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Winning a poker tournament takes various skills and a large amount of luck. Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking you can win a tournament with just one of these. That’s why most tournament professionals don’t look at number of wins but their overall return on investment (ROI) to measure their success. After all, what can a player do about be all in with the best hand and getting outdrawn on? Today, we’ll discuss some strategy tips to help the modern poker player navigate online poker tournaments.
Freezeout or Rebuy
We recommend poker players stick to one tournament type. Generally, most platforms offer the standard freezeout format or the rebuy type. There are types in between e.g., bounty, but for this article we are only looking at the two most popular.
By focusing on one type, you won’t be influenced when playing the other. For instance, the survival mechanisms required in a one buy in freezeout are radically different to rebuy tournaments. Rebuy tournament strategy allows players to take far more risks early on in the interest of building a deep stack for after the rebuy stage.
Play for the win or get into the money?
Another tip for tournament players is to decide at the start, is their goal exclusively play for the win or secure a cash. This is a serious question for some as whilst we all want to win some are almost compelled to cash for bankroll management purposes. On the flipside, someone who is seasoned and accustomed to playing lots of tournaments, securing a cash is not everything. Instead, they are looking for a very deep run and ideally a final table for it to be worthwhile.
By consciously deciding what your goal is at the start you will be able to adjust your strategy accordingly. Consider someone who is only interested in a top 9 finish, they can take more calculated risks than someone who is happy with a small cash that bumps their bankroll up. As always, responsible gambling is needed, especially for rebuy tournaments.
Cut down on tables
Our final tip for online tournaments in 2022 is to reduce the number of tables being played. A common leak for even recreational players is to fire up too many tables at once. This may not seem like a big problem but each table you add is going to reduce your edge at the table as your concentration is divided between more tables. Instead, you should try to find the optimal number of tables that will allow you to play your A game and also help you generate a satisfactory win rate.
By cutting down on tables you will also become less reliant on poker stat tracking software like pokertracker. Some sites have gone as far as banning HUDs being used e.g. Unibet, which means adding more tables than necessary is likely to harm you tournament win rate.
Summary
To sum up, poker players considering tournaments in 2022 should stick to one format, consciously decide what their goals are to fine tine their strategy and reduce the number of tables at once. By implementing these three tips we are confident you will see an overall improvement in your results in the future.
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