Winning Multi-Table Tournaments

The multi-table tournament format has gained notoriety through live events such as the World Series of Poker. The player pool is extremely large in comparison to ring games and therefore, the potential amount of money that can be won greatly improves. The multi-table tournament lures the rags-to-riches chasing players in that one can literally turn just about no money into hundreds of thousands of dollars. The strategy to multi-table tournaments is the tricky part. Multi-table tournaments in terms of strategy are broken down into three stages: early, middle and late.

Early

At the beginning of any multi-table tournament, the playing field consists of all types of players including tons of fish (loose, inexperienced players). The play for this stage of the tournament should be extremely tight. Think of it the same as playing early position. Even if you are in late position, use the starting hand selection that you would for early position. This should primarily be high pairs, high suited cards and high-unsuited cards. At this stage in the tournament there should not be many chips wasted on draws. Similarly, this is not the time for any bluffing tricks.

Middle

Multi-table tournaments are tough because the playing goes from extremely sloppy to excellent. The key is being able to adjust and play accordingly. The early stage is very tight due to the amount of loose players. The middle stage has eliminated most of the fish and the playing field is sitting about 25% lighter. At this stage being tight with some aggression is necessary. Players tend to tighten up and play conservative being cautious of aggressive players because they see the field narrowing. The hand selection can lighten up a bit in the middle stage focusing more on traditional table position.

Large stack players should still be considered dangerous, as they may be able to call what you think of as a rather large bet with no real concern. Large stack players are more likely to call for a draw that you may be instantly folding at this point in the tournament.

Late

This is where it becomes crunch time. There are practically no fish left on the tables except maybe one or two extremely lucky players and the competition is extremely stiff. At this point you are also facing a series of bubbles. Bubbles refer to the payout schedule. In other words, the person that goes out right before the lowest place paid went out on the bubble. The person that goes out before the next tier goes out on the bubble and everyone that remains is now guaranteed more money. The hand selection at this point can open up, as chip strength is more important than your hand. This is especially true for the final table.

There are two options at this stage; either play conservatively and hold out for a monster or grab the first pair or high cards and push it all out there hoping to double up. Players that choose to play conservatively are also hoping that other small stacks will push and a large stack will take them out. The game play changes dramatically from the beginning to the end of a multi-table tournament. The player that can adjust, play accordingly and also get a good string of cards with a little luck when they need it can win. However, consistent placing players follow a strategy and are always right there in the mix when it comes down to the end.