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Popularity of poker tournaments have grown exponentially over the last few years, and now a player can find tournaments running 24/7 on many different online poker sites. While playing a poker tournament can be a fun way to spend a few hours, they also give you the potential to win large sums of money with very little risk. While there is a great deal of strategy to be learned by advanced players, most beginning players don’t even know the basic steps in approaching a poker tournament. In a series of five in-depth articles, we will take a look at understanding tournament poker, playing the early, middle, and late stages, and some common mistakes made by tournament players. Below, we have provided a brief overview of these five articles.
Understanding Tournament Poker
The first thing you should understand is that tournament poker is
completely different than a cash game, and your approach to the tournament should be uniquely different. This article will examine the different aspects of tournament poker and how to think about the tournament in general. For instance, while in a cash game will have plenty of time to wait for positive situations, as the rate of increasing blinds will force you to be more aggressive and take many more chances. You should also realize that if you are playing a tournament you should be playing to win, rather than to place in the money; remember, the majority of money is given to the first three spots, and this should be your goal. Do not try to just slide by until you get “into the money”, or you will never give yourself a chance to win.
Tournament Poker: The Early Stages
This article will look at how to play in the early stages of a poker tournament. Early in a poker tournament, your starting chip stack should be very large compared to the blinds. Since this will give you the opportunity to wait for good starting hands, you should play extra tight and wait for good situations. When you are playing your best starting hands, such as high pocket pairs (i.e., AA) or suited broadway cards (i.e., AKs), you should play them very strong and be wary of committing all of your chips. Many advanced tournament players call this stage the survival round, because you want to put yourself into a position that, when it gets to the middle rounds, you can potentially create a big chip stack.
Tournament Poker: The Middle Stages
This article will look at approaching the middle stages of a poker tournament. During the middle stages of a poker tournament, your aim should be to build a large chip stack. To do this, you should open up your starting hands and take more chances. Be smart with your play, but also understand that this is the time to take control or go bust. As mentioned above,
do not stay tight and try to slip into the money. Your goal is to win.
Tournament Poker: The Late Stages
This article will examine proper play in the later stages of a poker tournament. The late stages of a poker tournament require the most skill, and this is where the better players will usually come out on top. If you enter the late stages of a tournament with a large stack, you should put pressure on your opponents and try to induce them into making mistakes. If you enter the late stages with a small stack, however, you should try and pick an appropriate time to get all your chips in the middle and double through. Again, you are playing for first, so don’t try to slide into the final table. Keep playing aggressively and be willing to take chances.
Tournament Poker: Common Mistakes
This article will provide some common mistakes made by the average poker player, including playing too aggressively in the early stages, playing too passively in the middle stages, and not understanding the importance of chip stack size compared to the size of the blinds.
Enjoy these articles, and be sure to check back for more advanced tournament strategies
