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GENERAL POKER STRATEGY - TOURNAMENTS
There are few things in poker more exciting than getting deep in a tournament. Even small investments can yield big returns and for as little as $200 you can play for a million dollar prize pool and a $200k first place prize. This is the allure of poker tournaments. A small investment and the chance for a big pay day. I would still hold off on quitting your day job just yet as you should now that the odds are stacked heavily against you. To win that $200 thousand you are going to have to beat out over 6 thousand players who want to win as much as you do. You are going to not only have to play well, but to get very lucky. That’s the sad truth about poker tournaments, you have to get lucky to win. They are just too long and the blinds get too large. That does not imply that there is not a large skill element, because believe me there is. You must play well to put yourself in a situation where you can take advantage of any luck that may come your way. That’s what this article is about, the things you can control. Knowing when to change gears, how your (and your opponents) stack size impacts decisions, understanding the different stages in the tournament, and knowing what adjustments to make throughout. If you can learn these things you will have an above average chance at profiting from, and enjoying poker tournaments. There are few things in poker more exciting that making your first final table or competing for truly big money for the first time. Here is the groundwork for putting together a winning strategy that will help you do just that.
The Different Stages in a Tournament
Tournaments can be broken down into 5 different stages. The blinds, your chip stack relative to that of your opponents, and the payouts influence what part of a tournament you are in. Correct play differs drastically from the beginning of a tournament and the final table.
The Structure
When you first sign up for a tournament, be it live or online, take a look at the structure which should be available either in the tournament lobby or from the tournament director. Try to determine if it is a fast or slow structure. Look at how many chips you start with, how long the levels are, and how fast the blinds increase. As a general rule, the higher a buy in the better (meaning the slower the blinds increase and the larger the relative chips) will be. If you are playing a $10,000 buy in World Series or World Poker Tour event you can expect a slow structure with lots of play. If you are playing the nightly $30 tournament at your local card room or at an internet site, expect a very fast structure that will likely make some gambling necessary.
The Early Stage
Early play in tournaments does not differ much from play in a cash game. Every player has plenty of chips relative to the blinds. It is usually advisable to play fairly tightly during this stage of the tournament. The blinds are to small to be worth going after. That said you do have enough chips to make a few speculative calls pre flop in the hopes of catching a flop and busting someone. The bad players in a tournament are likely to lose all of their chips and it is a good idea to give yourself a chance to win your share of them. I am willing to invest a small amount pre flop with the hopes of hitting a flop and winning a big pot. I am not, however, willing to play a big pot with anything less than a very big hand. The big bluffs and semi-bluffs that become necessary in later stages are in large part a non factor at this stage in the game. Later you will be forced to play big pots with less than big hands but at this stage your job is to try to pick your spots, and if possible increase your chip stack. The most important thing is to not hurt yourself foolishly.
The Middle Stage
For me the middle stage of a tournament stats when the antes kick in. This is generally the second 100-200 blind level. If you are playing in a tournament without antes you will have to judge when the blinds become worth going after.
The antes change the complexion of the game quite a bit. They make the pot larger initially and more worth trying to steal. It is nearly impossible to consistently do well in tournaments if you are not getting your share of antes. How many hands you can play and how hard you should push for the antes will have a lot to do with your table draw. If you get a good draw you will be able to win pot after pot without ever going to showdown. When your table will let you do this you can build your chips without really ever risking them. This is the ideal situation.
Unfortunately, you will rarely encounter such an ideal situation. You will face some tables where the players are very tough and difficult to rob and others where they lay down at the slightest indication of a fight. Somewhere in between these extremes is the average table you will face. This table will contain a few tough spot, perhaps one weak player, and a number of mediocre players of varying skill. Categorize your opponents and take not of how tenaciously they will defend their blinds. You will want to steal as many as you can, and I find the best way to do this is to be selectively loose. If you play almost every hand and are always trying to steal every blind even the most passive and weak player will eventually take a stand. I prefer to play enough that they know I am out of line some of the time, but not so much that they can assume I don’t have a hand. This can be a difficult balance to strike, but when done properly can reap huge rewards.
The middle section of the tournaments is one of the most fun to play. This is where you need to start really accumulating chips to make a push for the final table. The blinds are still small enough to allow for a fair amount of creativity. You still have all your options available and can play hands in many different manners. This is the part of the tournament when you must take some chances to accumulate chips. One of the worst things you can do is to worry excessively about how close you are to the money and not be willing to take chances to ensure a money finish. This thought takes us to our next stage of the tournament, the bubble.