Online Poker Tournament Strategy

by 888.com

Online poker is very exciting to play. One of the most profitable forms of the game is online poker tournaments. Made up of hundreds or even thousand of players, these poker tournaments allow you to turn a $25 buy in to a very large amount of money. To be successful though, you can´t just play normal poker.

To succeed in online poker tournaments, you need to have a solid strategy. You can´t just sit down at the table and play the same strategy you could use at a normal ring game. You will get eaten alive. You need to plan everything out in advance and not deviate from this. You may have to change a few things as you gauge the competition and are put in certain unique situations but generally speaking, sticking to your strategy will take you far.

The first important part of any winning poker strategy is to know the game you are playing. Now, obviously you will need to know basic poker rules but you should also be experienced in areas like hand reading, pot odds and especially tournament selection.

It is important to choose tournaments that you have a good chance of wining. If you are just beginning to play poker online, it would not be smart to start playing in a $250 buy in poker tournament. There is a wide variety of buy in and skill levels available, so make sure you choose the one that is right for you.

The online poker strategy described below will use the example of a 100 player multi table poker tournament with a pretty small buy in. Now, the same techniques and "system" can be adapted for almost any kind of tournament, even sit and go´s. The one area where this strategy might not be very successful is when the buy ins and skill level go up. Once you start getting to about $100 buy ins, the tournament dynamic changes, and concrete strategies don´t work.

Phase One:

Phase one of this particular strategy starts when the tournament begins and ends when about half the players have been eliminated. The style of play in this phase can be classified by competitors as crazy. There are fish all over the place going all in on the first hand with 7-2 offsuit. There are Phil Hellmuth wannabes who make a ridiculous play and then spend the next 4 hands trying to berate other players about their play.

This phase is actually the easiest to play. You should aim on playing as few hands as possible, and avoid going to the river with a player who is inexperienced. You may be thinking "The blinds are so low now, I should be seeing as many flops as possible", while the blinds are low, so is your stack. You don´t want to be bleeding away chips and risking getting in a dangerous hand with a fish.

Generally speaking, you should play only paired face cards and AK before the flop. While some lower combinations might seem like profitable plays, it is not uncommon to get 4 or 5 players to see the flop, and the chances of getting drawn out on are huge.

Phase Two:

Phase two starts when most of the fish are gone. This is when you start loosening up and start playing more like it is a ring game. You will play more starting hands and since most players left are experienced, you can start to play after the flop. Since you were very tight in phase one, you might have a chip disadvantage to others. Don´t worry about this, though. All it takes are a few hands and you are back in the game.

Phase Three:

If you are lucky enough in phase two, you might be able to make it to phase three, which starts at the final table. Now, final table strategy is very hard to discuss because you need to formulate your plays on a case-by-case basis. Since the players at the final table will be experienced and have different playing styles, you will have to read them and play accordingly. Chances are, though, if you made it this far, you have a pretty good idea on how to play profitable poker and should do ok!

In the end, it is important to note that a solid strategy for online poker tournaments can get you deep in the field, but if you actually want to win or place very high, you will have to adapt to the specific players at your table. No strategy guide will be able to tell you how to play in these situations. This is where experience and poker knowledge come into play. Good luck at the tables!

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