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Chris Ferguson
June 20, 2005
People often ask very specific
questions about how to be a winning
tournament player:
- How many chips am I supposed to
have after the first two levels?
- Should I play a lot of hands
early while the blinds are small,
then tighten up later as the
blinds increase?
- I seem to always finish on the
bubble. Should I tighten up more
as I get close to the money, or
try to accumulate more chips early
on?
Surprisingly, all three questions
have the same answer:
Stop trying to force things to
happen. Just concentrate on playing
solid poker, and let the chips fall
where they may.
In fact, that's the best answer for
almost any specific tournament
question. Here is a more useful
question:
How much of a difference is there
between ring game strategy and
tournament strategy?
The answer: Not as much as you
think.
Before you worry about adjusting
for tournaments, concentrate on
adjusting for the other players. The
most important skill in poker is the
ability to react to a wide range of
opponents playing a wide range of
styles. Players who can do this will
thrive in both ring games and
tournaments alike.
Many of the most costly tournament
mistakes are the result of players
over-adjusting for tournament play.
Let's look at these questions again:
How many chips am I supposed to
have after the first two levels?
The short answer is: As many as you
can get.
Play your cards. Play your
opponents. Do not try to force action
simply because you think you
"need" to have a certain
number of chips to have a chance of
winning. You should be thinking about
accumulating more chips, while trying
to conserve the chips you already
have. The more chips you have, the
better your chances of winning. The
fewer chips you have, the worse your
chances.
Forget about reaching some magical
number. There is no amount below which
you have no shot, nor is there any
amount above which you can be
guaranteed a victory. A chip and a
chair is enough to win, and enough to
beat you. Getting fixated on a
specific number is a good way to
ensure failure. Next question:
Should I play a lot of hands early
while the blinds are small, and then
tighten up later as the blinds
increase?
Your play shouldn't change much as
the tournament progresses. Gear your
play to take maximum advantage of your
opponents, irrespective of how far
along the tournament is. Most players
are too loose in the early stages of a
tournament. Rather than become one of
these players, adjust for their play
instead:
- Attempt to steal the blinds less
often
- Call more raises
- Re-raise more frequently
Likewise, when opponents typically
tighten up later on, you should steal
more often and be less inclined to get
involved in opened pots. Again, this
should be a reaction to the way your
opponents are playing, not an action
based on any particular stage of the
tournament.
Last question: I seem to always
finish on the bubble. Should I tighten
up more as I get close to the money to
avoid this, or try to accumulate more
chips early on?
Usually the people asking this
question are already tightening up too
soon before reaching the money. In
other words, they are over-adjusting
to tournament play. Not only is it
incorrect to tighten up considerably
before you are two or three players
from the money, doing so is the surest
way to finish on or near the bubble.
Just play your best, most aggressive
game, and try not to let your stack
dwindle to a point where you can't
protect your hand with a pre-flop
all-in raise. If you do, your
opponents will be getting the right
pot odds to call, even with weak
hands. Look for opportunities to make
a move before you let this happen,
even if it means raising with less
than desirable holdings.
Next I will address the two
situations where adjusting your game
will help.
I talked about not adjusting for
tournament play, answered three
specific tournament questions, and
stressed that there is little
difference between tournament strategy
and ring game strategy. I would
like to expand on that by answering a
fourth question, and address the two
situations where it's right to deviate
from simply playing your best game.
The fourth question: Surely the
different payout structure between
ring games and tournaments means
something, doesn't it?
Yes, tournaments differ from live
action in that you are rewarded for
how long you last, rather than for how
many chips you accumulate.
In ring game poker, the chips you
save by folding are just as valuable
as the chips you win by playing. In
tournament play, the chips you save
are actually more valuable.
Consider a typical $1,000 buy-in
tournament with 100 players, where
first place is worth $40,000 out of a
total prize pool of $100,000.
At the beginning of the tournament
everyone has 1,000 in chips with a
value of $1,000. The eventual winner
will have 100,000 in chips and, in
live action, would be entitled to a
prize of $100,000. In a tournament,
that same $100,000 is worth only
$40,000, meaning that, at the end,
each 1,000 in chips is only worth
$400. As your stack grows, the value
of each additional chip decreases,
which means you want to be slightly
more averse to taking unnecessary
risks in tournaments than you might be
in live action. (And if you are at all
averse to taking risks in live action,
you're probably playing over your
bankroll.) Don't overcompensate for
tournament play. Most people would be
better off making no changes at all,
rather than the changes that they do
make.
Having said all this, there are two
cases where adjusting will help:
1. When you are just out of the
money.
If you are short stacked, you need
to be very careful when committing
your chips, especially with a call.
If you have a large stack, look for
opportunities to push the short and
medium stacks around - especially the
medium stacks. These players will be a
lot less likely to want a
confrontation with you, and it should
be open season on their blinds and
antes.
If you have a medium or small
stack, you need to be a bit more
careful. Remember, though, that the
other players - even the larger stacks
- don't want to tangle with you. They
just want to steal from you without a
fight. Be prepared to push them around
a little, and even to push back
occasionally when they try to bully
you. This often turns into a game of
Chicken between the bigger stacks to
determine which large stack will let
the other steal most of the blinds.
2. At the final table.
Very little adjustment is necessary
until you are one player away from the
final table. Here, again, you should
tighten up slightly because this is
the next point where the payout
structure handsomely rewards
outlasting other players.
Look for opportunities to push
around the other players, and the
smaller stacks in particular. This is
good advice throughout the final
table.
What about heads up?
There are no more tournament
adjustments necessary. You are
essentially playing a winner take all
freeze-out for the difference between
first and second place.
Remember: Tournament adjustments
should be subtle. It is rare that your
play would be dramatically different
in a tournament. When in doubt, just
play your best game. And if you never
adjust from that, you've got a great
shot of winning, no matter what game
you're playing.
Chris Ferguson
Play Online Poker
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