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Tourney Strategy
For a number of reasons, there is no such thing as a universally successful tourney strategy that can be applied across the board. What we will outline here is a few general thoughts on some of the types of strategies that you should be aware of, and some of the factors you should be aware of when choosing how to choose a tourney strategy.
Your chosen strategy will be influenced by the following conditions:
Whether the tourney is single table or multi table
The number of starting chips and size of blinds
The rate at which blinds increase
The presence or absence of antes
The number of people seated at the table
The size of your stack relative to the blinds
The size of your stack relative to other players at the table
Your distance from the money line
Single Table vs Multi Table Tourneys
In general, a single table strategy can be a little more loose than a multi table strategy. Since a multi table tourney may take up to 5 or more hours, you want to avoid putting all of your chips at risk on a regular basis. Think of it this way, if you get pocket AA 5 times and push them in every time preflop, and a bigger stack always calls you with some smaller pocket pair, the odds are good that you will bust out of the tourney. Yes, you had the better hand preflop. But even AA is only an 80% favorite over any smaller pocket pair. When it comes down to it, you don't want to put yourself in situations where you will risk not making the money without having already made a solid hand. However, in a single table tourney, you would gladly push in with AA every time, since the odds of you doubling up (which is EXTREMELY advantageous in a single table tourney) are strong. You don't anticipate getting AA five times during the tourney.
In addition, in multi-table tourneys, you will tend to have a lot of marginal players (affectionately called "landmines") who can break even the best of players with "horrible" play. It's best to let the landmines blowup early in the tourney so that you don't step on one.
The Number of Starting Chips and Size of Blinds
In general, if you the blinds are very small (say 10/15) relative to your starting stack (say 1000), it is usually wise to call hands that have a potential to break other players. Suited connectors from late position and low pocket pairs (trying to flop three of a kind) are great limping hands at low blind levels where the cost of limping is tiny relative to your stack.
The Rate at Which Blinds Increase
On some poker sites, the blinds increase as a function of the number of hands played (usually every 10 hands). At other sites, it's a function of time. When blinds increase every ten hands, it's important to NOT make bluffs early. The reason is that there is usually not enough money in the pot to justify risking a large part of your stack for a small number of chips. As the blinds increase however, attacking the blinds becomes more and more important. For this reason, it is often advantageous to play tighter in a tourney and loosen up later when the blinds become more important.
The Presence or Absence of Antes
Antes are amounts that each player must put into the pot before the cards are dealt and are usually in addition to blinds. When antes are present in a tournament, they will often have a schedule of increases that corresponds to increases in blinds. When antes are present, they only increase the importance of well-timed steals in the later stages of tournaments.
The Number of People Seated at the Table
The number of people seated at your table will influence your strategy. As the seats empty, you will (on average) be up against weaker hands. Hands that might have been unplayable (such as KJ from early position) when the table was full, are now potentially raising hands when play is 4 or 5 handed.
Size of your stack relative to the blinds
When the blinds are increasing, but your own stack is not, eventually you hit a point where you have to start thinking about making an aggressive move. Many expert players feel that this point is hit when you have between 5 and 6 times the big blind in your stack. At this stage, in late position with maybe one limper in front, players will take a risk and push in with Ax, KT or better, or low pocket pairs. If you let your stack get any smaller than 5 times the big blind, your all-in begins to lose it's ability to encourage "FOLD" as an option for your opponents. Many large stacks will call an all-in from an extremely small stack, especially if they are already in the blind. As such, when very short stacked, many players will get more aggressive with marginal hands.
The Size of Your Stack Relative to Other Players
When you are very large relative to other players, a case can be made for being a bit more aggressive. The reason is that your raises have the added threat that you are able to put any player all-in at any time. As such, when a player gets involved in a hand with you, they know that they may have to play for all of their chips. Many players will choose to avoid these types of situations, so your raises will carry added strength.
Distance from the Money Line
Often in a tourney, just before all of the players are in the money there will be a period where almost all players will tighten up. Nobody likes to play great poker for 4 hours, only to finish one spot below the pay line (known as the "Bubble"). So when money is almost in hand, many players go into a shell and wait it out before getting involved in any marginal hands. For many expert players, this is a great time to accumulate chips (especially if you have a decent sized stack relative to the table already). At this level, the blinds are usually high, the table may not be completely full, there may be antes to consider, and there may be a few players who are so close to blinding out that aggressive play here can help you pick up enough chips to be a threat at the final table. Based on the payout structure of the tourney, surviving one more player may be out $10 or $15...whereas making the final table may be worth $500 or more. Taking a risk at not earning $15 in order to have a much better shot at $500 or more is something you will have to decide on your own.
Party Poker Sit n Go Strategy Guide
There is an eBook that describes a single table tourney strategy that seems to work pretty well given Party Poker's blind structure. It is reasonably inexpensive and comes with the author's guarantee that if you use the book and are not getting good results he will refund 100% of your purchase price. In essence, it comes with a standard 30-day money back guarantee. Click here for more information on this eBook.
Copyright 2009, All rights reserved.