Win Online Tournament Poker

Online Poker Tournaments

Strategy of no limit Texas Holdem tournament play

Introduction
Online Poker tournaments, with the game of no limit Texas Holdem, have gained increasing popularity. Much of it can be attributed to television coverage and huge price pools. Further, poker tournaments appeal to so many people because any player can get lucky and will have a shot at winning a big amount of money from a very small investment. There is also the possibility of entering a big tournament virtually for free by winning a ticket from a satellite for that tournament.
But, what is the winning strategy of online poker tournaments? Players will discover that the way to go about winning a big slice of the price pool depends on many factors. First of all it requires a largely amount of luck, but as in all forms of poker the skilled player can increase his chance of getting lucky by constantly making the correct move. In the following text a few of those moves will be explained, and hopefully it can be a first good step for you.

The Gap Concept
If you want to win a poker tournament, you need to understand the gab concept, introduced by Sklansky. It goes as follows: In tournament poker, you will usually need a better hand to play against someone who has opened the betting than what you need to open with yourself. The difference between the hand needed to call an opening bet with and the hand needed to open with is called ‘the gap’. The gab changes depending on the way your opponents play. The tighter they play the bigger the gap, and the looser they play the smaller the gap. This means, you can raise when first in with a lot of hands you would never call a raise with. In late position with a moderate stack and no one has entered the pot, it would be correct to raise with hands as weak as 22, A-x and so on. If you get re-raised big from the big blind you have an easy fold. Depending on the remaining opponents you may need to be more selective of the hands you open with. Since the gab depends on your opponents it can be difficult to make the correct move in the beginning of the game. But this changes as you gain more knowledge of your opponents during play.

Stack size
Your stack size will to some extend determine how you should play. If you have a small stack the gap decreases, and it is more difficult for you to steal the blinds. But, because you have a small stack, other players will be less inclined to call or re-raise you unless they have a very strong hand. This is because they know that you are not likely to bluff with a small stack, and there is not much for them to win anyway. This concept actually increases you chances of making a successful bluff. On the other hand, a player with a very big stack might be willing to gamble with you because they are not risking much and will be able to knock you out. This is one of those spots where you need to know your opponents and take a close look at the stack sizes around the table before making a move. Try to place yourself in your opponents seats, how would you play with their stack. Sometimes this way of thinking is the key to handread you opponents correctly. Playing with a medium stack is typically more difficult, you are attempting to make a big stack but, at the same time you are trying to avoid becoming a short stack. Generally, try to play more pots against smaller stacks and avoid the bigger stacks. When you have a big stack, the gap increases and you can afford to take bigger risks.

Early Stage
In the early stage of the tournament you have a lot of chips and the blinds are low. Here it is best to wait for good hands before getting involved in a pot. Patient is the key here. Try to trap weaker players. No need to make big gambles and risk getting busted out. Hopefully you will hit a few good hands and win some chips so that you are able to continue with a moderate stack into the middle stage.

Middle Stage
In the middle stage the blinds and antes now mean something for your stack, and you will have to open up your game and start picking up pots. The overall key to success here is to be the aggressor. Other players will usually play cautiously at this stage because of the higher risk of going broke. If they play tight you should loosen up, and if they play loose you should tighten up. Try to play the opposite of the table. In the middle stage you should have gained some knowledge about your opponents, who is the calling station, who will fold way too many hands and so on.

Late Stage
If you go into the late stage, this usually means that you are close to the money. Avoid confrontations with big stacks and tend to play solid starting hands aggressively. If you have a big or moderate stack at this stage you have a huge advantage and must blind steal as much as possible. When you are only a few spots away from entering the money, you can make aggressive moves if you have a big or medium stack. This is because your opponents will fear getting busted out, so you will have plenty of opportunities to steal pots. A very aggressive play is recommended here. On the other hand, if you have a small stack you must make a move. Otherwise you can not avoid getting played with, regardless of what your opponents are holding. If you get hands like AQ, JJ or better, you must take a risk and do what it takes to get action. In this situation, it is important that you gamble more, otherwise there is no way you can place yourself in the money.

The Final Table
Reaching the final table is difficult and requires a lot of luck and skills. Players reaching the final table are usually all good poker players. For this reason it is mostly the cards that determines who will be the overall winner. If you find yourself on the final table, congratulation, have patience and play the best poker you can, you know what to do ..