On-Line Multi-Table Tournament Strategy

                 

Many loose players tend to get knocked out of tournaments early or accumulate chips. Even if they succeed in the building a stack, they often can't slow down, and end up giving back all their chips well before the final table. On the other hand, tighter players tend to go deep into tournaments, but often with only a small stack, and rarely make an impact in the closing stages.

A tight/aggressive style early, then gradually changing gears, so that at important stages of the tournament, for instance around the bubble where prize money starts and at the final table, borderline loose/very aggressive, works best for many players. This strategy takes players deep in most tournaments, because they are capable of accumulating chips at key points, so they often have the ammunition to win.

The two crucial keys to tournament success are 1) Survival and 2) Chip Accumulation. Unfortunately when you attempt to pursue the chips you endanger survival, but there are 4 key stages of tournaments and how we'll look at how strategies work in each stage.

Early Tournament Stages

Stack sizes are large compared to the blinds in the first rounds so it is important not avoid committing large portions of your chip stack unless you have a really strong hand, better than top pair. Lots of  weaker players are happy to give away all their chips with a top pair or an over-pair, so the hands to play at this stage are suited connectors and any pairs. Early on, call any normal sized raise with these hands or try to see a cheap flop because if you hit a set, two pair, a flush, or straight, you can often double through. However, you have to be very careful with these hands, if you hit a second pair, top pair with a weak kicker, straight draw or something similar you must be prepared to throw your hand away if others, particularly any pre-flop raisers, show strength and you are not getting good enough pot odds to call.

With strong hands like pairs of Aces, Kings, Queens, or A-K, A-K, put in a raise and narrow the field. Continue to be aggressive and bet/raise with these on the flop. Many poorer players call raises early with hands like AJ or AT and you can take some nice pots from them. The tricky part of these big hands is when you get re-raised on the flop or turn and you don't know if your opponent has you beat with a set or twp pair. To help with these decisions it is vital to observe all hands even when you aren't in a pot. Try to categorize the other players at the table. Who is raising too much or too often? Who is playing tight? Who bets the flop when they have raised pre-flop? Who gives up pots easily? What cards have they been playing and in what positions? All these facts should be stored or even written down so that when you have a tough decision you have as much information at hand as possible.

Only play marginal hands like AT or JQ or Ax suited, in un-raised pots and raise with these hands in late position if it is folded around to you. However, play them with a high degree of caution and will not allow yourself to go bust.

Don't bother defending blinds early on with marginal hands as there are not enough chips in the pot to be concerned and you will be playing out of position. This also allows you to steal pots and bluff more easily later in the tournament when the blinds are more significant.

Play somewhat tight early on but when you play a hand, play aggressively. If you raise pre-flop, bet the flop almost every time whether you hit or not. If you hit the flop having limped in bet because you don't want to allow draws in cheaply and it provides information on opponents' hands. If you have spotted a very tight/weak player, try to bluff him but don't make many moves at this early stage.

Middle Tournament Stages

The blinds are now rising now, and often with running antes you need to get more involved and not allow your chip stack to get to a position where you have to move all-in.

This stage of the tournament play is all about position, table image and how your opponents are playing. Many of the hands on which you raise cannot withstand a re-raise so it is important to raise from as late a position as possible so the likelihood of a big hand re-raising is lessened. If you have been playing tight, you are also in a stronger position to get raises through and by changing gears gradually you should remain in a healthy chip position.

At this point it is important to defend big blind at times. Avoid calling raises with weak Aces in the big blind but with connectors/KQ/KT etc., you can often take a flop.

If you cannot find a hand and have a tight table image, a good way of building your chips is the re-steal raise/go all-in. If a loose player has been raising a lot of pots and you know they are unlikely to have a strong enough hand to call a re-raise, then you can 'come over the top' and put then to the test. A hand such as suited connectors/small pair is good for this move, but if you are in the small or big blind then any 2 will do. It is a risky play but has a high reward if used selectively.

Hopefully you will have about 20+ times the big blind at this stage but if you dip below 15 times, you need to be very selective and try to put your opponents to the test with big bets/raises. If you dip below 10 times the big blind, try to find a hand, preferably in late position and move all-in to take the blinds or hopefully double up. It is sad to see people raise for a third of their stack and fold to a re-raise, if you get low don't be afraid to go all-in!

If you are in a pot at this stage, try everything you can to win it. Bet and raise to put your opponents to the test. Hopefully they will not have seen you 'get out of line' throughout the tournament so they have to respect you may have a hand. Also, because you have been so aggressive, many players will back off from taking you on in pots so you can get most of your raises through more easily.

Approaching the Prize Money

At this stage, say to yourself 'lets go, push, push, attack', and force yourself to change gears. Start to raise with any 2 cards from mid-position and re-raise smaller stacks who have made a move in late position and whom you don't give credit for a premium hand. You obviously have to be careful of a tight player who moves all-in at this stage because they will almost certainly have a very strong hand. Other good players on the table will soon realize what you are up to so tread carefully at times. But because you will have accumulated chips with your steals you can afford to pay off a short-stack who will move in on you and you have to call with an inferior hand because you are pot committed.

Once you are in the prize money, you should move your starting requirements back to normal. It is worth taking it easy for a few of rounds as the short-stackers tend to gamble now that they are in the money so you want to be playing pots with solid cards.

The Final Table

Confidence should be high and you are ensured a payoff, but it is vital to remain fully focused. Sometimes online you may have played for 3-4 hours or more to get to this stage and fatigue is understandable, but this is where you must play well and consistently to reach the final 3 places and be a real winner.

At a 9-10 handed final table with a short or medium stack, start off tight/aggressive, looking to play position poker (raising in late position unless you have a premium hand). Avoid limping at this stage and if you call a raise you need to have a good read as to what your opponent may have and a clear strategy for how to play the flop. Hopefully a few players will soon be knocked out at which point you can change gears and steadily move up to a challenging position.

With a big stack you can play more aggressively, especially if there are any tight players on the table. You should become the table 'Captain' and make people fear that you are likely to put a bet or raise on them that could cost them their tournament life. Defend your blinds vigorously when you have a large stack. By doing this early on at the final table many opponents will shy away from trying to steal from you. As the big stack, it pays off to attack the short-medium stacks rather than your fellow big ones. Don't get in a raising war with other leaders unless you have a premium hand!

Once the final is down to 5-7 players, gradually lower your starting requirements. If you have a tight image or have been quiet for a while ('card-dead') you can sometimes make one of the strongest moves in poker the 're-steal raise' (as discussed in the middle stages). If you suspect an opponent is raising with marginal/weak hands then re-raise them with any 2 cards. Most players will only call your move if they have AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AK so it can be very profitable if a bit dangerous.

Once down to 4 players, be the most aggressive/active player on the table. Any ace or pair, any 2 big cards and connectors should be brought in for a raise. There tends to be lots of 'coin flip' confrontations between 2 sets of big cards or 2 big cards against just a pair. Plenty of luck is needed at this stage but if you are the most aggressive player you can pick up lots of pots when no one has much and those chips can help you survive if you lose a confrontation.

Once in heads-up play, aggression is the key. If you only generally play multi-table tournaments, you need to get experience at short-handed play by taking in some single-table tournaments or heads-up games. The best advice is to try and be the aggressor as much as possible. Mix up your play and raise with all kinds of hands, especially when you have the advantage of the button. Try to get an idea of how your opponent is playing, especially important is to find out if /how/when he likes to bluff on the flop or turn and how he bets or acts when he hits the flop. Any 2 unpaired cards only make a pair on the flop once every 3 times. This means that any time you hit a pair you will most often be in good shape and with top pair you should be prepared to commit all your chips. It is essential to try and trap when you have AA/KK/QQ in this situation. Also, don't allow your opponent to bluff frequently on the flop, raise him with nothing at times if he does so.

Hopefully you have picked up some pointers for your multi-table tournament strategy. There are many intricacies and tactics that have not been covered but the best overall advice is to be focused, watch how your opponents play, be selective, play position, play very aggressively, be a raiser/bettor, and change gears at key points.