Tips for Tournament Poker

Tournament poker is more complex than a regular cash game. There are more factors that you need to consider in your decision making process. Below are some questions that you should be asking yourself when you are playing in a poker tournament. These are some easy tips that you can use to win in online poker tournaments.

How many big blinds do you have?

This number should always be in the back of your mind. The amount of big blinds in your stack determines how much room you have to maneuver and how much you can afford to gamble in certain situations.

Are there antes in the pot?

If there are antes in the pot, than it becomes more important to try and pickup a few pots before the flop. Additionally, many players forget the antes when making their preflop bets, often pricing in other players without even realizing it.

Are my opponents too short stacked to fold in the blinds?

If this is the case, then there is not much reason to raise with mediocre hands before the flop.

Tournament Poker Pre-flop Play

How many opponents are left to act behind me? If you are in early position, take this into consideration and remember that someone might wake up with a big hand behind you. They may make a raise causing you to fold, forfeiting your investment or worse yet, and slow play after you hit the flop.

Are opponents short stacked?

If your opponents are short stacked you cannot depend on your ability to outplay them after the flop. The likelihood that they’re all in no matter what happens is pretty big.

Am I prepared to call a re-raise?

Consider this if your opponents are only 1 move away from being all in. If this is the case, they are more likely to re-raise than just call.

Will my opponents be committed if they call?

Again, if your opponent does not have a lot of chips, you shouldn't assume that you will be able to outplay them on the flop or bully them out of the hand.

Do they know that if you might be in a push or fold scenario?

If this is the case, then they will assume that you are moving all in with a wider range of hands, so they will call you with a wider range of hands as well.