Modern Poker Tournament Strategy

The game of poker has changed a great deal in the last decade, and the reason is clear: resources.

Nowadays, it’s easier than ever before to get top-tier poker training. Not long ago, players had to figure things out on their own using the resources they could gather…

…ideas and techniques had to be pieced together from books, websites, watching top players, and mathematical exercises. It took time and money to build the foundations of successful poker playing, and was neither fun nor easy!

Those days are over.

Now, beginning players can avail themselves of a vast array of websites, courses, even Youtube and Twitch channels offering excellent training.

This has many implications for the modern players. One of the most important areas of change is tournament poker.

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Why Tournaments?

Most people have heard of the World Series of Poker, whether they know anything about gambling or not!

But that’s just the most famous example of a massive trend. Tournaments are everywhere.

(Pro tip: our excellent Sister Site Wizard of Odds offers some killer resources on this and other gambling topics.)

For some players, tournaments provide a path to serious money with only a small cash investment up front. For others, it’s about bragging rights and building a name. For still others, the sense of competition is fiercer than at a cash table.

Whatever the reason, tournaments are a crucial part of the game, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon!

Tournaments Bring Out the Best Players… and the Worst

For all the reasons described above, players at the extremes of the skill spectrum tend to seek out tournaments.

Weaker players flock to them because they’ve seen tournaments on TV, and because they hope that getting lucky once or twice can net them a bigger payout than it would at a cash table.

Stronger players come for the big prizes, and because winning tournaments can help add momentum and standing to a poker career.

This means that gamblers who sit down at a tournament table have to be prepared for playing all kinds of opponents, from pro to noob…

…sometimes during the same hand!

Tournament Strategy

Players used to playing cash tables are in for some rude awakenings when they come to tournament play.

• Try to Avoid Engaging Stronger Opponents Too Soon

The main difference between cash games and tournaments is this: winnings are determined not by how well you do at any phase of the game, but by how long you stay in the game.

That’s right!

It’s well and good to have a big stack early, but you can’t just cash in your chips and walk away at any time. Tournaments are about attrition.

This means that, keeping in mind what we said earlier about tournaments attracting both strong and weak players, it’s advisable to feast on the weaker competition for as long as possible before going toe-to-toe with the more skilled players.

This will help you stick around long enough to achieve the number one tournament goal: finish in the money!

Of course, you can’t always control who calls your raises. But when possible, steer clear of the masters of the game and focus on the easier money.

• Know all the prizes, and where you are in the standings

Since tournaments are all about attrition, and since the goal is to finish in the money, staying on top of the standings is essential.

For example, if the top 50 players of the tournament walk away with wins, and only 52 players remain active… the time probably isn’t right to call big bets with your straight draw, even if you’re getting phenomenal pot odds.

Sometimes, it actually pays more to fold and stick around than it does to fight out a close hand!

• Know your math… then play your human opponents

There’s no question that strong math knowledge is crucial to poker success.

Once that is established, though, that the game is played by one set of cards against another, but by human beings.

Watch your opponents, observe their tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses, and play accordingly.

• Get Comfortable Needing Some Luck

Since big hands are more important in tournament play than in cash games, an aggressive player must get comfortable with some risky showdowns.

For example: while every player is happy to see pocket aces, the unfortunate fact is that they don’t win every hand. Against a single random hand, pocket aces will win 85% of the time. Those are great odds!

But in a big tournament, players need to come up with lots of big wins. So imagine that you successfully induce an opponent to go all-in against you before the flop while you hold aces…

…not just once, but five times!

Well, you’ve an 85% chance of winning the first hand! The chance of winning the first and second hands? 72%. Still pretty good, right?

But the chances of winning all five showdowns? You’re actually a dog, with a 44% chance of success.

The moral of the story is that, even with phenomenal odds, very few tournaments are won without a generous helping of good luck.

All the skill in the world won’t keep your aces from getting busted from time to time.

Many poker players would prefer this not to be the case, but when it comes to tournaments, it’s just a fact of life. So embrace it!