The Definitive Guide to Poker Tournament Strategy<\/p>\n
While the play is profitable, shoving also means that you will increase your likelihood of busting if your opponent calls and wins. Tournament life value is basing your in-game decisions, not merely on the expectation (EV) of your individual decision, but, rather, on how that play affects your tournament life as a whole. The logic being that ranges are wide and it\u2019s very probable the opener missed this flop; moreover, your pair outs are likely live vs. the CO\u2019s wide range, plus you have a backdoor straight and flush draw.
\nThere are many types of poker tournaments, and each format changes how the game plays. That makes it exciting \u2013 but it also means bankroll management matters even more. Here is what changes between the two formats. They increase pot sizes and incentivize aggression, especially in the later stages. Every tournament runs on a blind structure \u2013 a schedule that tells you how long each level lasts and what the blinds are at each stage. The All-In or Fold format and Spin and Gold add variety for players who want something different from standard MTTs.
\nTo the extent that you can automate this process, I\u2019ve created some big blind defending guidelines to help you improve your poker tournament strategy. In the next section, I\u2019ll show you how to gain a postflop edge over your opponent by correctly defending vs. continuation bets. As you can see from the screenshot above, even 94s, a typical garbage hand, has 30% equity vs. a narrow preflop opening range; therefore, it\u2019s a clear defend. In this section, we\u2019ll answer these questions as well as look at some practical examples to help you gain an edge in poker tournaments.<\/p>\n
ACR Poker (Americas Cardroom) is the go-to option if you are based in the US and want to play poker tournaments. I have seen players who dominate the early stages blow up on the bubble, and short stacks come back to win. By the later stages, every hand matters.<\/p>\n
Ideally these hands will include overcards and backdoor flush draws, but depending on the situation and your opponent, you may be able to open up your game even further and profitably float with more marginal hands. While this may be obvious in certain spots, such as when you have second pair or a straight draw, you need to open your range up even further to defend properly vs. continuation bets. The reason you will defend wider vs. a late position raiser is that Villain\u2019s range is wider; therefore, your equity will likely be higher vs. her range.
\nShove narrower against tight openers who are either very short (therefore, unlikely to be opening without a premium hand), or big stacks who are indifferent to losing an all-in against someone with your stack size. He\u2019s been playing too many hands and is taking advantage of the tight, weak player (TAG) in the big blind. It\u2019s important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all and playing stacks of this nature is an art. Each hand you play at this stage is crucial so it\u2019s important to understand how to play them effectively.<\/p>\n