Poker For Dummies
Poker tournaments have exploded in popularity ever since the world series of poker started being broadcasted on ESPN. Poker tournaments boomed when millions saw Chris Moneymaker win 2.5 million dollars at the 2003 world series of poker. Ever since then, poker tournaments have seen a rapid increase in live play as well as online play. Cash games and tournament games are very different games and require a different skill set. There are very few professional poker players who are ranked among the best in both tournament and cash game play. So what are the most important skills you need to win a poker tournament?
This will come as a surprise to most people but the biggest factor in winning a poker tournament isnt skill, its luck. Multi table poker tournaments require you to win a large amount of coin flips to get to the end. Skill and good poker play will get you far into a tournament but in the end luck is the deciding factor. There are just too many players to beat on skill alone. You better have lady luck on your side if you want to stand a chance at winning a poker tournament.
Playing cash game requires you to win the most amount of chips possible, it doesnt matter how long it takes you to do it, you just have to do it. In poker tournaments you need to win as many chips as you can in a given amount of time. You also have ever increasing blinds to play against, usually increasing every 10-15 minutes. In the end all this means is that youll have to play faster, play more hands, and make your moves sooner than you usually would.
You should always play fairly tight in the very beginning of tournament. This is the only time the blinds will be small enough that you can just sit back and wait for a premium hand to make a move. You can sit and watch other players get knocked out. When the blinds start to get higher, its time to start making moves.
Poker tournaments usually only give you one shot, always remember that before you decide to go all in. In a cash game you can usually buy back in and play until all your real cash is gone. Poker tournaments, on the other hand, dont usually allow rebuys but some do. One mistake can send you packing so your decisions better be precise.
These are just a few of the essential poker tournament strategies and tips that you must apply if you want a chance at winning it all. Like I mentioned before, the key to winning any multi table poker tournament is luck, if you dont have it, you probably wont make it.