bluffs here and there. the need for premium hands drops.

In the end any time I get a premium hand I love it, but it doesn't mean I am going to win with it and I would much rather play my entire session well than worry about how many or when I get any premium hands.

I personally prefer getting premiums hands at the beginning of tournament , that way , if all worked good of course , u can make a god stack and play your game later in the tourney ( i usually like to play alot of hands )

But it does matter if you get AA say 4 times in the first 4 levels, your odds of catching AA later are less. If anyone has HM or PT they should be able to see across different sites all the percentages of having any given hand r gonna be about the same. N im not saying its better to have them at whichever time, early, mid, or late in a tourney. Im just trying to get opinions on when others would like to have em, to build stacks early or to have a better shot of doubling up when needed.

Thanx for all u guys input, keep it coming.

Its def a big plus if you get premium hands earlier n manage double or treble up.As then you are able take a bad beat or two,As no one wins every race etc etc,plus you can bully the table with with minimal hands,and like ive already said you can take a hit or 2 and still have chips left to regroup and build that stack up again.

I love getting premium hands early in dolty tournaments with a lot of fish who are trying to play for stack early. For instance, in many $10 and under tournies if I get AA or KK first hand I let it rip all in. This is because it doesn't look that abnormal and the people that are willing to gamble are still sitting in their seats. As the original poster commented on, it is much more important to get these premim hands deeper. But getting them early can sometimes lead to an early double up if you can get it all in pre.

I beg to differ. Lets say,for example,you get AA twice in a row.By your rationale,theres just no way you're going to get them again,in this case,THREE times in a row.As i stated earlier,"The odds of getting certain combinations of cards remain constant";It matters not how many times you've got the same combo's.

This is a hand history i have from 5 years ago.
http://usapokerzone.com/index.php/blogs/287/157/aa-3x-in-a-row-from-2007-a-blog

i like building a stack early and being able to sit back and wait for another run of cards. id rather build than blind out, wouldnt you? just my opinion but i think everyone would rather grow then decline in stacks