1. Online Poker Tournament Strategy
2. Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages 4
3. Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages 3
4. Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages
5. Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages 2

One of the greatest challenges for a tournament player is being able to adapt to the changing settings of the tournament. The blinds are always increasing, antes may be added, your chip stack will fluctuate, and you will even be moved from table to table, so the players at your table will change.

This is a discussion on Best strategy for early tour with all bad hand within the online poker forums, in the Tournament Poker section; if bad hand early tournament, what you always do to defend.

In the early phase of a tournament, the blinds are unimportant as they are very small in relation to our stack. In the early phase of a normal PokerStars tournament we have a stack of 1,500 chips and the blinds are 10/20. In other words, we have 75BBs, and winning the blinds increases our stack by only 2%. Early stage ICM example hand First hand of a tournament with 15,000 chip starting stacks. You’re in a heads-up pot on the river, holding 4♥3♥ on a board of K♠2♥A♥6♣8♠. There’s 10,000 in the pot, and both you and your opponent have 10,000 chips behind. This is a discussion on Best strategy for early tour with all bad hand within the online poker forums, in the Tournament Poker section; if bad hand early tournament, what you always do to defend. During the early stages of a poker tournament you should use a pretty mellow approach, because too much aggression during the early stages of a tournament usually leads to an early exit. Since blinds are so small in relation to your stack size, we recommend seeing a lot of cheap flops and looking for a.

This article series will focus on adapting to the changing levels. That is, the increasing blinds and the addition of antes. We have articles about the early stages, the middle stages, the bubble, the late stages, and the final table. Each piece will help guide you all the way to a first place tournament finish.

Online Poker Tournament Strategy

This page will discuss the early stages of tournament poker, and how to adapt your play to the beginning of the tournament. Our definition of the 'early stage' of a tournament is the time period between the first hand of the tournament until about half of the tournament field is eliminated.

Blinds and Antes

In the early stage of a tournament, blinds and antes won't be a major concern. Since most tournaments provide players with a starting stack of 1,500 or 3,000 chips, and blinds usually start at 10/20 (no antes), each player has anywhere from 75 to 100 big blinds. This is more than enough to play with normal poker strategy, so during the early stages you shouldn't worry about stealing blinds or antes to survive.

Aggression During the Early Stages

During the early stages of a poker tournament you should use a pretty mellow approach, because too much aggression during the early stages of a tournament usually leads to an early exit. Since blinds are so small in relation to your stack size, we recommend seeing a lot of cheap flops and looking for a spot to double up. There is no reason to get all your chips in the middle unless you are at least an 80% favorite. Avoid coin flips, because you will find better spots to use your chips later in the tournament.

Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages 4

We recommend playing a lot of marginal hands in late position, especially if you can get in cheap. For example, if you have KJ on the button and someone makes a raise to 3x the big blind, you should call behind and try to flop a big hand. This strategy only works if you are able to release hands though, because often times you will be out-kicked with marginal hands if you make top pair. You should be looking to hit two pair, trips, or a straight - these are the hands that will win you big pots, because other players will have a hard time getting off top pair or an over pair.

By seeing a lot of cheap flops from late position, you give yourself a great chance to hit a flop and double up while only risking a small portion of your chip stack. And by avoiding preflop all-in coin flips you will give yourself a better chance of survival, and will save chips for use later in the tournament.

Other Players' Aggression

As stated before, many players will have the mentality to get all-in on coin flips preflop. These players want to build a large stack early in the game, and if they are eliminated they have no problem with it. You can take advantage of these players' aggressiveness by doubling up when you have a huge hand. Remember though, don't shove all your chips in the middle with any two cards. If a player is playing very aggressively, call his all-in with Queens, Kings, Aces, or Ace-King, because those hands have 95% of his range dominated.

Overplaying Too Soon

Many players tend to involve themselves in pots with marginal hands early in the tournament. At this stage in the tournament overplaying hands such as AK or small pocket pairs will relieve you of a majority of you stack. At later stages in the tournament, continuation bets on flops and turns can steal the pot after a pre-flop raise. But because the aggression of opponents is so high early on, continuation bets are not as effective.

If you are holding a marginal hand like AK or 77 on a flop of 10-J-6 with a couple suited cards, a continuation bet may be very dangerous. Odds are your opponent has outdrawn you with a weak hand such as A10 or Q10. However, this early in the tournament a player will be much more willing to call your C-bet. So although you may think your opponent is on a draw, he may be willing to call you down to the river with these weak hands.

Now that you know about the early stages, read on about the middle stages of a poker tournament.

More General Poker Tournament Strategy:

Improve Your Chances of Reaching the Final Table with this Beginners Strategy Guide

Poker tournaments offer up some dream opportunities for big wins – though playing in a tournament as a beginner can be a tricky proposition. Entering a tournament with no real idea of strategy can make for a tough time at the tables, where the hope of a big pay out can seem a faraway prospect.

Fortunately, some basic tournament strategy can go a long way. In many cases, especially at lower stakes, even a basic strategy can make you one of the better players in the event immediately. In this strategy guide, each stage of a tournament is broken down – to help you chip-up as you go. At the end of this page you’ll find an extra piece of advice that will stand you in good stead in any poker tournament.

Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages 3

Beginners Strategy – Early Stages of an Online Poker Tournament

In the early stages of a poker tournament, the adage ‘tight is right’ will go a long way. A tournament might start with blind levels of 10/20 chips and you will usually have a starting stack of around 1,500 / 2,000 chips.

At this point, there is no real reason to get involved unless you have a solid hand. Yes, you can get involved in a large multi-way pot with hands like suited connectors, but generally you’ll want to keep to those premium hands such as Ace-Queen or better and high pairs. One of the mistakes you see from many beginners is to limp in with a hand such as A8 off, then call a raise behind them. This is just asking for trouble as even if an Ace appears on the flop, you are crushed by the likes of AK and AQ. Even if you find a fold after calling the raise, you’ve still lost in the region of 100 chips, chips might come in useful later in the tournament.

At low stakes tournaments, you’ll find many players splashing their chips around in these early stages. Playing tight and hitting them hard with large raises when you have the goods might easily see you double your chip stack, but if you don’t find that opportunity, you’re still in the tournament with a decent chip stack.

In terms of bet sizing, you should raise to around 2.5x to 3x the big blind every time you are the first to enter a hand and any continuation bets you make should be in the range of 50%-70% of the pot size.

Beginners Strategy – Middle Stages of a Poker Tournament

As you move into the middle stages of tournaments, the blinds will start to become larger in relation to your chip stack. This means that regularly hitting that fold button can start to really eat in to your stack. At this point you’ll want to start opening your starting hand ranges. There’ll be no need to go crazy, though you should certainly be looking at stealing blinds with any semi decent holding.

Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages

Keep an eye on the average chip stack of the field, so you’ll know where you are in relation to the rest of the players. If you’re behind the field, you’ll have to loosen up even more, while if ahead of the game you use your chips to keep pressure on those who are playing tight. You should be aware that the smaller stacks will be pushing with a wide range of hands at this point, so you can call them down a little lighter with your large stack (if you have one).

Beginners Strategy – Later Stages of a Poker Tournament

When you reach the later stages of a tournament your play should loosen up even more. One of the biggest mistakes you see from beginners is that they tighten up when the bubble is approaching. While this might give players more chance of making the prize in a tournament, it virtually guarantees that the BIG cash won’t be heading their way. On occasion, you’ll miss out on a min-cash using this strategy, though you’ll find many occasions when you quickly move from a short stack to a real contender for the top prizes. If you enter the later stages of a tournament with a big stack, you can take advantage of those players who have tightened up by simply shoving over them and watching them fold.

Beginners Strategy – A Final but Vital Tournament Rule

This final rule will stand you in good stead in any multi table tournament.

Poker Tournament Strategy Early Stages 2

You should always aim to have at least 10 big blinds in your stack. If you do find yourself with around 10 big blinds in your stack, your only options are to push or fold. You don’t have any room at this point to play any real poker, so making a raise and then folding at this point is a disaster. If you shove with ten big blinds, there is a good chance that you’ll simply take the blinds and give yourself a bit of leeway, while even if you are called, you’ll still have the opportunity of doubling your stack.