Tournament Poker Strategy
For many players, poker tournaments are the favorite format of choice, offering a challenge and an exciting opportunity to win big for a small buy-in.
Tournament poker strategy, especially for multi-table events, is quite different from cash games. This is due to the fact that in tournaments the level of blinds is constantly increasing and players tactically need to maintain the level of their stack all the time so that it does not reduce to preflop push-fold decisions.
Unfortunately, there is no special tactic in tournament play that is guaranteed to be profitable. But learning the strategy and working on the game will help you count on winnings in the long run. Because if you want to become a professional, be prepared for the fact that only results at a distance are important to you.
![]()
Poker Tournament Strategies in Disciplines
Poker Tournament Strategies in DisciplinesThere are many different tournament formats in poker. All of them differ in structure, blind growth, number of players at the tables. The events can be distinguished by the structure of the growth of the blinds: regular, turbo, hyper-turbo.
- MTT
Big multi-table tournaments lure beginners with huge life-changing prizes and encourage the best poker players on the planet to constantly progress and compete with each other. MTT poker strategy for players includes the special features at the early, middle stage, bubble and at the final table.
- Sit&Go
Key features of tactics in SnG games that distinguish them from MTTs is the increased influence of mathematics on decision making. Given this factor, the player needs to thoroughly study the push-fold strategy, GTO poker and ICM factor.
- Spin&Go
This format is very popular and loved by recreational players. The opportunity to win a huge jackpot in just a few minutes is the dream of all amateurs. But not every participant understands how important a strategy here is. If you plan to play these events on a regular basis, you should thoroughly study poker math and short stack play. This will help to improve the understanding of the process of Spins and the achievement of results in them.
- Fifty50/DoN (Double or Nothing)
This is the format of SnG tournaments, in which half of the registered players get into the prize zone. The best online poker tournament strategy here is to double your stack and then apply pressure on others. Depending on the room, the prize fund can be divided either absolutely equally or by the remaining chips.
![]()
Poker Tournament Tips at Different Stages
Poker Tournament Tips at Different StagesAny tournament can be divided into several stages. Let's consider the main features of every stage in detail, since the choice of strategy heavily depends on it.
- Be patient
Use the initial stage of an MTT tournament to get more information about your opponents. Don't get into deep and difficult hands early on where you could lose a lot of your starting stack.
- Don't steal blinds
In the early stages, stealing the blinds will not increase your stack significantly. For example, at 25/50 level, you would have to bet at least 100-125 chips to try to win 75. In this situation, it is absolutely unprofitable to try to steal the blinds with a marginal hand, since you can lose even more postflop.
- It's time to steal the blinds
When it comes to the ante stage, the math comes into play. The risk ratio relative to the potential payoff gets better and blind stealing tactics become very profitable.
- Make some traps
The main tournament poker strategy in the middle stage is to make unconventional decisions to maximize profits. If there are a lot of aggressive players at the table, then you need to use a counter-strategy against them, giving them the opportunity to donate their chips.
- Aggression
This is what should be in your head when a “Hand-for-hand” sign hangs over the table. Naturally, you should play this way if you managed to get a big stack. If you have only a few blinds and you are praying to get into the money, then the ICM model will come to the rescue.
- Don't risk
If you have a comfortable stack to get into the prize zone, you shouldn't risk being eliminated from the tournament. The poker tournament strategy for beginners on the bubble is to sit out wisely and hit the money.
- Know your opponents
If your opponents are patiently waiting to move up a couple of payjumps, then (if you have a big stack) you should regularly steal the blinds and pressure short and medium stacks. If they are actively trying to double up to reach the final 3, then you can just wait for them to eliminate each other, and the opportunity to move higher will appear. This is the main strategy of online tournament poker for many players.
- Analyze and decide
If you get to the final table with a short stack, you will need to make a decision quickly. Are you taking the risk of being busted right now, or are you patiently waiting for the cards and playing exclusively on ICM? The answer will depend on the payout structure, style, level of play of your opponents and your stack relative to the stacks of the rest of the participants.
The bubble stage is the moment when the game gets tough. On the one hand you don’t want to get knocked out directly before the prize zone, but on the other hand you want to win hands and have a comfortable stack. Of course, the size of your stack will matter.
Short stack bubble strategy
You need to make a game plan and to estimate how small your stack is in comparison with other players in the tournament. After that, you should decide what is more profitable for you: to sit and wait the minimum payments or take a risk to get a more comfortable stack.
Big stack bubble strategy
It’s always much easier to play with a big stack at all stages of the tournament. When you have a big stack, you don’t need to worry about getting into the minimum ITM. Your main goal on the bubble is to continue improving the stack. You must always exert pressure on players with medium and short stacks. The only thing you should worry about with a big stack is an ability to hit the brakes on time and not to donate a significant part of your chips to opponents.
All these tips are correct either for online or live poker tournament strategy.
![]()
Playing Tournament with Various Stack Size
Playing Tournament with Various Stack SizeYour behavior at the poker table will depend on the size of your stack. You will be severely limited in actions with a short stack while having more power with a medium-sized one. As a chip leader, you will be an arbiter of the fate of your opponents.
Small Stack Play
Sooner or later, each poker player faces situations when they get short-stacked, meaning they have fewer chips than the rest participants of the tourney. Such stacks typically have 10-20 BB (or even less). It’s usually difficult to compete with such a short stack, as every hand you enter may be the last for you.
You have fewer possible actions to take at the table, and there is no single optimal strategy line to stick to. You will need to adjust to other participants, each time based on different factors. Besides, larger bets are usually placed on the later streets (turn and river), so you will rarely be betting postflop, having not enough poker chips to further battling. This will enable deep-stacked players to exert tremendous pressure on small stacks.
You should focus on tight players to exploit them by applying a min-raise from LP (late position) in an effort to steal the blinds. If you face a call, then try c-betting (2.5 BB or 1/3 pot) postflop. This will be your second shot to take away the pot.
Keep in mind that you must look for perfect moments to resteal versus loose open-raisers. At the same time, it’s vital to be aware of when to move all-in wide and narrow. Versus loose opponents with medium-sized stacks who open in LP, you can shove wider. Versus tight openers who also have a small stack, the shove must be much narrower as they will unlikely open with a weak hand. The same can be applied to opponents with deep stacks who don’t care much about failing an all-in versus small one.
Nathan "BlackRain79" Williams suggests playing relatively tight with a short stack in MTTs. He emphasizes that you should never be afraid of getting kicked out of a tourney!
![Nathan Williams]()
Nathan WilliamsSuccessful poker player and coach«The best poker tournament tips for a short stack is to play tight preflop, fold all speculative hands like suited connectors and suited aces, bet small postflop with both your bluffs and your value hands, play your draws fast and use the squeeze play often».
You should more carefully select hands that you are willing to play on the postflop with. At the same time, you should be ready to invest all your poker chips in the right spots. Here are the cards BlackRain79 considers best to shove all-in when having a small stack:
- 66, 77, 88, 99, TT, JJ, QQ, KK, AA.
- ATs, AJ, AQ, AK.
- QJs, KJ, KQ.
As you may have noticed, these are broadways and premium (strong) hands. If you have a really weak hand or trash, better don't fight for the pot.
Even though you will be short stacked, many people would rather fold unless they have very strong hands. It is supposed to mean that you are able to take the pot in two ways: by causing your opponents to muck their cards (fold equity) and by completing your drawing hand.
Medium Stack Play
When your stack is medium (21-35 BB), your MTT poker strategy should be focused on players with shorter stacks. There are more actions to be taken compared to fighting with a smaller stack, but one wrong decision may easily change everything; therefore, steer clear of those with deeper stacks, since they can jeopardize your participation in the event.
At this point, search for weak opponents who have little chips left and exert pressure on them to boost your stack. An ideal moment to do that is when your “victim” opens preflop: use a 3-bet to place them in a challenging position (fold cards or shove).
Example:
- CO Hero (30 BB)
- MP (20 BB)
MP opens to 2.5 big blinds pre-flop, Hero (in the cut-off) 3-bets to 7 big blinds. Now, the opener is in a difficult situation as has to decide what to do – fold or play for the stack. This is a perfect spot for Hero to amass chips because he can lose only around 25% of the stack while the opener is risking all of his chips if he shoves unsuccessfully.
Accordingly, you should wait for such spots where your rivals will make decisions for their entire stack, and you will risk somewhere about 20%-30% of your chips. It’s necessary to apply similar maneuvers playing in position, as it reduces the likelihood that your opponent will call your 3-bet.
At the same time, you should steer clear of loose players who will easily call your 3-bets, as well as opponents with big stacks who stick to aggressive behavior and constantly move all-in. It's because you will risk all of your chips. When you receive a call from your opponent, it’s prudent to make a postflop c-bet (1/3 of the pot) with the intention to grab the pot.
Big Stack Strategy
When you are lucky to have a deep stack (55 BB or above), then you should follow an extremely aggressive line, trying to find perfect spots to exert pressure on participants with stacks of 30-40 BB.
In this case, you should generally steal a lot of pots, open wider, and apply light 3-bets versus weak players. Also, have no fear to call with any playable cards in CO or BTN. For instance, if the Hijack with 40 BB in his stack opens to 2.5 big blinds, you can easily call him as you are in position and get him covered. Thus, the Hijack will be more cautious towards his postflop actions.
A big stack gives you the opportunity to exploit players with smaller ones by forcing them to make a hard choice. For example, apply 3-betting.
At the same time, you have to defend your open-raises by calling 3-bets from your opponents. Especially, when you are in position. Tend to play cards, with which you feel confident to invest money in the pot when facing aggressive behavior on the turn and river. For instance, KQs is a solid hand to defend versus 3-betting, while QJo doesn’t suit for such a spot.
Although you can play a wider range of hands and enter the game more often, you should still be cautious and avoid playing massive pots, where other players can double up from you. Try to reach a showdown only if you have a premium hand, otherwise do your best to grab the pot on the preflop or flop stages. Remember that an aggression like this is a tournament poker strategy for advanced players.
![]()
Bankroll Management Tips
Bankroll Management TipsBefore starting an active game in MTT tournaments, you need to learn how to properly manage your bankroll. Professional poker players are often hit by variance and even following right poker tournament strategies does not save them from financial losses.
How do you deal with a losing streak when your strategy isn't paying off? You need to play within your bankroll and have more than 100 buy-ins in your limit. There are three types of bankroll management:
- Aggressive – up to 100 buy-ins
- Normal – 100-150 buy-ins
- Deep – 200-250 buy-ins
MTT is a discipline of heavy variance, so be prepared for the fact that you can not get into the prizes for days. If you play tournaments that are too expensive, you run the risk of losing all your money, falling into an unsuccessful streak. But if you have a cash reserve and you know how to play poker, you will be profitable at a distance.
The poker strategy for cash games is very different from the tournament one. Therefore, cash has its own recommendations regarding the needed number of buy-ins.
![]()
Final Thoughts
Final ThoughtsThere are always a large number of amateurs participating in poker tournaments. They are attracted by the opportunity to win big money after paying a relatively small entry fee. For example, poker rooms hold events with a buy-in of $11 and a prize pool of $100,000.
But getting into prizes is impossible without strict adherence to the chosen strategy. Tournament professionals obviously do not become overnight, so you need to constantly work on yourself. You can find a lot of tournament poker strategy videos on the web that can show you different spots to analyze.
For a poker player, a strategy isn't the only thing that matters. Practice is also important, because with it comes experience. You will find an event to play without problems, as poker rooms offer thousands of different events every day. There you can find your best tournament poker strategy and decide on your style of play.
Poker rooms to play tournaments
1. Players must be aged 18 and above to participate in this promotion.
2. Welcome Bonus and Honeymoon promotion for new players only over a limited period .
3. Welcome Bonus only available to new players that make an initial deposit. The minimum deposit necessary to obtain a matched bonus is $10, or if a player chooses the $100 in rewards the minimum deposit necessary is $20.
4. $50 Free Play offer made up of $52.50 in free All-In Or Fold SNG tickets from Welcome Bonus and $2.50 in free tickets from Daily Freebie.
5. Free tickets automatically credited to eligible players’ accounts over a six day period.
6. A 100% matched deposit bonus worth a maximum of $600 can be claimed by players selecting ‘Match Bonus’ when making their first deposit(s) over a limited period.
7. Bonus cash is released at a rate of $1 for every $5 paid in net rake/tournament fees.
GGPoker standard rules apply. Play responsibly. www.begambleaware.org.
Available for players from your country
The following are the terms and conditions of the "£20 Bonus Package Promotion" (the "Promotion") for www.888poker.com (the “Site”). The Promotion is organized by 888 UK Limited.
This Promotion is an ongoing Promotion, currently without an end date, we will provide reasonable notice of when the Promotion is to come to an end (the “Promotion Period”).
888poker may cancel, modify or suspend the promotion, and any of the bonuses or benefits offered hereunder, where required for security reasons, to comply with applicable law or regulation, due to abuse or otherwise where the promotion is not capable of being conducted as specified as a result of exceptional circumstances. Other than where necessary to prevent fraud or other similar unlawful behavior, any such modification, suspension or cancellation will not apply to you if you have already opted into the promotion, made a deposit in expectation of receipt of a bonus or other benefits offered, and/or commenced play in relation to the promotion, bonus or special offer prior to the date of the communication of the modification, suspension or cancellation.
No-one under the age of 18 may participate in the Promotion and the Promotion is only available to eligible members located in the UK.
You may be asked at any stage to provide us with a proof of age and/or identity.
You may only enter this Promotion once.
For security and verification purposes, we reserve the right to limit participation in this Promotion to: (i) one per household; (ii) one per computer terminal; or (iii) one per mobile device.
During their engagement period and for a period of 24 months thereafter, none of our officers, directors, employees, consultants or agents or any other company within our group of companies or our suppliers, vendors or white label partners are permitted to participate in the Promotion, nor is any supplier or vendor. This restriction also applies to relatives of such persons and for this purpose 'relative' means any of a spouse, partner, parent, child or sibling.
If you have a pending message on the Site’s cashier regarding your recent gaming activity, we reserve the right to revoke your eligibility to participate and/or continue to participate in this promotion. In such event, any bonus and/or other benefit which you have received and/or are eligible to receive under this promotion, shall be forfeited by you.
The Promotion is a new registration offer with the Site and completely replaces any similar registration offer with the Site.
All bonuses and promotional offers, and any winnings generated through the wagering of either of the aforesaid, will be cancelled at withdrawal if any of the applicable conditions have not been met in full.
You hereby agree to these terms and conditions which govern the Promotion, along with the "User Agreement" which includes but is not limited to the "Bonus Policy".
Withdrawing funds your deposit balance (otherwise known as “Transaction Balance” in our Withdrawal Policy) is available for withdrawal at any time. General withdrawal terms apply, for further info see our Withdrawal Policy.
In order to meet the applicable wagering requirement, no real money shall be deemed to contribute (in full or in part) to the wagering requirement, unless otherwise specified by us.
Available funds will always be used before Restricted Funds (to include Money transferred) and the balance of both will be displayed in your My Account
Promotion
You may only participate in the Promotion, if you have not previously registered with the Site. If you benefit from this Promotion you will not be eligible to benefit from any other first deposit bonus or first deposit offer with the Site. If you have benefited from another first deposit offer with the Site you are not eligible to benefit from this Promotion.
You may not combine this registration offer with any other type of registration offer provided by the Site.
In order to be eligible and receive the Tournament Tickets (as defined below) granted under the Promotion, during the Promotion Period: (i) you must either download the 888poker client on PC or mobile application or click ‘Instant Play’ on the English non-download version of the Site; (ii) open a new user account with the Site; and (iii) verify his/her e-mail address by clicking on a link within the e-mail body or by SMS to the phone number entered within 14 days of the Site sending the email to you, otherwise the bonus offer will expire and you shall forfeit the bonus offer.".
Under the terms of this Promotion, eligible players will be entitled to receive £20 worth bonus (granted in USD at equivalent value of USD 25 in accordance with the Exchange Rate as defined in the User Agreement referenced above) that will be given as Tournament Tickets, according to the following allocation: 50 tickets of $0.1buy-in and 20 tickets of $1 buy-in.
Once claimed, Tournament Tickets will be granted in batches as follows:
First batch worth $5 (10 tickets of $0.1buy-in and 4 tickets of $1buy in) will be granted following your fulfilment of point 3 above.
Second batch worth $10 (20 tickets of $0.1buy-in and 8 tickets of $1buy in) will be granted 3 days after the bonus was claimed.
Third batch worth $10 (20 tickets of $0.1buy-in and 8 tickets of $1buy in) will be granted 7 days after the bonus was claimed.
If you don’t use the Tournament Tickets granted under the Promotion within 24 hours of being credited to your account, such Tournament Tickets shall expire and you shall forfeit each of such Tournament Tickets.
Tournament Tickets
A Tournament Ticket possesses a fixed value and may only be used in tournaments that have a buy-in equal to that of the value of the Tournament Ticket. For the avoidance of doubt, Tournament Tickets may not be used as a buy-in for a tournament where the buy-in is less than the value of a Tournament Ticket.
A Tournament Ticket can’t be used by a player to re-buy chips or to add chips to his/her stack during a tournament.
Tournament Tickets may not be: (i) exchanged or converted into cash; (ii) joined together to create a higher value ticket; or (iii) transferred by a player to another player.
For further terms and conditions in relation to the use of Tournament Tickets, please see our Bonus Policy.
Available for players from your country
100% First Deposit Bonus
Make your first-ever real money deposit using the bonus code ‘STARS600’, and we will give you a 100% bonus up to $600. To claim the full value of the bonus, you can make up to three qualifying deposits in 60 days.
Alternatively, deposit using code ‘THIRTY’ and claim $30 of free play.
How the 100% First Deposit Bonus works
Once you’ve made your deposit, you need to earn redemption points by playing real money games. Unless stated otherwise, you will earn 5 redemption points for every USD $1 you pay in rake or tournament fees (6.5 points per £1, 4 points per CAD $1, or 5.5 points per EUR €1).
Every time you reach 180 redemption points we’ll credit your Stars Account with $10 cash. You have four months after each qualifying deposit to earn all the redemption points needed to release your bonus.
You may only take advantage of one of our first deposit offers, but may be eligible for further deposit bonuses open to existing players. You can view any bonuses you have, alongside information on expiry dates, redemption point requirements and more, under the ‘My Stars’ menu.
Please note that redemption points will not be earned at pot-limit or no-limit tables with blinds of $5/$10 or higher, 8-game tables with stakes of $20/$40 or higher, or other limit games with stakes of $20/$40 or higher.
Not available for players from your country
![FAQ]()
FAQ
FAQ
To improve your results in multi-table poker tournaments, you need to constantly work on theory and practice. To work with the theory, you can watch educational videos, streams of professional players, study articles and materials on forums. The main practice is to play online and offline, as well as to do a detailed analysis of the hands played and the mistakes made. It is very important to adhere to the principles of bankroll management.
The tournament strategy seriously depends on the game stage: early, middle, bubble and late/final table. The task of each participant is to go as far as possible and win as much money as possible. The most popular strategy is the tight-aggressive play, which consists of a strict choice of starting hands and the use of aggression with strong hands. You can find more detailed tips on how to play at each stage of the event in our article.
In poker MTTs, it is very important to be able not only to get into the prize zone, but also to make the so-called deep runs, since the main money is paid out at the final table. To do this, you need to understand the situation in the tournament and constantly analyze it: the number of players remaining, stack sizes, the style of the players at the table, payjumps. The key success factor is that your strategy should change during the tournament. It depends on the stage of the game and the size of your stack.
