Multi Table Tournament Poker Strategy

Since tournament poker has a different format than cash game poker, the optimal strategy is different as well. Instead of playing to win your opponents money, you're trying to win every single chip in the tournament. This is an obviously harder feat, but if you follow this article you should improve your chances of making final tables and winning tournaments.

Early Stages

In the early stages of the tournament tight is right. This means that you should only be playing your premium hands, and when you do play them, you should play them aggressive. By premium hands, we mean only big pocket pairs, AK, or AQ in the right situation. You can also throw in lower pairs and other face card hands like KQ when you are in late position in an unraised pot. Basically, you are looking to avoid confrontation unless you have a top notch hand.

When you do get one of these premium hands, you need to play it aggressively. If the pot is unraised and no one has limped in, you should make a raise of 4x the big blind. If other players have limped in you should increase your raise to 6x or even 8x the big blind, depending on how many players have entered the pot. If you are re-raised, you should go all in if you have AA, KK, QQ, or AK, or fold if you have anything else.

When you see a flop, you need to be very aggressive, and use the continuation bet.. Since you took initiative before the flop by making a raise, it is likely that your opponents will check to you. When they do, you should make a bet between 1/2 the size of the pot, and the full size of the pot. Even if you completely miss the flop, you should still make this bet. For all your opponents know, you are holding AA. You'll be surprised how often they'll fold to this continuation bet.

If your opponent comes back at you and raises your continuation bet, you've got a decision to make. If you have a big hand like AA or KK, then go ahead and move all in as long as the board is not too threatening. However, if you have AK and missed the flop, you can just release the hand.

In the early stages, you are basically trying to pick up chips when you have a great hand, and not blow them off when you have nothing.

Middle Stages

The middle stages are very similar to the early stages, because blinds are still low enough for you to survive comfortably. Continue playing tight, but you can add a few more hands to your preflop arsenal. Besides just premium pairs and ace-faces, you can add hands like KQ, TT, or J10s when the situation is right. However, for the most part you should still be playing very tight, and follow the same post flop strategy as before (continuation bet).

The Late Stages / Bubble / Final Table

When you reach the late stages and approach the bubble, you need to start adjusting your play because of increasing blinds/antes. If you are a big stack at this point, you should be playing very aggressively and take advantage of the smaller stacks. Since most players just want to make the money, you will be able to steal just about every pot you enter by putting pressure on your opponents. However, if one of them makes a stand against you, don't hesitate to fold because you don't want to just give chips away.

If you're an average sized stack you should focus on making smart blind steals and just maintaining your stack. You should shoot for one blind steal per round, and you will be fine. If you are in late position and no one has entered the pot, consider raising in order to steal the blinds. You don't need much of a hand to do this, but if you get re-raised you need a premium hand to continue playing.

If you're a short stack at this point you need to start making moves. If you're very short, you basically have to wait for a decent preflop hand and just push all in. If you are short but still have an ok-sized stack, you can make raises to steal blinds without going all in, but be wary of betting too little chips. If you're in doubt about just raising or going all in, then go all in because you need to be aggressive.

Once you make the money you should still follow the same strategy, because blinds are so high. You can use this section for the rest of the tournament, including the final table. Now, get out there and final table a MTT - good luck!