Tournaments are more dynamic than cash\ngames. They force you into a lot of situations you’d never encounter otherwise,\nso to play them successfully, you need to be flexible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s no denying that luck plays a huge role in Texas Hold’em<\/a> tournaments, but if you can grasp a few key concepts, you won’t be as reliant on the fickle affections of chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking a macroscopic view of the game will help you avoid frustration. Good players only cash 10-20% of the time in large tournaments. In fact, most of the solid players are cashing in at the lower end of that range because they either play a style that lets them accumulate a lot of chips (giving them a good chance to win the event) or they go out early. They also like to get aggressive on the bubble, where the risk and reward are both high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, having a playing style that gets you a lot of min cashes but never sees you go deep is not a recipe for success in tournament poker. This means even if you\u2019re one of the best players in the world, you\u2019re more likely to bust out and go home with nothing than you are to get some return on any individual investment – hence why it’s important to look at the big picture. Profit will come from cashing big, not from cashing often. Capitalize on your luck when it happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are certain MTT strategies<\/a> you can do when you’re 40+BB deep that you can’t do when you have 8BB, like flat calling someone’s raise when you have a pocket pair. Here are your stack sizes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shove Stack: <15BB<\/p>\n\n\n\n Re-Shove Stack: 12-24BB<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steal Stack: 18-40 BB<\/p>\n\n\n\n Re-Steal Stack: >20BB<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deep Stack: >40BB<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only do you have to know how to play\nyour stack sizes, but you have to be able to identify if your opponents know\nhow to play theirs appropriately. The more you know, the more you will know\nwhat to look for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The point is to know what you should and shouldn’t do with various stack sizes. This will keep you from bleeding chips and also keep you from pushing the envelope too far. It’s perfectly cool to get short-stacked if no profitable opportunities present themselves, and as long as you know how to play poker<\/a> with that stack size and not make careless mistakes, you’ll be all good. In fact, it can be easier to play short stacked since you’re afforded fewer strategic options. Fewer decisions, fewer opportunities to make mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe 3 Key Ingredients to Winning NLH Poker Tournaments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Look at the Big Picture. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hone Your Ability to Play Different Stack Sizes. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n