Although just like every type of gambling activity, luck is needed to be successful in poker, however, perhaps more than any other gambling activity, poker relies on skill and the ability to read an opponent.
For some the thrill of winning a poker tournament far exceeds the thrill of the ball landing in the right pocket in a roulette wheel, the roll of the dice or trying to hit 21. Often poker tournaments take time, there is an element of fierce competition and any winnings that are won are usually hard earned. Poker legend Jack Straus once famously said, “if I lose, I don’t give a damn about the money, but I just hate the embarrassment of being beaten.”
Poker tournaments have been played for decades but they still remain hugely popular today, hundreds of thousands of players play daily and the ability to earn huge amounts of cash often looms large. Over the years there have been several strategies that players have turned to in an attempt to win poker tournaments on a regular and consistent basis. Let’s explore some of these below.
7 Tips for Winning Poker Tournaments
Tip 1: Take notes and tag your opponents
Often the easiest tournament strategy that is taught to beginners is to take notes and tag opponents. Often poker takes place over long sessions and over the course of a game players can suss each other out and get a sense of how people play. Making notes on how players bet, how they treat the flop or protect the big blinds can all be exceptionally useful when the pots increase or a lot of money is on the line.
According to Jekaterina Dubnicka, the new head of marketing and communications at Slotsjudge (you can read here about it): “If you feel you have got to the bottom of how a player likes to play, tag that player in your directory. If you feel you have the edge over them, why not play them again?”
Tip 2: Always use an HUD
For those that don’t like the manual nature of taking notes, using a HUD (Heads up Display) is a great piece of technology to employ. Often used by professional poker players, a decent HUD should tell you real time information such as how often a player likes to fold or how often a player likes to raise or go all-in.
Former World Series of Poker Champion, Chris Moneymaker once famously said, “the beautiful thing about poker is that everybody thinks they can play.” Useful for both cash games and tournament poker, there are a wide range of HUD’s that can be purchased and downloaded at just a moment’s notice which will enable you to put Moneymaker’s theory to the test
Tip 3. Choose the right opening size of stake
Often the best way to become a consistent winner when playing poker is to take your time and learn your craft. Sticking to your bankroll and your limits whilst you hone your skills is a wise thing to do and is an approach that many players take.
Playing for the lowest stakes might not award you with the most lucrative prizes, but playing deep-stacked multi-table tournaments at a level you can afford can be enjoyable and help you progress through the various stages of a tournament. Once you feel you have earned your stripes at lower limits, you should have the skills and abilities to hopefully perform well in the tournaments that command higher stakes and money.
Tip 4: Risk more in bounty tournaments
Bounty tournaments are becoming hugely popular online tournaments. Played in a traditional way with blinds and antes, recreational players and pros like bounty tournaments because as well as the potential of winning big, you can earn more as the tournament progresses by virtue of knocking out players. With each player containing a bounty, the more players you knock out, the more you will win.
Whereas in traditional tournaments you might be better off waiting for premium hands, bounty play often encourages more aggressive play and the need to risk more. The more you risk, the bigger the rewards.
Tip 5: Close more tables as you get deeper
One of the main skills that the very best online poker players in the world are able to possess over the more common player is their ability to play multiple tables at once. Able to bounce from table to table during the early rounds, one of the strategy tips that senior players would advise would be to close the tables down the deeper into the tournament you go.
As you progress, the stakes and pressure will be highest, in your quest for greater chip accumulation make sure you can dedicate your attention to the tables that matter.
Tip 6: Don’t get distracted by unnecessary things
Related to the tip above, there are many poker pros who can operate well whilst seemingly watching sports, or even films and movies. To be a winning poker player, the advice is to dedicate yourself entirely to the game. Whilst listening to music or talking to your fellow players is fine, if you have too many distractions in the go, you could find it hard to regularly rack up prize pools and accumulate large chip stacks.
Tip 7: Use 5-minute breaks effectively
As we have mentioned already, poker tournaments are unique as they often can take a great deal of time, therefore it is great that many of today’s games offer the opportunity to take regular breaks. Often 5 minutes in length, use these breaks wisely, get away from the tables and give yourself a little time out. Using these opportunities can keep you fresh and should hopefully enable you to play at a consistently high level.
Adopting Strategies Can Help for Every Type of Gambling
Although this article focuses on poker strategy, adopting a strategy when you gamble via slots, roulette, blackjack or craps can help you make better and more consistent returns for whatever your preferred game is.
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