Poker Tournament Strategy
In Poker Room lingo, an MTT stands for a multi-table tournament. This means that several dozen or even a hundred people are registered for the tournament. You all sit at a given table, and as people are eliminated, you are moved to other tables. Eventually, the last few people sit at the final table, where they duke it out to be the last player standing. Unlike ring games, you can’t just come and go as you please. You can only leave if you lose all your chips. So the strategy you play is a little different than if you are just playing a friendly Friday-night game. Here are some tips:
Play according to your stack: In a regular table game (ring or SNG) you can play aggressively or loose because you can always re-buy chips to join again. However, in an MTT, you can do no such thing. Therefore you must play according to your stack. If you have a large stack you can afford to be aggressive and take some risks. If you are short-stacked you must choose your hands wisely and either move all-in or keep folding.
Take blinds increases into consideration when short-stacked: If the blinds are coming your way and you are down to your last four blinds or so, it is time to make a decision. You must either go all-in or keep folding- but once the blinds reach you, think about each hand critically. Also, take into consideration how many people are at the table. If there are maybe five others, then a hand that would usually be marginal may be playable if you go all-in.
Watch the table dynamics: Just because you fold doesn’t mean it’s time to go potty or get a quick drink. Sit and watch what is going on. Who is playing aggressively? Who is playing each hand, and who is playing tight? This could all be valuable information for later hands. Of course in an MTT, you will switch tables a few times, so then the observation starts all over with new competitors. All a part of the fun of playing a Hold ‘Em tournament.
Play tight at first: Not only will this ensure you keep more of your stack to play with once the ‘cavalier’ players are eliminated, but it also gives you plenty of time to observe the dynamics of the table and figure out your strategy. Of course, if you get a killer hand you should play it aggressively. But with so many people still in a tournament, even a hand that has an Ace with a small kicker is marginal at best.
Use the power of position: If you are first to bet on every hand, you will probably not want to play marginal hands. However, if you are last to bet, you can see what everyone else does first and use that to your advantage. A marginal hand can be a winning hand if you are in the right position and play it well.
Lay down a big hand if you think you beat: A hand like trip aces is awfully hard to put down- 9 times out of 10 you are going to win with it. But what if the right cards are on the table for that 1 in 10 hands to hit? What if the aggressive raising of your opponent makes you think he could possibly have you beat? It may be hard to lay down trip aces, but you must if you think you are beaten. This is perhaps the hardest thing to do in Poker but you must learn to be disciplined and do it. When Annie Duke was asked what the best hand she played in the 2004 WSOP was, she named a hand that she folded- because upon viewing the tapes, she saw that her hand, despite being a pocket pair, was dominated by a higher pair. In laying the hand down she kept her stack and lived to play more hands. Even being a pro, it took her a long time to lay it down. So long, in fact, that she profusely apologized to the other players for taking so long. But as agonizing as it was, she laid the hand down, and it turned out to be the right thing to do.
