To be successful at the poker tables in tournament play you need to develop patience and discipline. Too many bad players get all overconfident right away and before they know it they are raising with hands they should not and not even knowing why. This is a very dangerous approach to take to the table as no player should ever be raising without a good reason nor a reason why.
If you don’t have the discipline to wait for a good hand and play premium hands cautiously, you risk letting your opponents gain more chips than you do. If you make a tournament sit and go table every day and play the same group of people, you’d have a 97% chance of winning on a single table in an hours time. Don’t make this mistake, you need to wait for a good hand!
Now depending on the size of the buy in of a sit and go, you may only have one shot in the hand. If you are unlucky enough to be in late position and everyone limps in ahead of you, you should limp in as well. This will allow you to see a flop with low cards and if you hit the flop, you have the potential to win a big pot. Just because you limp in, does not mean you have to play any hand but pocket pairs unless you put in a large raise.
When you reach the middle of the pack, you should start playing more hands but you should still use caution. Just because you’ve been in a tournament for a while, does not mean you have a good hand. The middle section of the pack is where the chip stacks are smaller and the tournaments are much leaner. When you reach these last two sections, it is time to become a more aggressive player. If you were playing in the first section of the field, you should pick your battles and stick to playing premium hands aggressively.
When you reach the bubble (just before the last few players) you should really loosen up and play all hands. Nobody has made it that far without playing some hands so you should not be in wait mode. If you are in the blinds and flop a monster, it is worth chancing it. Most people are not making it to the money and only one or two players are so you have your work cut out for you. Don’t be afraid to take the pot up if you’ve got a good hand, why not add a hand or two to an already strong hand?
As the field narrows in the middle, it is time to become more aggressive as fewer players are left. Remember, most players will play with an average stack so you want to steal the blinds and pots from the other players. When you are in late position and blinds are low, you can take a stab at the pot with any two cards.
Firstly, although it is acceptable to play mega88 poker, you want to be a force and not a paper target for other players. When you play tight, many players will automatically fold to you and your stack will gradually be taken to the bar. Secondly, although you are at home observing other players, you are not playing your own hands. Therefore, although you are using your chips to press an advantage on your opponents, you are not playing with your own cards and therefore, present a different target to your opponents. Consequently, in the next tournament you will not have your stack in the early rounds. Consequently, when you do hit a hand, the play is a lot different and you will have to adjust your play.
Conclusion All the factors needed to end up on the final table are present in every tournament. You should not ignore any of them, as they could either go your way or not. If you are a tournament player, you need to realize that winning a tournament is a marathon and not a sprint and you need to be prepared both in terms of time and money. Before making any decisions, you should consider these opponents and their style of play and adapt your play to it.Do not enter the final table without first having a profitable game. A lot of final table players end up with nothing, as the difference between first and second is very small and not many are willing to go out as early in the tournament. Consequently, first place raises are very essential to make. A lot of players wait on the button with a rubbish hand till the very end and once they see an opportunity charge the pot with their all in and hope that the others fold, but most of time they get raised and don’t win the pot. Therefore, you need to get a hand that would make a few people fold before the flop. After the flop if you have nothing, it’s better to check and fold. But if you have a hand consider a continuation bet or a re-raise.