Poker Tournament Tips
Poker tournaments are some of the most lucrative poker games you can find. Look at what Chris Moneymaker did with a $40 PokerStars tournament in 2004. (He won the World Series of Poker, in case you missed it.)
It's possible to win a single poker tournament and finance your poker game for quite some time. But because so many people are playing in a single tournament, it's important to understand that poker tournaments have some of the highest variance out there. If you follow a few pieces of tournament advice, you can maximize your expectation at poker tournaments.
Tournament Poker Tip #1 - Bankroll Management
Managing your bankroll is important in any game of poker, but at poker tournaments it is paramount. Understanding what limits you can afford to play is the key to having fun in a tournament. Multi table poker tournaments require some seriously strict bankroll management to avoid playing out of your financial league.
Professional poker players advise that you should never play in a poker tournament with more than 5% of your total bankroll at the table. Since most people play multiple tournaments in a gaming session, you need to work out your buy-in based on the number of tournaments you plan on entering.
If your goal is to play 5 MTTs and your starting bankroll is $1000, you have a total of $50 for tournament buy-ins, meaning that your average buy-in needs to be $10 per tournament. You may find a tournament with a $5 buy-in, allowing you to increase your buy-in at another table by $5, and on and on.
Using this 5% rule of thumb doesn’t mean only playing in small buy-in tourneys—if you find a tournament with a larger buy-in that you’re interested in, cut back on the total number of tournaments you play in for that session. By only using 5% of your bankroll for tournament buy-ins, your protecting your poker nest-egg.
Tournament Poker Tip #2 - Game Selection
The name of the game in picking a poker tournament to play in is the
return on your investment. Poker tournaments vary in terms of the size of
the playing field, with larger prize pools available to people who compete
in larger tournaments.
The flip side of that coin is that tournaments with a huge playing field have a lot more variance, and may not offer the best return on your buy-in investment.
The key is to find the ideal ratio of runners to prize pool. Tournaments with fewer runners offer smaller prizes, but these prizes are easier to win than tournaments with a larger playing field.
The more popular a poker site or the larger a poker network, the harder the competition at tournaments. This is why it’s a good idea to play tournaments at smaller poker networks from time to time, looking for better value for your buy-in.
Tournament Poker Tip #3 - Use Tracking Software
These days, poker tracking software is de rigeur. This tracking software runs while you play in your tournament—programs like Poker Tracker and Holdem Manager allow you to track each tournament you play and show you the amount of money you win along with stats like ROI and Average Buy-In.
This tracking software will also alert you to potential playing errors live during games. These programs crunch the numbers and help you determine when it may be advantageous to fold or shove, and trust me, computer programs are better at math than you.
Tournament Poker Tip #4 - Make a Game Plan
Every poker tournament is a little different—the number of players, the prize pool, and the playing structure changes from tourney to tourney. Putting together a game plan for different stages of the tournament is important to tailor your playing style to a particular tourney. A good game plan for poker tournaments includes how to play early, middle, on the bubble, and at the final table.
Early Stage Game Plan
Early in any poker tournament, you’ll be facing the largest number of big blinds. Though the number varies, in a decent sized poker tournament, expect about 100 big blinds, and expect this to be the largest number of big blinds at any point in the tournament.
Because of the huge stack size required, you have more freedom in the early stages to speculate on hands in an attempt to build your chip stack. Your early stage hand range should include suited connectors, pocket pairs, Broadway, and connecting cards.
Middle Stage Game Plan
After the early stages, the less skilled poker players start to get knocked out and the field shrinks. With blinds increasing, you should use these middle stages of the tournament to keep building your stack. It’s time to play small ball poker, accumulating chips while other players give up looking for big wins. Use your smaller value hands to win small pots and go big with high value hands.
Bubble Play
Just before you see a return on your investment, you’re in “the bubble.” It is time to become very aware of your opponents playing style. At the bubble stage, look for players using ABC poker to avoid beats, and adapt your game to take them down.
These players are usually holding a stack worth about 20 big blinds and playing tight. Avoid poker players in the bubble with big stacks, willing and able to toss chips into the middle and ‘dance.’
Final Table
There’s a big difference strategically between finishing 9th and finishing in the top 3. If you’re holding a big chip stack, it’s time to get aggressive and move your way up the pay ladder rather than sitting back and hoping that other players get knocked out. If you have a smaller chip stack, you’ll have to pick your spots and play heavy value hands to steal pots and double up when you can.
Tournament Poker Tip #5 - Upswings and Downswings
We refer to these changes in luck as “variance,” and this force effects tournament poker as much as any other poker game. These swings can lead to long dry spells in tournament play, mostly because tournament play tends to be “all or nothing.”
The only way to overcome tournament variance is to increase the number of tourneys you play. The idea here to is get out of your losing spells faster. Also, remember that bad luck is just good luck that went someone else’s way, and it’ll come back to you soon enough.
Tournament Poker Tip #6 - Learn the Math
Math is as big a part of poker as psychology or luck. Poker tournament math is black and white. Most of the time, the proper play is the mathematically correct play. The option of calling or folding in a poker tournament can be made based on just a few game characteristics. This is where poker tracking software and poker experience can really help you out.
If you find yourself losing a ton early on in your poker tournament career, it may be time to look at some push-fold strategy sheets. There are plenty of these available for free all over the Internet, and beginning poker tournament participants should have at least one of these sheets on hand for every gaming session and of course every tournament.
These sheets give a clear indication of what poker hands you should play from a certain position and given your stack size, as well as what hands should be folded under those same circumstances.
Average Buy in (AVGBI) and Return on investment (ROI)
If you understand your average buy-in and ROI statistics, you know that you can tailor these numbers to improve your chances of cleaning up at poker tournaments.
When it comes time to change up the tournament stakes you’re playing, changing your average buy-in is the way to go. Your average buy-in stat gives you the average number of all the tournament entry fees you’ve ever paid. You can work out your own AVGBI if you stick to your bankroll regularly, or you can use poker tracking software to crunch the numbers for you.
But when it comes time to change your tournament strategy, altering your AVGBI is the ticket.
Your ROI (return on investment) is simply the amount of money you have won in tournaments compared to the amount it has cost you to enter—these are your profits. Any positive number is a good investment, but this can change a lot depending on the volume of tournaments you play.
Professional poker players who enter thousands of tournaments a month generally have a smaller ROI and get by, due to the volume of tournaments they enter and the likelihood that they’ll win a little money at most of the tourneys they play. A recreational poker player enters fewer poker tournaments, so a larger ROI is required to turn a profit and make poker more than just a hobby.
The ability to win a poker tournament is a mix of skill, mathematics, and luck. Look at the 2006 WSOP event, entered by nearly 9,000 people and offering a top prize of $12 million. You think Jamie Gold was the luckiest person in the world?
Winning a tournament of that size with that kind of prize money requires patience, an understanding of psychology, and more patience. Understand your bankroll, know when to cut your losses, and figure out the right ratio of buy-in to investment return, and your poker tournament career should be in good shape.
This poker tournament tips page was last updated on May 28, 2011.