Taking Your Tournament Game To The Next Level Improve your Holdem tournament game and become a better poker player

Next time you decide to play poker online drop by the new PokerStars Sit & Go tournament tables.  They are now offering most of the popular games in one, two or three table tournaments for play money.  You can learn a lot at these tables since people really play to win, despite the lack of real stakes.  As with most tournaments the higher the buy in, the better the players.  If you take part in a play money tournament that costs $10,000 of play money to enter you are going to play against some good players.  Let's face it, they started with $1,000.  They must have done something right to end up with enough to pay $10,000 just to enter a sit and go.

So what has all this got to do with taking your game to the next level and becoming an intermediate player?

When you play you may notice that a number of players opt to sit out after just a few hands of play.  Now this may be for legitimate reasons, maybe their boss came into the room, maybe they went to use the bathroom.  But some people are doing this for a specific reason.  What's interesting is that often one of these players will make it to the final five, or even final three, which is not bad for someone that is not even playing.

Generally in tournament poker if someone leaves the table they are dealt into every hand, but they automatically fold every hand.  When it is their turn to be in the small or big blind they have to surrender that bet irregardless of their hand.

So this leads us to the point of this article.  If you want to take your poker game to the next level you need to start to play tight.  In most sit and go tournaments there will be some dead money that gets knocked out almost immediately trying to catch a lucky hand with an all in bet.  These people will usually knock themselves out soon enough.  Some slightly more skilled players will play too many hands and eventually call too much on a marginal hand.  This play will leave them crippled in the tournament.

During this battle there will be a player sitting out and despite getting left behind will outlast many more reckless players who knock each other out with overly aggressive loose play.

If inactive players can effectively and consistently stay in the game without even participating it shows us quite clearly that there is an advantage to playing fewer hands.  The key to tournament success is patience.  It is exciting to slide all those chips into the middle and declare all in.  But each time you do that you are gambling.  Even if you have AA and the other player has 72 off suit you are not guaranteed a win.  When the flop comes 227 you are in trouble and have less than 5% chance to win.  This is not to say that you should never go all in with a pair of aces, but just consider that no hand is unbeatable before the flop and each time you go all in you are putting your tournament future on the line.

The key to moving forward and becoming a more formidable tournament player is learning to pick your battles.  Don't be afraid to go all in when you need to, but always weigh the risk involved.  Your goal in any tournament is to survive until you are 'in the money.'  Always know how many positions pay money.  Watch players tighten up when there are seven players left and only five places paid.  Steal their blinds with some well timed raises while they are playing too tight.  During the early stages of a tournament play only premium hands.  Teach the other players at the table you are a serious player.  They will get used to seeing you show down a monster hand and realize that you mean business when you raise.  This will allow you to dominate the table with some great bluffs later.

A typical tournament can be broken down as follows:

The Beginning

Keep it tight.  Let the bad players knock each other out.  If you feel some players are just going all in on almost every hand join them all in if you have a good hand.  It is unlikely that players who keep going all in have a premium hand every time.  You are taking a risk to take them on, but the chips you could win will help you dominate the game later on.

Early Middle

After the idiots have knocked themselves out you are in the middle game.  There will be some good players playing tight but aggressive.  When they play they will come in for a raise not a call.  Get into that habit yourself.  Your thought process should be, "Should I fold?  Should I raise? If I cannot raise maybe I should fold.  Okay I really don't want to raise, but I am in good position or it is cheap to call so I'll call."

As you can see, you should first think about if you really have a reason to play.  If you think you do then you should come in for an appropriate sized raise.  If you cannot justify a raise then you should re-evaluate your decision to play the hand.  If you really want to play because of good position or you've already put some money in then consider a call.

On his website Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, a world champion poker player, warns about the perils of simply calling instead of raising.  It's a dangerous and weak play that is usually not aggressive enough.  If you come in for a raise you may get someone to lay down a superior hand later because you are representing a good hand.  Just a call does not send the same message.  Always look for reasons to fold and justifications to play.  Don't look for excuses to play.  You can lose a lot of chips playing mediocre hands or unlikely draws.

Late Middle

As the game moves towards the final table most of the weaker players are gone and people are concentrating on making the money.  This can be a good time to raise half decent hands and be a lot looser with your starting hand criteria.  The blinds will be larger at this point and some good raises will make people back down.  Remember, these are good players who don't want to take unnecessary risks for the most part as they want to get in the money.  Don't let yourself get drawn into a bloody fight at this point, you want to make the money too.

When you see the shorter stack players go all in, if you have a good hand and can afford it, call them.  They are likely to be making a last desperate attempt to double up before they get blinded out, take their money if you can.

The End Game

So you're in the money and playing the final few to determine who gets the biggest prize.  Remember that top pair and even ace high can win a lot of hands with so few players playing.  Adjust your game accordingly.  You should have a good read on your opponents by this point.  What hands do they show down, what are their weaknesses, what makes them back down?  If you have been playing correctly they will fear your raises because they have seen you playing some strong hands throughout.  Take advantage of this with some well timed semi-bluffs.

Keep the pressure on to the end.  You are reaching the end of the marathon and it's time to enter the final sprint.  Don't let them have free cards, don't call to enter a pot, raise.  If you have a chip lead play tight and very aggressive.  Don't give them the chance to double up.  Don't be afraid to lose a few blinds with a junk hand.  If you are on a short stack don't give up, go all in when you have a strong hand, keep the pressure up.  Chip leaders will often get cocky and in most tournaments a short stack can get right back in contention with just a few big wins.

Conclusion

Hopefully some of these pointers will help you take your tournament game to the next level.  Every time you consider going all in or calling a big bet just remember those players who sit out but still outlast you.  Be patient enough to fold four out of every five hands.  As Phil Hellmuth says in his book bring the big guns to war, don't waste valuable chips on a junk or semi junk hand.

It is this lesson that so many beginners fail to learn.  They simply want to play 4/5 hand instead of folding 4/5 hands.  Play the good cards well and you'll enjoy a lot more success. Good luck!