Multi-table Strategies
From the dizzying heights of the World Series of Poker down to lunch-time tourneys that you can buy into for a buck, multi-table tournaments offer some of the most exciting poker going. What draws players to multi?s is the size of the prize compared to the stake ? an investment of just $10 can pay off in the thousands. The thrill of taking on hundreds, or even thousands, of other players is also hard to match.
Of course that also means is that you?ll have to beat off a lot of competition to win ? but with graduated prizes reaching down through the ranks, even a finish in the top 10 to 20 per cent is normally enough to win back your stake and more.
How they work
At first glance tournaments look just like a no-limit cash game and in a lot of ways they are. But don?t think you can sit down at a tournament playing the same style you do on a cash table and expect good results. Two key differences between the formats have major implications on style of play.
You have a limited stack. Some tournaments let you re-buy or top-off your chip-stack during the initial stages of a tournament. But regardless of the tournament type you play you will eventually get to the stage where the only way you?re going to add more chips to your stack is by taking them off other players.
The blinds keep going up. Blinds go up regularly in multi- table tournaments. On average, you?ll probably see between eight and 15 hands dealt between each raise in the blinds.
Chip-stacks that can?t be topped off, combined with ever increasing blinds, conspire to gradually increase the pressure on tournament players. Understanding how tourneys evolve over time is the cornerstone of any good tournament strategy.
Early stages, including re-buy and top-off periods
Right, so you?ve paid your fee and sat down. People have said their hello?s and the first hand is dealt ? and your jaw drops as three players are all-in before the flop.
While extreme, this scenario is not actually that unusual, especially in lower stakes and re-buy tournaments. Players often try to double or triple up early with big aggressive plays and the result is carnage on the tables. Remember that this is the stage where the widest variety of styles and experience are present ? you?ve got everything from players with years of experience to totally green newbies, so these big bets are especially hard to read. It?s normal to see about ten to 20 per cent of players go out of a lower stakes multi-table tourney before the blinds even go up.
Strategy
Most experienced players spend the early part of a tournament keeping a very low profile. Folding all but premium pockets and ace big and only playing them aggressively with at least high pair after the flop. These players know that tournaments are a game of survival ? the last man standing wins. It?s very hard to get a read on players early in a game and a big bet at this stage could be saying anything from, ?I?ve got the nuts? to, ?I?ve had way too much tequila?. Finding out which can be an expensive business. Only call with very strong openers and be prepared to fold them, especially if you?re in early position and see escalating raises (one player raises your call, then another raises again) coming in after you, this could well turn into a game of bingo with a few players all-in before the flop.
Counter strategy
Every problem presents an opportunity and if you?re feeling aggressive then the early stages of a tournament could give you the opportunity to build a strong stack by taking advantage of weak and over-aggressive play. Hit strong pockets in the early stages of a tourney and you might well find some very loose chips there for the taking. Placing a very big bet before the flop will most likely either draw out a very loose player or win you the blinds.
If you have the high pair after the flop (by either hitting your card or holding higher pockets) then a very big bet or all-in raise may just take the pot right there ? or better yet, find a caller who?s fishing with a draw or has a lower kicker. It?s a risky strategy but the rewards can be great, double or triple-up at this point and you?ve put yourself in a very strong position. Lose and you can either re-buy or move on quickly to the next tournament.
Middle stage
Things start to settle down now. Players fall into their particular styles and you?ll get a chance to make some reads that may pay off later. Increases in the blind size along with natural attrition mean that the looser players still left in the game will be less inclined to take a chance on marginal hands and, gradually, most players start to tighten up.
Strategy
Tight-aggressive players will start to see more opportunities now. Hand strength will become easier to read and the occasional bluffing opportunity will also present itself, especially if you?ve got a rock sitting close by on your left.
This tightening trend will continue until you reach the ?bubble? ? the cut-off point for finishing in the money. Gradually turning up your aggression to take advantage of this will give you the best opportunities to apply effective pressure and stay ahead of the blinds.
Short- Stacked
stacked?As a rough guide, if you?ve got less than six- times the big blind, you?re short- stacked. Now you?re looking to double up. No point getting blinded out waiting for your pocket rockets. Keep an eye on the blinds and estimate how many hands you?re likely to see before you?re blinded so low that an all-in raise before the flop would be likely to get more than one caller. Wait for the best possible hand, then employ a little strategy. Once you?ve decided that the time and cards are right to make a move you want to make a bet that?s going to attract one caller. That might be all-in or it might be just double the blind, it depends on your position and the general disposition of the table. The advantage of going all-in is that it gives you a shot at stealing the blinds without any callers. The advantage of just betting is that you?ve got a ?second bullet? to fire after the flop if you don?t? a speculative caller who hasn?t hit either may well fold then and there.
Big stack?
Here?s your opportunity to get a bit more aggressive, but remember, nobody ever won a tournament at the half-way point. Avoid the temptation to call a lot of flops with marginal hands in the hopes that one will hit. Instead, use your extra chips to apply pressure to weaker players (remember the gap). If you?re going into a pot with marginal cards you?re better off going in with a raise. Go bluffing too often though and short stacks will start to target you for doubling up opportunities.
Congratulations, you?ve made the final table!
There?s nothing quite like the shiver of excitement that runs up your spine when you make a final table in a big tourney. Prizes really start going up now and you?re so close you can taste it.
Psychology plays a big role on the final table. Some players virtually tilt from the pressure and either freeze-up or get over-aggressive. Prepare your mind and you?ll avoid this pitfall?
Recharge.
To make the final table in a multi-table tournament takes hours of hard fought poker. Now that you?ve achieved that goal you don?t want to let up. You won?t have time to do a lot in the way of prep-work but do what you can to clear your mind and re-charge your batteries. Have a cold glass of water, do some breathing exercises ? get the blood flowing to your brain and prepare for a new challenge.
Anyone can win it.
Short-stacked? Inexperienced? It doesn?t matter ? the final table is a great leveler. The blinds have reached a point where every hand represents a major swing in chips and even if you?re low-chip, you?re only a couple of good hands away from being a contender. As for inexperience ? hey, if you?ve got what it takes to get this far, you?ve got what it takes to go all the way.
Stick to your guns.
Whatever you were doing to get this far in the tourney is obviously working. There?s no point messing with a new style now ? unless you?re short- stacked and had to play some very tight poker to make it past the bubble. If that?s the case then other players on the table might make the mistake of thinking you?re a rock and go after you with a bluff ? your big chance to double up might just come with the slow-play.
It?s not about the money, it?s about the win.
Big stakes can ruin styles. If you start thinking about all the money that?s on the line you can lose your nerve and let fear take over your decision making. Now is not the time to be making emotional decisions. Whether it?s call, bet, or fold force yourself to review your decisions against what you know about the game of poker and the players you?re up against ? there will be plenty of time to think about money after the tournament.
Heads up poker - The final showdown
This is what it?s all about. Making the final two is Nirvana for the tournament player and it?s your reward for some seriously good poker. If you?re regularly finding yourself at this stage in tournaments then your game is right where it should be.
A lot of players find themselves struggling when faced with a heads-up poker situation, simply resigning themselves to it being, more or less, a 50-50 shot and relying on luck to try and win it. Taking this approach to the final two is really selling yourself short. After all, the jump in winnings from first to second is normally the biggest in the tournament structure.
Head-to-head in a multi- table tournament is at least as big a psychological leap as making the final table ? and it?s even harder to cope with because now you?re going to be involved in every hand. The first thing you?ll want to do when a tourney goes head-to-head is mentally change gears ? eye up your opponent and draw on every ounce of strength and concentration at your disposal.
Strategy
Finding the best strategy will largely be determined by three factors: your chip stack relative to your opponent?s, the blind size relative to your chip stack and observation.
There is no single approach to the final table that is universally effective. If you?ve used a tight ?aggressive style to get this far then a lot of what?s got you here is going to have to go out the window. With only two players at the table, every hand you?re dealt that is above average is probably a winner ? the higher above average it is the better it s chances of winning. The vast majority of hands are going to be decided either before or right after the flop and the ability to steal your opponent?s blind is critical.
Observation
By the time you?ve faced off against your head-to-head opponent you should be pretty familiar with his game. After all, you?ve spent a lot of time at the same table by now. This is very useful, though it?s critical to remember that everything changes when a table goes head- to- head. Specific tendencies like bullying may disappear because the table situation has changed, but deeper characteristics are likely to remain the same.
Use the first three to five hands to make as many observations as possible and take note of any new tendencies that may appear, then use them to counterattack.
Start with a plan
If you?re a sports fan you?ll know that a forward with a break away facing only the opposition goal keeper has a much better chance to score if he decides early what he?s going to do when it?s time to shoot.
Heads-up in a tournament is a very similar scenario. It happens suddenly and the action is fast and furious. If you go in knowing your options, however, you should be able to make some quick decisions that will help you score.
Of course the cards you draw are going to inform those decisions, but you can?t always guarantee they are going to come (or that your opponent will want to mix it up when they do) and the blinds are so high by now that you won?t have the luxury of folding endlessly while you wait for monsters.
So, if you?ve pegged your opponent as tight then it might be worth deciding that you?re going to double the blind pre-flop on two of the first five hands. This will achieve a few things. First, it gives you the chance to gain a big advantage right from the start. If your opponent folds regularly to your pressure, not only have you taken a lot of chips from him but you know that it?s going to be relatively cheap and easy to steal from him down the road. Plus, he now knows he?s going to have to make a major commitment to stand up to you (or steal from you) ? it?s going to cost him two or three times as much to either keep you from seeing a flop or to steal from you. If he?s unlucky enough to do this when you have a strong hand, there?s your chance to take a big pot or even win the tourney right there.
The second advantage this play gives you is information. If your opponent reacts to your raises by going super-aggressive then you?ll know to back off a bit and look to tempt him with a slow-play.
Either way the idea is to make players pay over the odds for their cards.
Big stack
This can be tough, but now is the time to show some patience. Especially if the blinds are really hurting your opponent. All the pressure is on them and the last thing you want to do is let them off the hook with a cheap double-up.
The only hope your opponent has of winning is to take more pots than you do. If he?s tight, keep constant pressure on him by raising the blind regularly with better than average hands and try not to betray your strongest hands. Call or raise modestly when you have big strength in the hope of springing a trap and don?t be afraid to pull the trigger with any A with a kicker down to nine or pockets if he bets big. Unless he?s very lucky or very aggressive he?ll be forced to fold most times to your bets and bet well over the odds to win with his stronger hands.
If he?s aggressive you should still keep the pressure up, but avoid frittering ? especially calling the small blind with weak drawing cards. Better to let those go in the hopes that your opponent is holding the monsters he?s been waiting for. Keep the pressure up and let him know he?ll have to bet over the odds to defend his blinds when you do have strength. Avoid his all-in unless you have strong cards (see above).
Short stacked
Your situation is as described above but in reverse. You need to win more pots than your opponent. This means you?re going to have to play your hands aggressively. Any decent hand will require a commitment if you?re betting first. Feign weakness on your strongest hands to try to induce the bluff or a bet on a weaker hand.
If he?s tight it?s time to get stealing, but don?t over-commit so much that you can?t back away if you happen to bluff into monsters. If he?s aggressive then, as much as you can, bide your time ? though you?ll soon have to re-raise or go all-in with cards that may not be your first choice. The good news is that you?re probably only a double up or two from drawing even. This can happen very quickly in head-to-head and you need it to ? time is not on your side.
