In Texas Holdem, making good decisions is vital to getting deep
in poker tournaments. This article covers the poker basics of when it is
a good time to go all-in throughout the different stages of a poker
tournament.
Understanding basic poker tournament strategy helps you arrive at executing correct tournament decisions.
Timing, in poker tournaments, is practically half the game. Possessing the mindset of when to make moves and when to fold is a crucial part of tourney success. That being said, let's examine scenarios where it is a good idea to go all in, and then some situations in a poker tournament where you should wait it out. Before we do that, the first poker tournament strategy you want to erase from your mind is the concept that when you are down to 10 big blinds (BB) or less, you need to shove with certain strong hands. This poker basics theory is a poor poker tournament strategy and essentially nothing more than an excuse players use to try to double up. Living on hope is not the way to win a poker tournament.
The 10 Big blind theory in poker has inherent strategic flaws, mostly because a majority of tournament poker players embrace the concept that if they get an opportunity to knock out a player they will take the chance. Therefore, you are essentially involving yourself in an unnecessary race with the hope of gathering much-needed chips. In other words, an all-in induces action! Therefore unless you have a really strong hand, than you should NOT go all-in regardless of how many big blinds you have left. Believe it or not, the real poker basics strategy is; 'it is better to blind out than to take an unnecessary shot in the dark.' (Remember, a chip and a chair is a real story!)
Now with 10 BB remaining, typically you have a minimum 30 hands left before you are blinded out. Therefore, with 10 BBs, you should never become anxious. The poker basics formula to calculate how many hands you have remaining before being blinded out at a 9 person table is typically three to three and one half times the number of big blinds remaining. So, if you have 30 BBs, you will be able to see about 100 hands before you blind out assuming you fold every hand. The hands remaining formula is a basic poker tournament lesson taught in my poker tournament strategies newsletter, (see link below).
Now that we have covered how many poker hands you have remaining, let's find out which hands in your tournament are critically a good time to go all in. In the case where you hold a top ten hand in late position, and there are more than two limpers, and you have 10 BB left, this is strategically, a good time to shove all in. The limpers likely will not call you preflop. On the other hand, if you are willing to take the risk and limp, you could get more value by waiting to see the flop. Especially if your opponents are loose, and tend to limp with warm hands. However, my strategy is to take down a limped pot preflop, as this will give you more chips to make a play later.
If you have a warm hand such as KQ suited or less, and you are in late position with no action before you, this is a good tournament strategy to shove and get rid of the button and blinds. You must remember that in addition to the number of hands you have remaining, your position is very important as well. In a poker tournament, players will tend to tighten up as they get deeper, and you can take advantage of this as a short stack, to get your chips in. However, you should only do it in position, with no players in the pot before you. This eliminates the possibility that some players like to limp in a tournament with monster hands, hoping to catch (or, trap) the shortstacks making a move.
Late stage tournament poker strategy; you want to play a tighter variety of hands and use position to make an all in move. In the middle stages of a tourney, when players are holding onto their stacks, your strategy should change. For example, limping with a monster hand to see a flop before you make a move. In the case where the flop is a really dry flop (no draws, no high cards, no connectors, etc.), there is never a need to go all in, make a strategic bet and you are likely to take down the pot uncontested. On the other hand, if you limp and the flop is a really draw heavy flop, you want to proceed cautiously before going all in. Maybe put out a big enough bet to see if someone is drawing. Usually, two-thirds to three-quarters bet is sufficient. If you get called and the draw does not come on the turn, exercise your poker strategy and consider this may be the time to go all in.
Typically, players are less likely to make an all in call on the turn, in middle and late stages of a tourney. Therefore, your strategy to get rid of drawing poker hands is best on the turn and not on the flop. In almost every case possible, it is rarely a good idea to get all your chips in the pot on the flop or even pre-flop. This again is a poor strategy and usually induces action by drawing hands that figure they have 2 cards to come and their odds are better to hit their draw.
Now for a look at early stage poker tournament strategy. There is almost never a reason you should have all your chips in the pot in the first 4 or 5 levels of any poker tournament. It is mathematically impossible to get blinded out in any poker tournament in the first 5 levels. In other words, you can not get blinded out, so why get all your chips in? The early stage of a poker tournament is best to slowly build up your stack with the intention of doubling your stack by the first break. However, the first 4 or 5 levels of any poker tournament is where most of the loose aggressive donkeys play! So, make it your strategy that unless you have the top 4 nuts on the flop, turn or river, you should avoid going all in.
We covered early stage poker tournament strategy, where you should build slowly and avoid the donkey play, middle stage strategy where you should target your plays for the flop or turn and late tournament stage strategy where you want to patiently wait for top hands to make your move. We also covered the false 10 BB theory and how to calculate your approximate poker hands remaining. The final word in this poker tournament strategy is that you want to reserve your all in for only when you have a lock on the pot! Do not get it all in weak or preflop, work your poker strategy on the flop, turn or river. After all, that is where the real power chip building is! Good luck and for more poker tournament strategy tips, make sure to sign up for my tournament newsletter sent free right to your email.
Understanding basic poker tournament strategy helps you arrive at executing correct tournament decisions.
Timing, in poker tournaments, is practically half the game. Possessing the mindset of when to make moves and when to fold is a crucial part of tourney success. That being said, let's examine scenarios where it is a good idea to go all in, and then some situations in a poker tournament where you should wait it out. Before we do that, the first poker tournament strategy you want to erase from your mind is the concept that when you are down to 10 big blinds (BB) or less, you need to shove with certain strong hands. This poker basics theory is a poor poker tournament strategy and essentially nothing more than an excuse players use to try to double up. Living on hope is not the way to win a poker tournament.
The 10 Big blind theory in poker has inherent strategic flaws, mostly because a majority of tournament poker players embrace the concept that if they get an opportunity to knock out a player they will take the chance. Therefore, you are essentially involving yourself in an unnecessary race with the hope of gathering much-needed chips. In other words, an all-in induces action! Therefore unless you have a really strong hand, than you should NOT go all-in regardless of how many big blinds you have left. Believe it or not, the real poker basics strategy is; 'it is better to blind out than to take an unnecessary shot in the dark.' (Remember, a chip and a chair is a real story!)
Now with 10 BB remaining, typically you have a minimum 30 hands left before you are blinded out. Therefore, with 10 BBs, you should never become anxious. The poker basics formula to calculate how many hands you have remaining before being blinded out at a 9 person table is typically three to three and one half times the number of big blinds remaining. So, if you have 30 BBs, you will be able to see about 100 hands before you blind out assuming you fold every hand. The hands remaining formula is a basic poker tournament lesson taught in my poker tournament strategies newsletter, (see link below).
Now that we have covered how many poker hands you have remaining, let's find out which hands in your tournament are critically a good time to go all in. In the case where you hold a top ten hand in late position, and there are more than two limpers, and you have 10 BB left, this is strategically, a good time to shove all in. The limpers likely will not call you preflop. On the other hand, if you are willing to take the risk and limp, you could get more value by waiting to see the flop. Especially if your opponents are loose, and tend to limp with warm hands. However, my strategy is to take down a limped pot preflop, as this will give you more chips to make a play later.
If you have a warm hand such as KQ suited or less, and you are in late position with no action before you, this is a good tournament strategy to shove and get rid of the button and blinds. You must remember that in addition to the number of hands you have remaining, your position is very important as well. In a poker tournament, players will tend to tighten up as they get deeper, and you can take advantage of this as a short stack, to get your chips in. However, you should only do it in position, with no players in the pot before you. This eliminates the possibility that some players like to limp in a tournament with monster hands, hoping to catch (or, trap) the shortstacks making a move.
Late stage tournament poker strategy; you want to play a tighter variety of hands and use position to make an all in move. In the middle stages of a tourney, when players are holding onto their stacks, your strategy should change. For example, limping with a monster hand to see a flop before you make a move. In the case where the flop is a really dry flop (no draws, no high cards, no connectors, etc.), there is never a need to go all in, make a strategic bet and you are likely to take down the pot uncontested. On the other hand, if you limp and the flop is a really draw heavy flop, you want to proceed cautiously before going all in. Maybe put out a big enough bet to see if someone is drawing. Usually, two-thirds to three-quarters bet is sufficient. If you get called and the draw does not come on the turn, exercise your poker strategy and consider this may be the time to go all in.
Typically, players are less likely to make an all in call on the turn, in middle and late stages of a tourney. Therefore, your strategy to get rid of drawing poker hands is best on the turn and not on the flop. In almost every case possible, it is rarely a good idea to get all your chips in the pot on the flop or even pre-flop. This again is a poor strategy and usually induces action by drawing hands that figure they have 2 cards to come and their odds are better to hit their draw.
Now for a look at early stage poker tournament strategy. There is almost never a reason you should have all your chips in the pot in the first 4 or 5 levels of any poker tournament. It is mathematically impossible to get blinded out in any poker tournament in the first 5 levels. In other words, you can not get blinded out, so why get all your chips in? The early stage of a poker tournament is best to slowly build up your stack with the intention of doubling your stack by the first break. However, the first 4 or 5 levels of any poker tournament is where most of the loose aggressive donkeys play! So, make it your strategy that unless you have the top 4 nuts on the flop, turn or river, you should avoid going all in.
We covered early stage poker tournament strategy, where you should build slowly and avoid the donkey play, middle stage strategy where you should target your plays for the flop or turn and late tournament stage strategy where you want to patiently wait for top hands to make your move. We also covered the false 10 BB theory and how to calculate your approximate poker hands remaining. The final word in this poker tournament strategy is that you want to reserve your all in for only when you have a lock on the pot! Do not get it all in weak or preflop, work your poker strategy on the flop, turn or river. After all, that is where the real power chip building is! Good luck and for more poker tournament strategy tips, make sure to sign up for my tournament newsletter sent free right to your email.
Learn more poker tournament strategies to win online poker by joining the free Poker News strategic tip newsletter at Poker Tournament Strategies
Start winning online poker tournaments today by reading the number one bestseller in winning online! Read the Online Poker Code.
