Tournaments – Single Table Strategy

When you enter a single tournament at LuckyAce Poker, you will receive either $XXX or $XXXX in tournament chips, depends on the size of the buy-in. The limits begin at $15 and $30. You have plenty of chips to play the first couple of rounds. As a rule of thumb, play tighter in the early rounds and loosen up as the blinds increase. You are looking to sit back, play only good cards, then raise or reraise with your big pairs.

It’s usually better to wait for players to bust out before you open up your game and play hands other than premium ones. After players bust out, your weaker hands will have a better chance of winning simply because there’s a fewer hands to play against. This will probably help when you are trying to steal a pot.

As the binds and antes increase, you’ll need to accumulate chips in order to improve your chances to come in the money, or win. You need to keep track on when is the blinds going up, since it will have an affect on the way you need to play. Do not let the blinds break you when you are short. Instead, try to select a hand and more important, an opponent that you think might fold to a raise. The worse that can happen is that you will go broke. Don’t be afraid, you really have nothing to loose, since the blinds will break you anyway. If you play, you might win a pot, and a few chips to get back into the game. If you enter a pot playing aggressively, at least you have the chance of winning if everyone folds to your raise. Always remember, the higher the blinds get, the more important it is to pick them up just to stay in the game.

When it gets close to the money decide which is your best strategy to make the most money you can, after all, that is our goal. You should always aim to win first place but sometimes it is better to sit back and slide into the money. Other times, when players let you, attack and steal their blinds. Just take into consideration all factors, the blinds, your cards, your position, your chips, and your opponent’s position and chip count.

Because single table tournaments pay three spots, try to adjust your strategy depending on your chip position and the game of the other players, especially as it gets close to the money. If you are the early leader, the other players will sometimes try to avoid you, with giving you a good opportunity to steal their blinds. If you get off to a bad start and are short of chips, you may have to gamble with a hand just to stay alive. Remember, the shorter you are in chips, the more willing you need to be to gamble and give yourself a chance to win.

When you have a lot of chips, learn to protect them and don’t gamble foolishly with bad hands. On the other hand, you can raise and pick up the blinds if the other players are playing very carefully.

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