Multi-Table Tourney Strategy

There is surely no greater feeling in poker than landing a multi-table tournament. There is the satisfaction of having outplayed dozens or even thousands of other players and of course, a nice boost to the bankroll. Many successful players have different strategies for success in these events and no one way can be claimed to be the best, but I will outline my approach below.

Many loose players tend to bust out of tournaments early or accumulate chips. Even if they succeed in the latter, they often can't slow down, and end up giving their chips away before the final table. On the other hand, tight players tend to go deep in tournaments, but with only a small stack, rarely make an impact in the closing stages.

I would describe my style as tight/aggressive early, then gradually accelerating (changing gears), so that at important stages of the tournament, for instance around the bubble (prize money starts) and the final table, I become borderline loose/very aggressive. This strategy takes me deep in most tournaments, but because I 'change gears' and am capable of accumulating chips at key points, I often have the ammunition to win.

The 2 crucial elements to tournament success are 1) Survival and 2) Chip Accumulation. Unfortunately when you attempt to pursue the latter you endanger the former, but I will outline below the 4 key stages of tournaments and how my strategy fits.

Stack sizes are large compared to the blinds in the first few rounds so it is important not to commit large portions of your chips unless you have a very strong hand (better than top pair). Many weaker players are happy to give away all their chips with top pair/overpair, so the hands I like playing at this stage are suited connectors (67s, 89h, 10Jh etc) and any pairs. Early on I will call any normal sized raise with these hands or try and see a cheap flop because if you hit a set/2 pair/flush/straight you can often double through. However, you must be very careful with these hands, if you hit 2nd pair, top pair with a weak kicker, straight draw etc you must be prepared to throw your hand away if others, particularly pre-flop raisers, show strength and you are not getting the correct pot odds to call.

With strong hands like AA/KK/QQ/AK/AQ I like to raise and narrow the field. I will continue to be aggressive and bet/raise with them on the flop. Many poor players call raises early on with hands like AJ/AT/KQ and you can win nice pots from them. The tricky part of playing these big hands is when you get re-raised on the flop or turn and you don't know if your opponent has you beaten with a set or 2 pair. To help you with these decisions it is vital to observe all hands even when you are not in a pot. I try to categorize the other players at the table. Who is raising too much? Who is playing tight? Who bets the flop when they have raised pre? Who tends to give up pots easily? What type of cards have they been playing and in what positions? All this information should be stored or even written down so that when you have a difficult decision you have as much information to hand as possible.

I will play marginal hands like AT, KQ, JQ, Ax suited etc in unraised pots and I will usually raise with these hands in late position if it is folded around to me. However, I play them with a high degree of caution and will not allow myself to go bust.

I don't bother defending my blinds early on with marginal hands as there are not enough chips in the pot to be concerned and you will be playing out of position. This also allows you to steal/bluff more easily later in the tournament when the blinds are more significant.

Although I like to play tightish early on I will still play aggressively. If I raise pre-flop I will bet the flop almost every time whether I have hit or not. If I hit the flop having limped in I will also almost always bet as I don't want to allow draws in cheaply and it provides information on opponents hands. If I have spotted a very tight/weak player I may try to bluff him but I don't like making many moves at this early stage.

The blinds are now rising, and often with running antes you need to get involved more and not allow your chip stack to get to a position where you have to move all-in.

This stage of the tournament is all about position, table image and how your opponents are playing. Many of the hands you raise with cannot withstand a re-raise so it is important to raise in as late a position as possible so the likelihood of a big hand to re-raise you is lessened. If you have been playing tightish you are also in a stronger position to get your raises through and by changing gears gradually at this point you should stay in a healthy chip position.

Observing how your opponents are playing is also crucial. If it is a tight table then I will open up my starting requirements and raise more pots and attempt some bluffs. If the table is loose I like to sit back and try and trap my opponents e.g. flat call a raise with AA/KK or limp with AK with the intention of re-raising.

At this point it is important to defend your big blind at times. I don't like calling raises with weak Aces in the big blind but with connectors/KQ/KT etc I will often take a flop.

If you cannot find a hand and have a tight image, a good way of accumulating chips is the re-steal raise/all-in. If a loose player has been raising lots of pots and you know he is unlikely to have a strong enough hand to call a re-raise, then 'come over the top' and put him to the test. I usually like a hand such as suited connectors/small pair but if you are in the small or big blind then any 2 will do. This is a risky play but has a high reward if used selectively.

In early position I tend to stick to premium hands and most often raise. Once in middle position I will bring it in for a raise with AT+, KQ, KJ, QJ, any pair, sometimes suited connectors. In late position I will raise with any 2 cards Ten or bigger, suited aces and connectors. If the pot has already been raised I will call with any pair/suited connectors as long as it costs me no more than 5% of my stack. I will call or re-raise with AA/KK/QQ/JJ/TT/AK. I will often re-raise late position raisers with any pair or AJ+ and with even less if I am in the big blind and the small blind raises.

Hopefully you will have 20+ times the big blind at this stage but if you dip below 15 you need to be very selective and try to put your opponents to the test with big bets/raises. If you dip below ten times the big blind you should try and find a hand, preferably in late position and move all-in to take the blinds or hopefully double up. I hate to see people raise for a third of their stack and fold to a re-raise, if you get low don't be afraid to stick them all-in!

If I am in a pot at this stage I try everything I can to win it. I will bet and raise to put my opponents to the test. Hopefully they will not have seen me 'get out of line' throughout the tournament so they have to respect I have a hand. Also, because I am so aggressive many players will back off taking me on in pots so I can get most of my raises through more easily.

This is a crucial stage of a tournament and one that I am convinced is the most profitable if you play hyper-aggressively as long as you are not a short stack. I have seen world-class players who have won millions of dollars play cautiously and glance at the payout sheet during this stage which is quite extraordinary. If you want to make long term profits in MTT's you must regularly hit the top few places and you cannot do that by anteing yourself away and scraping into the money. Because so many other players are desperate to 'make the money' they often stop playing hands they normally would which allows you to steal blinds and bully players out of pots.

At this stage I say to myself 'lets go, push, push, attack', I force myself to change gears. I will start to raise with any 2 cards from mid-position and re-raise smaller stacks who have made a move in late position and whom I don't give credit for a premium hand. You obviously have to be careful of a tight player who moves all-in at this stage as they will almost certainly have a very strong hand. Other good players on the table will soon realize what you are up to so you need to tread carefully at times. But because you will have accumulated so many chips with your steals you can afford to pay off a short-stack who will move in on you and you have to call with an inferior hand because you are pot committed.

If you are on a short stack at this point you have to be very selective with your raises. Unless you have a premium hand I like to raise in late position to steal the blinds and give myself the chance to get back in the game if I can find a big hand and double up. You can also take a chance with hands like A7+, KQ, KJ, pairs 66+ and re-raise all-in in late position if you suspect a bigger stacked opponent is raising with any 2 cards as discussed earlier.

Once you are in the prize-money starting requirements should move back to normal It is worth taking it easy for a couple of rounds as the short-stacks tend to gamble now they are in the money so you want to be playing pots with solid cards.

Happy Days! Confidence should be high and you are ensured a nice payoff, but it is vital to remain fully focused. Sometimes on-line you may have played for 3-4+ hours to get to this stage and fatigue is understandable, but this is when you must play well and consistently reach the final 3 placings to be a real winner.

At a 9-10 handed final table with a shortish or medium stack I tend to start off tight/aggressive. I am looking to play position poker (raising in late position unless I have a premium hand). I don't like limping at this stage and if I call a raise I need to have a good read as to what my opponent may have and a clear strategy for how to play the flop. Hopefully a few players will soon be knocked out at which point I can change gears and steadily move up to a challenging position.

With a big stack I like to play more aggressively, especially if there are any tight players on the table. I like to be the table 'Captain' and make people fear that I am likely to put a bet or raise on them that could cost them their tournament life. I like to defend my blinds vigorously when I have a large stack. By doing this early on at the final table many opponents will shy away from trying to steal from you. As the big stack it pays to attack the short-medium stacks rather than your fellow big ones. Don't get in a raising war with other chip leaders unless you have a premium hand!

As a short stack at this point I am looking to steal the blinds with any 2 cards in late position so I can give myself enough time so that if I can find a hand to double up with I can be competitive again.

Once the final is down to 5-7 players I will gradually lower my starting requirements. If I have a tightish image or I have been quiet for a while ('card-dead') I sometimes make one of the strongest moves in poker the 're-steal raise' (as discussed in the middle stages). If you suspect an opponent is raising with marginal/weak hands then I may re-raise them with any 2 cards. Most players will only call your move if they have AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AK so it can be very profitable if a shade dangerous.

Once down to 4 players I try to be the most aggressive/active player on the table. Any ace or pair, any 2 big cards and connectors should be brought in for a raise. There tends to be lots of 'coin flip' confrontations between 2 sets of big cards or 2 big cards against a pair. Plenty of luck is usually needed at this stage but if you are the most aggressive player you will pick up lots of pots when no one has very much and those chips can help you survive if you lose a big confrontation.

Once heads-up aggression is again the key. If you only generally play multi-table tournaments I highly recommend you get experience of short-handed play by taking in some single-table tournaments or heads-up games. The best advice I can give is to try and be the aggressor as much as possible. Mix up your play and raise with all sorts of hands, especially when you have the advantage of the button. Also try to get an idea of how your opponent is playing, especially important is to find out if /how/when he tends to bluff on the flop/turn and how he bets/acts when he has hit the flop. Any 2 unpaired cards only make a pair on the flop once in every 3 times. This means any time you hit a pair you will most often be in good shape and with top pair you should be prepared to commit all your chips. I think it essential to try and trap (flat call) when you have AA/KK/QQ in this situation. Also, don't allow your opponent to bluff too much on the flop, raise him with nothing at times if he does so.

Hopefully you may have picked up a few pointers for your multi-table tournament strategy. There are many intricacies/tactics that I have not covered but I think the best overall advice is to be focused, watch how your opponents play, be selective, play position, play very aggressively (be a raiser/bettor) and change gears at key points.