Poker has become one of the most popular card games in the world and also has many variations that allow you to change the speed of the game, but most often you can find Texas Hold’em or Omaha poker, although there are other small versions of poker that have their tournament strategy and rules.
The most important thing is to understand the important logic of the game related to the rules of the tournament:
- A player is eliminated from the tournament when he runs out of chips;
- The minimum bet in the game increases during the game;
- To participate in the tournament, players pay an entry fee and then receive the same number of chips.
So, it can be understood that in tournaments players play to elimination without the ability to add their own money to the game, so the size of your budget will not give you an advantage, and you will not be able to stop and leave the game after winning a large number of chips. Therefore, poker tournament strategy is slightly different from the strategies in a regular game.
Beginners need to know
- At the beginning of the game try to play calmly while in the course of the game your tactics should become more aggressive;
- The BB (big blind) rule. Be in a safe zone, if you have less than 20 BB in the middle of the game you should think about your tactics and methods of play, do not allow falling below 10 BB;
- If you have a lot of BB (for example 50-55 or more) you can put some pressure on other players;
- Keep an eye on the bets. Constantly analyze the game and opponents, try to understand their tactics and what they might want;
- Get rid of overconfidence, the game can change at any moment, both in your favor and on the side of your opponents;
- Learn how to play Heads-Up;
- Try to avoid big stacks.
Poker tournament strategy may be the same or may be very different. Each player develops their own unique strategy which is generally related to the things we have described above or to their own observations.
Many professional players have written books describing their winning strategies and how they managed to do it. For example, “Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time” by Eric Lynch and Jon ‘Pearljammer’ Turner and many others. You can look at and read about their actions and thoughts during the game.
So, we can conclude that tournament poker strategies differ a little from standard poker, in general, you need not fly out before others. Learning to play according to tournament rules is not difficult, there are many free online tournaments in which you can try your hand and gain experience. First of all, you need to get the skills and a basic understanding of the game, and then everything will come with time. Good luck in the games and let fortune guide you.
