| Tournament Tips |
| Tournaments are very different animals
from cash games. Whilst this may seem obvious, many people
are unaware of the differences and never reach their potential.
Please read below some important tips for you to consider. |
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| 1 - SURVIVE!!! |
| Poker tournaments are about survival. If
you stay in the tournament longer than everyone else you will
win. Therefore, your strategy should be based on calculated
risks all with the goal of giving yourself the best chance
of staying in the tournament. |
| 2 - Find a style that works for you and
stick to it.. |
| There are many books and instruction articles
which will tell you how to play. Whilst they have relevance
and are worth reading, keep your own style. Apdapt your style,
modify it but keep its theme. If you are a naturally tight
player you will find it hard to play a loose/aggressive style
and vice versa. Play with your instincts more than from a textbook.
Just hone your instincts so they are right more often than
not. |
| 3 - Study the players.. |
| Know the players on your table. A top professional
can know a lot about the players he is with very quickly. Practice
this skill each time you play. If you are playing online and
are playing a few tables at once, this will seriously harm
your chances as you will not be able to study the betting as
much as is required. Give each tournament your full attention. |
| 4 - Bully the weak. |
| Weak players are there to be bullied in
tournament poker. If you know someone is playing overly tight
then you can take advantage of this and steal his blinds and
more. |
| 5 - Be aware of the power of your stack
size.. |
| Always be aware of the power of your stack.
This is vital. Big stacks can intimidate smaller stacks and
steal from them. The smaller stack will know you can afford
to take a chance with him. If you have a small stack, you may
not be able to bet enough to make someone fold, be aware of
this and play accordingly. Having a big stack is a big advantage
and should be used wisely to bully the weaker players. |
| 6 - Be aware of the different stages of
the tournament.. |
| Be aware of when the blinds increase, when
the break is coming, how long before the money places are paid.
This will help you to at accordingly. It can be good to be
more aggressive when the blinds go up, just before a break
in the tournament and especially just before the money places
are paid. These are times when people may be playing tighter.
If you can adjust your strategy according to the player and
the tournament stage, you will be on your way to becoming a
better player. |
| 7 - Go with your instincts.. |
| Your first instincts are often your best
ones. Do not be scared to lose or go out of the competition
if you feel strongly that someone is bluffing etc. Play with
your instincts and have courage. This alone will separate you
from many tournament players around today. |
| 8 - Do not pay too much attention to tournament
highlights on T.V!!!! |
| We see the tournament highlights on the
poker channel where the top professionals are reraisning with
10 2 off suit and so on. Therefore in our next tournament we
try the same thing and get knocked out!! Bear in mind the following
differences. |
| 1 - We are watching the highlights, watching
the pros fold, fold, fold does not make good television. |
| 2 - They may have a tell on their opponents
and are therefore able to reraise them with any hands because
they think they are weak. |
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