In a tournament, your strategy’ boils down to one thing: Survival. Your goal is to hang in there and move up the ladder as players get eliminated so that you can get into the prize money. And finally, you want to get to the final table or be the champion.
In a no-limit hold’em tournament, chips are power. If you have a lot of them, take advantage of your superior chip count by bullying short stacks and timid players with aggressive betting and by stealing their blinds. Anytime you bet and compete against a smaller stack, he knows that if he goes to war with you for all his chips and loses, he’s eliminated. It is difficult for short stacks to play back at you because you can break them. Conversely, when you’re that smaller stack, you must tread carefully against bigger stacks because your tournament will be at stake if all the chips go in the middle.
If you get low-stacked—that is, your chip stack is less than five times the size of the big blind—then you need to make a play for all your chips at the very first opportunity If the pot is unraised and you have an ace with any other card, two cards 10 or higher, or any pair, go all-in and hope for the best. You cannot afford to play passive here—calling is not an option—you need the blinds and antes to stay alive.
Ideally, you would like your stack size to be at least ten times the size of the big blind. Either you take risks or you will get blinded out—lose all or a majority of your chips to the gradual forced blind and ante bets by barely playing any hands’.
The most fundamental no-limit play to get chips is called stealing the blinds. This is when you raise in late position when no one else has entered the pot so that opponents will fold and you can win the blinds without a fight. The best position to do this from is the button or the seat before the button. Often, the blinds will fold, giving you the pot uncontested. You don’t want to make this play every time, because your opponents will catch on, but at the same time, if the blinds are going to give you the pot without a fight, well then, take it every time.
In all situations, if an opponent is short-stacked, give him credit for much less of a hand than you would normally expect and don’t be afraid to play all premium hands for all of your opponent’s chips. You can also consider playing back at him with any pair or two high cards if you have a lot of chips and a loss here won’t make you low-stacked. Just as you would play all sorts of hands when your stack is desperately low, so would your opponent, so you can open up here and call an all-in bet with of a hand.
EARLY ROUND TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
In the first few rounds of a tournament, the blinds are generally small, and the antes won’t kick in until the third or fourth level. During these early rounds, there is little pressure on you to make any moves as the blinds won’t make too much of a dent in your stack, at least not a critical dent. Your strategy’ here is to play conservatively, trying to win little pots when possible and avoiding big pots unless you think you have the winner. You don’t want to risk your tournament on a foolish bluff. Your goal is to increase your chip stack as the tournament progresses, hopefully to double up after three rounds.
MIDDLE ROUND TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
The middle rounds of a tournament, around levels four to eight, is when players start getting eliminated at a more rapid pace. The blinds and antes are more expensive and this means you have to play more hands and take more chances if your stack has been eroded.
If you’re low-stacked, aggressive play and stealing blinds become more” important to keep up with the costs of feeding blinds and antes into the pot. If you’re big-stacked, you want to push around the weak players and small stacks and get more chips. You’re looking to position yourself for the final table.
LATE ROUND TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
If you’ve lasted into the later rounds, you’ve either made it into the money or are getting real close. Now you look forward, hoping to get to the final table and the bigger money. You want to pick up your game here and play your best poker. Avoid facing off in big pots or all-ins against stacks that can take you out unless you’ve got the goods. As always in a tournament, keep pushing your weight around against players that can be bullied.
FINAL TABLE
If you get to the final table, you have a real shot at winning, but you still have to get through the last players. If you’re among the big stacks, avoid going to war against another big stack that can bust you or make you one of the small stacks. Use your big stack to put pressure on smaller stacks struggling to stay alive.
If you’re low-stacked, the blinds and antes are exerting tremendous pressure, leaving you with little choice but to find your best opportunity and then go after it for all your chips.
Calling is not an option here.
Think before you make your moves, keeping in mind that every player eliminated means a big jump in prize money.
In a no-limit hold’em tournament, chips are power. If you have a lot of them, take advantage of your superior chip count by bullying short stacks and timid players with aggressive betting and by stealing their blinds. Anytime you bet and compete against a smaller stack, he knows that if he goes to war with you for all his chips and loses, he’s eliminated. It is difficult for short stacks to play back at you because you can break them. Conversely, when you’re that smaller stack, you must tread carefully against bigger stacks because your tournament will be at stake if all the chips go in the middle.
If you get low-stacked—that is, your chip stack is less than five times the size of the big blind—then you need to make a play for all your chips at the very first opportunity If the pot is unraised and you have an ace with any other card, two cards 10 or higher, or any pair, go all-in and hope for the best. You cannot afford to play passive here—calling is not an option—you need the blinds and antes to stay alive.
Ideally, you would like your stack size to be at least ten times the size of the big blind. Either you take risks or you will get blinded out—lose all or a majority of your chips to the gradual forced blind and ante bets by barely playing any hands’.
The most fundamental no-limit play to get chips is called stealing the blinds. This is when you raise in late position when no one else has entered the pot so that opponents will fold and you can win the blinds without a fight. The best position to do this from is the button or the seat before the button. Often, the blinds will fold, giving you the pot uncontested. You don’t want to make this play every time, because your opponents will catch on, but at the same time, if the blinds are going to give you the pot without a fight, well then, take it every time.
In all situations, if an opponent is short-stacked, give him credit for much less of a hand than you would normally expect and don’t be afraid to play all premium hands for all of your opponent’s chips. You can also consider playing back at him with any pair or two high cards if you have a lot of chips and a loss here won’t make you low-stacked. Just as you would play all sorts of hands when your stack is desperately low, so would your opponent, so you can open up here and call an all-in bet with of a hand.
EARLY ROUND TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
In the first few rounds of a tournament, the blinds are generally small, and the antes won’t kick in until the third or fourth level. During these early rounds, there is little pressure on you to make any moves as the blinds won’t make too much of a dent in your stack, at least not a critical dent. Your strategy’ here is to play conservatively, trying to win little pots when possible and avoiding big pots unless you think you have the winner. You don’t want to risk your tournament on a foolish bluff. Your goal is to increase your chip stack as the tournament progresses, hopefully to double up after three rounds.
MIDDLE ROUND TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
The middle rounds of a tournament, around levels four to eight, is when players start getting eliminated at a more rapid pace. The blinds and antes are more expensive and this means you have to play more hands and take more chances if your stack has been eroded.
If you’re low-stacked, aggressive play and stealing blinds become more” important to keep up with the costs of feeding blinds and antes into the pot. If you’re big-stacked, you want to push around the weak players and small stacks and get more chips. You’re looking to position yourself for the final table.
LATE ROUND TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
If you’ve lasted into the later rounds, you’ve either made it into the money or are getting real close. Now you look forward, hoping to get to the final table and the bigger money. You want to pick up your game here and play your best poker. Avoid facing off in big pots or all-ins against stacks that can take you out unless you’ve got the goods. As always in a tournament, keep pushing your weight around against players that can be bullied.
FINAL TABLE
If you get to the final table, you have a real shot at winning, but you still have to get through the last players. If you’re among the big stacks, avoid going to war against another big stack that can bust you or make you one of the small stacks. Use your big stack to put pressure on smaller stacks struggling to stay alive.
If you’re low-stacked, the blinds and antes are exerting tremendous pressure, leaving you with little choice but to find your best opportunity and then go after it for all your chips.
Calling is not an option here.
Think before you make your moves, keeping in mind that every player eliminated means a big jump in prize money.
