Local Tournaments

We often play tournaments where I live where people invite their friends to 1 or 2 hundred dollar NL tournaments...I consider myself being fairly good at poker, but it seems that some people's "friends" that are new to the game and absolutely have no idea how to play, always end up cashing and knocking me out...

 

Does anyone else have this problem that if the competition is good, you play good, when new inexperienced people play you can't get them off of a hand?

 

Its a newbie every time, they call my huge raises with K 7 offsuit, I'll have AK, flop will come out K, 7, 2 so I think I'm safe, and the guy just calls my bets all the way to the end and flips over 2 pair....seems like this happens every time we play...

I think its a hell of a lot easier to sit back and beat the in-experienced players, what works for me me is just checking them into a corner and letting them either bluff off their chips to me or bet into me with a hand I can beat rather easily.

Once poker started to boom they started having local tournaments in Brooklyn and it was so bad you literally had to explain the betting structures to people playing and this was $500 tournaments.  It amazes me that people would be willing to play for $500 who never played before, but I digress.  The level of play is generally poor in local tournaments(not that its great in the casinos either).  The structure is going to be key for you.  If the blinds are moving too quickly, your poker skils are virtually meaningless.  You need to see as many hands as possible.  If you have any control of the game slow the blinds down.  this will help you out.  You also need to remember bad players have no idea what it is you are trying to do.  So do not get fancy.  Bad players will pay you off.  If the blinds are slow you can afford to pick your spots.  Don;t worry too much about mixing your play because they don't know any better anyway.  They will look at their hand and if they think tis good they will go down with it. 

 

If you are in a situation where everyone likes to see flops then you need to loosen up your play as well.  You need to play any drawing hands you can.  pairs are pretty much garbage in big multi way pots unless you hit a set. 

 

Try getting a cash game going after you get knocked out.  They will have a much harder time in a cash game out playing you.  I play in a $300 multi table game once a month here and its tough to win for the same reasons you speak of.  Blinds move fast.  The game is not really worth it fo me but I have to play in it to play in the side cash games that follow which more then make up for it.