Tournament Poker – Most Romantic Poker Discipline

Tournament poker is the most romantic form of poker. The strategy in tournament play is completely different from that of cash games. The foremost difference from cash games is that in a tournament, you are always "surviving" due to increasing blinds.

Unfortunately, in tournament play, there is no strategy that will guarantee profit, but studying tournament strategy and refining your game will enable you to aim for long-term wins, independent of short-term results. Many players seek their tournament action on a gambling site to participate in thrilling poker tournaments.

Poker tournaments are exciting but also long and exhausting. On television, you’ll see bright lights and stacks of cash on the table, with a bracelet or trophy for the winner. But behind every victory, there is great dedication.

To achieve success, discipline, patience, and usually a lot of practice are required.

Pros and Cons of Tournament Poker

Before we begin with playing in tournaments, let's weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this discipline compared to cash games:

• Big Wins from Your Victories
  Though you will not be a champion often, winning a tournament (or even placing in the top 3) can increase your bankroll by a significant amount. If it's a tournament with a massive guarantee, you can be a millionaire in a matter of hours. This is nearly impossible at cash games.
• More Recreational Players in MTT
  Recreational players are far more numerous than cash game players in MTTs. Televised major tournaments and other broadcasts attract recreational players who want to score big here and now, rather than grind for hours in cash games.
• You Can Become Famous and a Poker Star
  Winning a large tournament can not only make you money but also famous. If you want to see your name being mentioned every now and then in poker media, then tournaments are your best option. As for cash games – unless you're playing enormous pots at the very highest stakes, it's less probable you'll become a household name.
• High Variance
  In addition to life-changing tournament wins, be ready for prolonged downswings. Cash game variance is a joke compared to MTT. Many tournament players can play at a loss for months, or even years at a stretch. This is very tough to handle psychologically.
• Time-Consuming
  Long hours with little break are customary for tournament players. Many times, you'll have to eat lunch or dinner at the tables, and there's nothing you can do about it. Furthermore, each time you bust out of a tournament without reaching the money, you must be willing to accept the fact that you blew several hours. 
• High Bankroll Requirements
  Compared to cash games, the bankroll requirements of a winning tournament player are very high. Since you'll go on long downswings, your bankroll must be deep enough to weather them. You typically need a minimum of 100 buy-ins to play tournaments, and some players still consider this a small bankroll. You'll need a good financial cushion for the lean times.

Strategy for Different Types of Tournaments

Let's talk about poker strategy for different types of tournaments:

MTT Strategy

Large MTTs (multi-table tournaments) attract new players with massive prizes that can change their lives and challenge the world's best poker players to keep getting better and competing against each other. MTT strategy entails things such as early stage strategy, middle stage strategy, bubble play, and final table strategy. To succeed in MTT poker, you will first need patience and discipline.

Sit&Go Strategy

The most vital points of Sit&Go (SnG) strategy that distinguish them from MTTs include the greater influence of mathematics in decision-making. With this consideration, the player ought to thoroughly learn push-fold strategy and the ICM factor. In contrast to MTT poker that requires hours to play, SnG is extremely fast-paced.

Spin&Go Strategy

This format is extremely popular among amateur players. The possibility of winning a big jackpot in a couple of minutes is the dream of every player. If you're planning to play these tournaments on a frequent basis, you should, as in the case of SnG, thoroughly learn poker mathematics and play with short stacks. If MTT poker appears too long for you, the dynamic and fast spins will be ideal for you.

MTT Strategy for Different Stages

Let's briefly look at each critical stage of a multi-table tournament and highlight some basic tips that will prove useful to players.

Early Stage of the Tournament

• Be Patient
  Use the early stage of the MTT game to gather more information about your opponents. You have a decent stack of chips initially, so don't waste them—play only strong starting hands.
• Don't Overdo Stealing Blinds
  In the early stage, blind stealing will not contribute significantly to your stack. If you do not have notes on your opponents to your left in SB and BB, try to tighten your open-raise range against these positions.

Middle Stage of the Tournament

• Time to Steal Blinds
  Once the ante stage begins, math gets involved, and the risk-to-reward ratio improves, and blind stealing plays turn very profitable.
• Expand Your Ranges
  Mid Stage and Beyond

In the middle phase of the tournament, you should begin to develop your aggression and put pressure on those players with stacks smaller than yours. This does not mean shoving any two cards, but trying to widen your open-raise and 3-bet ranges if your stack allows.

Late Stage and Bubble Play

• Play Aggressively
  Aggression is what you need to think about when the "Hand-for-hand" sign is up. If you have built up a large stack, you need to push hard. But if you have only a few blinds remaining and you would like to reach the money before that, the ICM model will guide you.
• Don't Take Risks
  If you've got a comfortable stack to make it into the money and the table's full of aggressive players "pressing the bubble," don't risk going out to prove you're not afraid of chip leaders. Your most important goal now is to get into the money.

Final Table Play

• Play from Your Opponents
  If your opponents are waiting patiently to advance a few places, and you have a large stack, steal blinds frequently and pressure medium and short stacks. If they are doubling up aggressively to try and make the final three places, you can simply wait for them to eliminate each other, and you can advance as high as possible. 
• Make Quick Decisions
  If you've made the final table with a short stack, you're going to need to make some rushed decisions. Do you try to take a shot and try and win some chips to give yourself a real chance of making the top 3, or do you sit back, wait for cards, and play ICM strictly? It's going to depend on payout structure, the style of play of your opponents, and the comparative size of your stack to others. But remember, however, that players who try to "sit out" until the next pay increase rarely make it to the top 3. At this stage in the tournament, it's alright to take a risk in trying to claim the championship title.

Verdict

To succeed at tournament poker, not only must you be a skilled poker player, but you must maintain your focus throughout the tournament. You must continue to do this: in any single tournament, you can play well and be eliminated by bad luck, but over the long run, in tournament poker, as in cash poker, good players win.

To be able to do this well, you need to play poker like you would any other sport. MTT poker is a marathon. Your entire body needs to work in rhythm and synchronization to be able to continue making important decisions.