MTT Basic Strategy

The complexities of multi table tournament play are so rich that we couldn’t do them justice by trying to write them all here, instead we will take a look at the various stages of a tournament and how your approach should differ in them.

Early Tournament Strategy

At the start of a tournament the blinds are low and you are nowhere near the money stages. Although a lot of people differ on whether you should play tight or loose during this time, most agree that going crazy and risking all your chips without much of a hand is a bad idea, because you cannot win the tournament at the very start but you certainly can lose it.

For the most part, you should treat the early stages of a tournament much in the same way you would a cash game. Because you will start with a lot of big blinds, you need a really big hand to put all your chips in the middle of the table. Hands like small pairs and suited connectors go up in value during this time, because you can stand to win a very big pot if you make a strong hand on the flop and you can get away from it cheaply when you don’t.

The early stages of a tournament are also traditionally a very bad time to try a big bluff, the pot you stand to win will rarely be big enough to justify busting out early with, think back to what we said in our STT strategy page and remember that in situations like this, the chips you lose have more value than the ones you win. By all means take smaller stabs at pots if you think you can win it, but generally a solid patient game will give you the best chance of making it to the middle stages with a decent stack.

Middle Stage Tournament Strategy

The middle stages of a tournament are perhaps the trickiest times to play. By now, the blinds are getting big and antes have kicked in, which make pots much more worth stealing. Some players will have big stacks, some players will have short stacks and perhaps trickiest of all is when you have a medium sized stack.

The key to this period is well timed aggression and picking up on the weaker players. It’s not a very good idea to tangle with a big stack because it could cost you your tournament. Look for tight passive players who seem like they are trying to hang on until the money stages. Now is a great time to bully players with less chips than you or who look like they are out of their depth. If you have a big stack yourself, it’s a great time to gamble a bit and be very aggressive to accumulate more chips.

At some point you will approach the bubble, which is the last position before everyone gets paid, and this is the most crucial stage in the tournament so far. The bubble is the best time to accumulate chips because the weaker players will tighten up, fully aware that folding will get them into the money. Top players will play like maniacs on the bubble because they know that nobody is going to play back at them while there is still a chance to make the money, and you should do the same and really start to bully players on the bubble.

When the bubble bursts, tighten up, because all of a sudden everybody plays care free and loose, knowing that they are walking away with a profit, so now is not a good time to bluff.

End Game Tournament Strategy

When you make it to the holy land that is the final table, the dynamics change again. The blinds will now be very high indeed, which means that most of the action is pre flop. This should actually make final tables a lot easier to play, but because most of the prize pool of the tournament goes to the top three players, it has a similar effect to a bubble. Many players will try to ‘ladder’ which means they will play cagey and fold a lot, hoping that another player busts before them, because with every player they outlast the more money they win.

Just like on a bubble, you need to work out which players are trying to ladder and target them for aggression. Generally we don’t advocate much bluffing but when you get to the final and the money means something, it’s a great time to put players to the ultimate test and put them to a test for their chips. Just like in a bubble, make sure its controlled aggression, don’t go nuts against the chip leader or against a crazy loose player, but instead go after the tight players who are aware of the pay jumps.

Hand values will also begin to go up as the table gets shorter. Up until now you will have mostly been playing full tables but with no more players left to join, you will soon be playing shorthanded and even heads up. Weak aces, small pairs and broadway hands start to have much more value, especially when played aggressively. Likewise when you get heads up, king high starts to become a very strong hand and any pair on the flop becomes hard to fold.

We recommend you try your hand at single table tournaments because this is fantastic experience for playing final tables. The blinds get high, the table gets shorter and the payouts get steeper near the end, so they are the ideal proving ground and will give you a big edge when you finally get to that big final table.

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