Poker Tournament Strategies and Tips
Playing in poker tournaments such as Texas Hold'em
games differs greatly from heads-up or on table cash games. You need to
get acquainted with these differences if you plan on being in the money.
- The first object obviously, is to survive to the
final table and take down the last few players. But, strategies as
the games progresses, changes. You will find most seasoned players
know how the games changes, the unknowing will be eliminated
quickly.
- The second is to accumulate as many chips you can
early. This will give you an edge as players will smaller banks get
aggressive. You will notice on rebuy tournaments going all in
preflop with premium hands over and over. They will lose and rebuy
until they make that big hit. This has become an accepted practice
by many online players.
- The third time is to realize at what point is the
tournament at - early stage, middle, or at end.
- The fourth is to try to get a handle on your
opponents play. Even online you will see tells in your opponents
play. Try to mix your play up a little so they won't get a good
handle on you. A good example of this is if you are playing
tight (bidding on only strong hands), the players will notice and
fold when you bid. What you need to do if wait for a hand where
there is not a lot of bidding and raise it with anything. If you get
called and you have nothing, now the other players think you're a
loose cannon. The next time you bid with a strong hand they may stay
in thinking you're weak.
- The fifth, be patient. Don't be fooled from
watching the World Poker Tour on TV. Tons of hands are folded. The
last table you see on television sometimes goes on for hours. You
see the edited for television version. It gives you the wrong
impression of how the game actually goes.
Early Stages
As the game begins, the blinds are low but will go up
as the game continues. In early hands with the low blinds, you might
want to be a little looser in your betting. Try to accumulate as many
chips as possible early.
- Early in the game the tables will probably be full
tables so a little discretion is advised. As players are eliminated
you can loosen up a little more. Players will be added to the table
as other tables close.
- You'll find more emotional players early in the
game. I love playing against players on tilt. They are the ones who
lose a big hand or two and try to bluff their way back to the bank
they lost. Easier said than done but, don't play emotionally.
If the cards aren't going your way, sit back and let the other
weaker players knock each other out. Also, don't be fooled by
people's chat. I try not to participate with the chat. It's another
thing that keeps you a mystery.
- In all stages, muck your hands. Don't show any of
your hands. It makes it hard for your opponents to get a handle on
you. We all would just love to show that bluff hand where we cleaned
out one or two player. Refrain yourself.
- BE PATIENT - don't get into pots just to play. It
may get boring to fold hands, but you'll prosper in the long run. But,
when you have the nuts or you think you have the best hand - be
aggressive - make them pay.
Middle Stages
As you enter in the middle of the tournament you will
find most of the radical players have been eliminated. You will see who
is playing conservatively, who bluffs occasionally and those who you
still have no idea what they're doing. The chip stacks will probably
have a pretty big spread between players.
- Blinds are getting more substantial. You find
players with low chip stacks trying to steal the pot when it is
small to get their chip count up. You also find them going all-in
with weaker hands because they feel they have less to lose. Be
careful of them, although they are a good source of chips.
- If you find everyone at the table getting tight
with their play, loosen up a little. If the table is loose, do the
opposite.
- Don't waste your chips trying to chase a flush or a
straight especially is the table is still full. Bet and raise strong
hands. see hand ranking
- If your in the middle of the game and your chip
stack is short, its time to get a little more aggressive to rebuild
your bank. The blinds will still be going up. You know the players
who back off when the bets get a little high. With a strong hand go
all-in on these people.
- It's time to steal a few blinds to keep you stack
up. In other words, especially if you're in late position (close to
the blinds) and everyone in front of you folded or limped in (called
blind). If the blind is say $200 and you're just right of the small
blind, only one or two called the blind, you may want to raise it to
$400 or $600 (depending on your stack). If the other players are
weak, they'll fold and you'll grab the pot. If they immediately
call, you may not want to put any more in next time around. Occasionally
you get the guy in the big blind who doesn't like the fact that
you're trying to steal his blind, so he'll raise. I'll reraise, just
to test him. Many times he'll fold.
Ending Stages
Now is the time to become more aggressive. You can't
sit back and slow play now. The blinds are getting bigger and bigger.
The other players are getting more aggressive. You need to keep that
chip stack up.
- Play pairs, AceX suited, KQ, AQ, any strong hand. (Check
out hand ranking) Still isn't
a good time to be chasing straights or flushes (see sidebar) with a lot of people
in a pot. But you know these players a
little better now and depending on the community cards you just
might chase a straight or flush.
- Don't call on a all-in bet unless you have the
goods. But, don't hesitate going all-in first if you have the goods.
- When you get down to just a few players the action
usually gets wild. Betting goes off the wall. You'll find have to
participate occasionally to keep your chip stack up. When a table
gets down to four or less players, less strong hands are a little
more playable. Hands like A9, K10, low pairs, suited running cards
can be winners on these small tables.
Remember all this may not work. That's poker! But, if
you paying attention to your opponents play, don't play emotionally, continuously
improve your game you'll eventually get a handle on these tournaments
and place well. Have fun.
There are other tools available to help books,
Dvds for more information and software to
automatically track your play as well as your opponents. I occassionally
use software when I play. You'll discover after some time, you can almost
predict who will be eliminated as you go along.
GOOD LUCK - SEE YOU AT THE TABLES
Bookmark this site - next we will get into odds and
percentages.
 |
