Tournament play guide
Every one has their own style of poker, and the debate on what the 'right' way to play a tournament is one that has raged back and fourth for years. No-one can hope to ever produce a strategy that will allow them to win every tournament they enter. However, this does not mean that there are not certain golden rules that you should stick to in order to maximise the chances of you winning! This simple guide will give you a basic grounding in the golden rules of tournament play, and teach you to get the most out of the tournaments you enter!
A basic guide to tournament strategy
Currently, the most common form of Poker tournament is the no limit Texas hold'em format. As a basic guide we will focus on that, but if you feel that you want more in-depth strategies please check out our advanced strategy guides section.
Staying in the game
Multi table tournaments can run for several hours (like Pokerstars Sunday million). Bear that in mind when you first take your seat - nobody wins a tournament on the first hand, but you can loose it. If you play recklessly, especially during the first few stages of any tournament, you will be eliminated. At the start of any tournament you should only be playing premium hands where you have a high chance of making a profit. At this early stage of the game, you want to build your stack slowly and with minimal risk.
Check your position
If you are in a weak position (first to act for instance), then you may wish to consider laying down cards that you would otherwise play. In the early stages of any tournament there are usually a high percentage of fish who are likely to call a raise just in the hopes of getting lucky with weaker cards. For example, a great looking hand such as Ace King suited which you may consider as an 'all-in' hand in later stages of the game does not look so good at this stage if you are in a poor position. For example, lets say that you are first to act in a hand where you have Ace-King hearts. You move all in. 8 of the remaining players fold, but one player decides to risk it play with a low pair, such as 3-3. Your Ace-King suited has a less than 50% chance of winning;
Even with a good flop, you are still by no means guaranteed to win;
With odds like that, you don't really want to be in a postion where you will be eliminated from the tournament unless you 'get lucky' hit your cards.
To minimize your risk, you should look for opportunities where few players have entered the pot before you, and you are one of the last players to act.
For example, you are last to act and all other players except one have folded. The one player who didn't fold only limped in. If you have a marginal hand like Ace-Eight suited, you could consider a raise of three to four times the big blind to force the big blind and little blind to fold, and put the pressure on the other caller. You should never, ever, let any players see the next card for free if you are involved in a pot. All you achieve by doing this is giving your opponents the chance to hit a card they need against you.
On the flop
If you have raised pre-flop, and you have one caller, then you should commit yourself to betting on the flop, even if it does not improve your hand. Obviously, if the other player acts before you and bets, then you will have to decide whether the strength of your hand warrants a call or even a raise.
If you have position on the other player though (you are first to act) and you have raised pre-flop, a bet of at least the size of the pot now should see your opponent fold. However, if he re-raises you, do not feel that you have to call as you have already bet so many of your chips. This is a basic error. As long as you have chips infront of you, you are still in the game. Chasing because you feel you are pot-commited will only see you eliminated faster.
If more than one of your opponents called your raise pre-flop you should be a lot more selective on betting on the flop. Only bet if you feel you have the strongest hand, or all the players befor you check and you are in late position (one of the last to act).
Turn and river
You should only be playing hands to the turn and river if you are very confident that you have got the winning hand. If you are trying to complete a hand still at this stage, or you are trying to force your opponent to fold by raising, you need to be very, very careful. It is likely that if a player has got this far and is willing to bet/call a raise then he has already hit a good hand. If you are not confident in your hand, then fold. Forget about the chips that you lost and move on to the next hand. This sounds simple, yet it is one of the hardest things to master, due to the pressure that most players feel when they believe themselves to be 'pot commited'. However, if you can learn how to walk away from a hand when you have already bet a large amount of chips into the pot, you will see your cash winnings increasing.
Slow playing and trapping your opponent
One favourite strategy in poker is the 'slow play'. For example, imagine you are dealt a pair of Kings. In the pre-flop betting, an opponent raises by four times the big blind. When play comes round to you, the normal would be to re-raise, or even try going all in in the hopes of taking the pot straight away, or even getting a caller. However, you could consider just calling your opponents bet. By doing this, your opponent will not suspect that you have a strong hand.
On the flop, if you are first to act then to continue the trap you could check, and allow your opponent to bet. you could then either take him unawares and raise him, or simply call and continue with the trap. This obviously depends on the flop cards, as if there is an over card or the potential for your opponent to have hit either a straight or a flush, then you will need to be more aggressive to find out. If you bet the pot, and your opponent raises or re-raise, then the chances are he has hit his cards and made a strong hand. If he hasn't, then a strong bet may force him to fold anyway as he may believe that you have hit a good hand.
The main danger to be aware of when slow playing is that you are allowing your opponent to see more cards than usual, and this potentially allows them to hit a stronger hand, and in turn trap you. Always remember to calculate your risks. If you think your opponent is chasing a flush, then bet. Do not allow them to see any cards for free.
Large stack domination
If you have followed this guide solidly, and have got to a position where you have more chips than most, you need to learn how to use them effectively!
The most common mistake people make when they have a large chip stack is to start playing very loose. If you have so many chips, what does it harm to call a few hands that you normally wouldn't? The answer is simple - it can put you oue of the tournament. If you are loosing unneccessary chips to opponents, you are allowing them to become stronger. You also run the risk of being trapped in a big pot that allows one of your opponents to double up or similar.
When you have a large stack you have to protect it. However, you can use it to your advantage. For example, if you feel that a player is chasing a flush or a straight, and you currently have a stronger hand, force them to go all in if they want to chase. Many players will fold rather than chase, especially in later stages of a tournament. If not, and they call, you have the odds to take them out of the tournament and add to your chip stack!
The best tactic to employ is to allow the smaller stacks to fight it out and eliminate each other. Every player eliminated moves you up the leaderboard. However, this doesn't mean that you should fold premium hands, as you don't want an opponent to be able to grow a similar sized chip stack to your own.
Short stack aggressiveness
If you have suffered from a few bead beats, and your pile of chips is low, do not despair. This feeling is known as 'tilting', and will only result in a faster exit from the tournament. Things may look bleak - but they are not over!
Take time to choose you final stnad, and make sure that if you have to go out you go out with fighting. Do not wait until you only have enough chips to make one more round of blinds, as you will not be able to force even the weakest cards to fold. You want to have at least three times the big blind.
When you choose you hand to make your stand, play it hyper-aggressive. This means raising, re-rasing or going all-in pre-flop. If you can get opponents to fold - great! Your chip stack is increasing. If not, make sure that you at least have a chance at the pot come showdown.
See more poker guides
Strategy Guides
- Staying in the game
- Check your position
- On the flop
- Turn and river
- Slow playing and trapping
- Large stack dominion
- Short stack aggressiveness
- Table image
- Choosing your table
- Choosing your style
- Projecting your image
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