DigitalNomad
Member
I know a lot of people here are struggling to cash consistently in tourneys, so I thought I’d see if I could help out a little. I’m not a pro or anything, but I’m a winning tournament player over the last four years, and I’m happy to share some of my top tips. Here goes:
Keep learning: this is the most important thing. It’s like anything - you can’t get better if you don’t study and practice. Read here, post hand histories, run hands through simulators, everything.
I also try to read a poker book every other month. There’s almost always something good to get out of any book, but my favorites are probably Modern Poker Theory and the Harrington on Hold Em books. High level and technical, but that’s how you gotta think if you wanna win.
Pick a style and master it: imo there are two basic tourney styles. Some like to play fast and loose early in hopes of getting a massive stack or busting before they commit too much time, while others play tight and try to advance and wait for prime double-up opportunities.
I think either way is fine (I myself play pretty laggy early on). However, I’d advise you to just pick one and try to master it rather than switching back and forth. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and you need to learn how to know where you’re at in a hand with the different table images both styles create.
Plan your hands: one mistake I see a lot of players make is calling early in a hand with no real idea how to proceed if they don’t bink the perfect card. You need to know exactly how to proceed no matter what happens before it happens. The guy forcing the action will always have a huge edge on the guy reacting to it.
It’s super easy to make a call or two and then realize you’ve committed 2/3 of your stack with TPWK. That’s how a lot of players end up walking to the rail wondering how they could’ve let things get out of hand with KJo.
Pay attention to fold times preflop: one thing you absolutely need to know is who at your table is checking the “auto fold” button preflop (you can also check to see if any of the players at your table are multitabling during the tourney - they’ll be the ones ticking the box).
If you find that person, you’ve got your prime steal target. Assuming they’re only a couple seats to your left, you can start to pick off their blinds when you get deeper into the tourney with less risk (and if they look you up, you can be more certain they have a real hand).
You’ll be amazed how often stop & go works: a lot of players nowadays have preflop strategy nailed down pretty tight. If you’re short stacked and a guy’s trying to steal your blinds, they know to look you up with a wide range if you defend with a shove. That’s a great recipe for getting busted, even if you push with the best hand.
Instead, try the stop & go technique. Assuming you have a decent enough stack (~10-20 BBs), what you want to do is call preflop when you suspect a steal, then shove on any board. This makes your hand look much stronger and makes it harder for them to call with weaker hands that may have you beat.
Don’t be all-in: I think this is pretty well known at this point, but bears repeating. The best way to avoid getting busted in a tourney is never to be all-in. Think about it: if you’re all-in 5 times in a row with pocket aces, you should get eliminated. It’s much better to take pots down without a showdown than to risk your life on what the board turns up.
This doesn’t mean you can’t go all in, but the idea is to never actually be at risk. Of course, this isn’t always up to you, but just remember that your chips are your children - guard them with your life.
Ok, that’s all I’ve got for now. Hope this helps. If it gets a good response I might check back later with more. Keep up the good work, guys, and let’s keep supporting each other and making this the best poker community on the internet.
Keep learning: this is the most important thing. It’s like anything - you can’t get better if you don’t study and practice. Read here, post hand histories, run hands through simulators, everything.
I also try to read a poker book every other month. There’s almost always something good to get out of any book, but my favorites are probably Modern Poker Theory and the Harrington on Hold Em books. High level and technical, but that’s how you gotta think if you wanna win.
Pick a style and master it: imo there are two basic tourney styles. Some like to play fast and loose early in hopes of getting a massive stack or busting before they commit too much time, while others play tight and try to advance and wait for prime double-up opportunities.
I think either way is fine (I myself play pretty laggy early on). However, I’d advise you to just pick one and try to master it rather than switching back and forth. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and you need to learn how to know where you’re at in a hand with the different table images both styles create.
Plan your hands: one mistake I see a lot of players make is calling early in a hand with no real idea how to proceed if they don’t bink the perfect card. You need to know exactly how to proceed no matter what happens before it happens. The guy forcing the action will always have a huge edge on the guy reacting to it.
It’s super easy to make a call or two and then realize you’ve committed 2/3 of your stack with TPWK. That’s how a lot of players end up walking to the rail wondering how they could’ve let things get out of hand with KJo.
Pay attention to fold times preflop: one thing you absolutely need to know is who at your table is checking the “auto fold” button preflop (you can also check to see if any of the players at your table are multitabling during the tourney - they’ll be the ones ticking the box).
If you find that person, you’ve got your prime steal target. Assuming they’re only a couple seats to your left, you can start to pick off their blinds when you get deeper into the tourney with less risk (and if they look you up, you can be more certain they have a real hand).
You’ll be amazed how often stop & go works: a lot of players nowadays have preflop strategy nailed down pretty tight. If you’re short stacked and a guy’s trying to steal your blinds, they know to look you up with a wide range if you defend with a shove. That’s a great recipe for getting busted, even if you push with the best hand.
Instead, try the stop & go technique. Assuming you have a decent enough stack (~10-20 BBs), what you want to do is call preflop when you suspect a steal, then shove on any board. This makes your hand look much stronger and makes it harder for them to call with weaker hands that may have you beat.
Don’t be all-in: I think this is pretty well known at this point, but bears repeating. The best way to avoid getting busted in a tourney is never to be all-in. Think about it: if you’re all-in 5 times in a row with pocket aces, you should get eliminated. It’s much better to take pots down without a showdown than to risk your life on what the board turns up.
This doesn’t mean you can’t go all in, but the idea is to never actually be at risk. Of course, this isn’t always up to you, but just remember that your chips are your children - guard them with your life.
Ok, that’s all I’ve got for now. Hope this helps. If it gets a good response I might check back later with more. Keep up the good work, guys, and let’s keep supporting each other and making this the best poker community on the internet.