Next time you decide to join a tournament, don’t forget to collect your rewards. Multi-table tournaments usually have very tight entry requirements, so make sure you read every opponent’s room before you decide. Be sure to take notes on players, so you can keep tract of their tendencies and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Collect your rewardsThe standard telltale signs of multi-tables tournaments include a very small number of players, a medium to large number of players, a high amount of prize pool, and a very low amount of players.The best poker strategy is to enter tournaments which statistically offer a better return on investment, so you’re likely to be more successful if you play in a tournament with a low number of players, a medium number, and a high number of prizes. Don’t be fooled by the amount of smaller prizes – the increased flow of money from tournament winners is a good sign that the tournament is “flattened” and the games aren’t as high-stake/high-luck as they may appear.
Next step: enter the tournament.No matter what strategy you decide to implement, the first few steps are the most important. This is the encounter where you’ll make your first real money by setting up your poker tournament. Players who are not so experienced as tournament poker usually go “all-in” early in the tournament, before knowing what turns out to be the smarter plays. This move generally proves fruitless. For example, in the early stages you’re likely to be out before you know it.
Observe your opponentsFor each and every hand you’re involved in while participating in a tournament, you’ll want to mentally observe the players that you’re competing with at your table. Don’t tell yourself, “this opponent is a suckout waiting to catch”, but rather notice trends and positions of your opponents. Once you’ve got a few hands under your belt, you’ll be able to classify a player at your table into either a tight or loose player.
Play those tight poker playersTight players are often very good against loose players, and vice versa. If you have a good hand, you’re likely to earn some respect from your table, but if you’re playing according to strategy, you’re likely to win.
Play your QQdewa poker players The unconventional strategy I favor here is to play your slow poker players. These players are generally your big losers. If you have a lousy hand, and someone raises, you are better off throwing your hand away, than giving away even more chips.
Intensely pre-flop, and speculate a lot on or near the flop. You may wish to bluff on the flop, but unless you’ve hit your set, be conservative in the other three streets. Make a decent size pre-flop raise, and if you get re-raised, throw away your hand. It’s the middle of the tournament, so you have little to gain by being conservative.
Once you’re one short of the average chip stack in a tournament, it’s time to get aggressive. You’re low on chips, and the other players are playing tight. You want to steal the blinds, and to do so you can’t wait for a good hand. You’re likely to get a call, so you can afford a small loss now and then, until you have a decent hand.
Once you’re one of the last two, you can relax a bit. You already have a decent hand, you just keep throwing your chips at the pot. Once you get back to third place, you’ll probably only have about ten to fifteen chips, and the short stacks will be gone. Just keep on winning.
Once you’re first to third, you have a bit of a chip lead, although still short. Once you get to third place, watch out. The short stacks are going to be tired. They’ll be tired of constantly losing chips, and tired of seeing their stacks get smaller and smaller. They’ll start pushing all in with any hand. Once you’re back in third place, consider throwing your hand into the muck.