The goals of a Prometheus Stratagem player are threefold. In order of importance, these are:

1. Win the tournament.

2. Make the final table.

3. Make the final 10% of the field.
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The Prometheus Stratagem is a No-Limit Hold’em tournament strategy devised to give the amateur poker player an opportunity to compete on equal terms with those far superior poker champions you will meet in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments.

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Stratagem: An artifice or trick in war for deceiving or outwitting the enemy.
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Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat – Fortune Favors the Brave
(Motto of the Third Regiment - United States Marine Corps.)

In poker, fortune does favor the brave.
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Core Concepts

The core concepts of The Prometheus Stratagem are rather simple:

 Play tight, aggressive poker until reaching the ante level of the tournament, where your hyper-aggressive (all-in) game should begin to emerge. Should there be no ante level, choose the fourth level of the tournament to change gears and open up your game.

 Strive to be the first player to enter the pot, raising three to ten times the big blind. If you are putting a player all-in, always have outs. If called pre-flop, do not hesitate to make a continuation bet. Raise or move all-in if you think (or feel) that you are ahead. Make your opponents pay for the opportunity to catch their “suck-out” card and beat you.

 Raising (generally): The standard raise of three times the big blind, while still effective, does not seem to place enough pressure on modern-day opponents who desire to play a variety of any two cards pre-flop so that they can see the flop. Think of your position at the table. If you are the first player to enter the pot, raise four times the big blind. As your position to enter the pot goes deeper into your seated position, increase your raise. Thus, if you are the fourth seated player and you are the first to enter the pot, raise four times the big blind. Follow that concept through. If you are the fifth seated player to enter the pot, make an opening raise of five times the big blind. If you are the sixth player to enter the pot, think “Sweet 16.” That mnemonic expression should remind you to make a raise of six to ten times the size of the big blind when entering the pot. When you reach the fourth level of the tournament, turn up your aggressiveness. Incorporate the above rule constantly, incessantly, and all the time. Your continuation raise should approximate one half to three quarters of the total pot, the full pot, or move all-in after the fourth level of the tournament.

 Be the hammer, not the nail. Again, strive to be the first player to enter the pot whenever possible. When you enter the pot, enter very aggressively, play hard and fast, and do not stop pounding away on your opponents until there is no one left standing.

By using this simple methodology, you eliminate erroneous decision-making on your part and you place extreme pressure on the opposing player to decide whether or not to call your aggressive pressure-laden strategy.

 It is exceptionally difficult to exploit highly aggressive players.

Be philosophical about poker and, in particular, NLH tournaments. Play to embrace perfection.

If your opponent has a superior hand to yours, well, that is, of course, unfortunate. You are simply going to lose that hand.

However, to enhance your opportunity to win:

 Learn to lay down inferior hands.

 Learn to play the percentages.


 Learn your race probabilities.

 Learn to be the player to declare the all-in raise, not the one forced to call the all-in raise.


 Learn to be the player who always applies pressure to your opponent.

Remember, you will always have a 20% chance to “get lucky” and send someone home with a real bad beat story to tell — as if anyone truly cares!

 Be the hunter, not the hunted.
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History and Development

I first became interested in developing an NLH stratagem in late 2005, when I began to instruct my comely consort, Terry-Ann Volberg, in how to play in NLH tournaments. I proceeded to develop a simple, easy-to-learn winning strategy that she could use in order to enter NLH tournaments while we were on our gambling holidays.

Terry-Ann’s interest in participating in NLH tournaments, combined with her infinite patience, warm smile, and sparkling eyes, gave her a natural ability to become a winning NLH tournament player. Believe me when I tell you that they do not call her the “Silent Assassin” without reason. However, she had little knowledge of NLH tournament play, and she did not want to be bothered with reading about tournament poker nuances; she simply wanted to be competitive while participating in NLH tournaments.

Terry-Ann entered her first tournament, which consisted of 160 players, and finished sixth at the final table. She accomplished this rather incredible feat by using the foundation of the Prometheus Stratagem, a semi-aggressive, tight, big bet, all-in strategy. Her only preparation and competition prior to entering the tournament was playing against Annie Duke’s computer software for Texas Hold’em.

She deviated from her strategy and failed to go all-in on what I considered a superior hand (J-J). By slowing down her forceful all-in play (she raised three times the big blind), she allowed one of her opponents, who was obviously “feeling no pain” as the result of having consumed several beers, to see a flop with an Ace – 9, which was obviously a poor play against an under-the-gun raise.

I am sure you know the rest of the story all too well. Yep, the slightly inebriated opponent caught a 9, moved in, and Terry-Ann called.

Yes, Terry-Ann was ahead after the flop, but had she moved all-in pre-flop, I doubt that even two more beers would have caused her opponent to call Terry-Ann’s powerful all-in raise. Of course, the Ace fell on the river.

Well, this is what makes NLH so damn interesting.

We discussed that hand for the next few hours — actually, it was for the next few days — or was it weeks? Well, you know how obsessive we poker players are.

 You have to have a healthy disregard for your chips to be a successful NLH tournament player. Treasure those chips greatly and you will lose them!

As a parenthetical note, Terry-Ann won her first tournament on October 5, 2007, at the Atlantic City Hilton.