Poker tournament strategy for beginners
A tournament is five different games one after another. Whoever picks the right strategy per phase gets structurally further than whoever plays one style.
The biggest mistake beginning tournament players make is not one bad decision, but playing the same game from the first hand to the last. A tournament changes character along the way: the stacks shrink compared with the blinds, the antes come in, and near the prize money survival suddenly becomes worth money. Below are the five phases, and what each phase asks of you.
The early phase: deep and patient
The blinds are small compared with the stacks, so there is no hurry. Play your strong hands, avoid big pots with middling hands, and use the time to see who at the table plays too loose or too carefully. Chips you do not lose now are your leverage later.
The middle phase: the antes change everything
As soon as the antes come in, every pot suddenly has a fair amount to win before anybody has done anything. Anyone who keeps waiting for monsters now slowly wastes away. This is the phase to start stealing blinds from late position and keep your stack up to strength.
The short stack: two buttons
Below fifteen big blinds the game changes fundamentally: there is no room left to play after the flop. Your choices become all in or fold, and which hands justify that has been worked out and can be learned. This is the most studiable piece of tournament poker there is.
The bubble: the most expensive phase of the tournament
Just before the prize money, chips you win are worth less than chips you lose, because going out means nothing. Big stacks may apply pressure, short stacks have to throw away borderline cases that were fine earlier. Even a hand like ace king can become a fold here.
The final table: every place is money
Every elimination gives everybody a jump in prize money. That rewards patience when short stacks sit next to you, and aggression as soon as you are the one who can put others under pressure. The same maths as on the bubble, only stronger.
What to train first
Of all five phases the short stack is the best place to start, for two reasons. First, you end up there in every tournament: everybody is short sooner or later. Second, it is entirely learnable: the right all in decisions have been worked out and can be trained until they come automatically. Start with the free push fold lesson, and work real situations through with the free ICM calculator.
The bubble is the phase where the most money is given away. Anyone who wants to see how large that effect really is should read the worked example in Folding AKs on the bubble?: a hand that wins chips and still loses money.
And the basics stay the basics: starting hands, position and the two sums from the roadmap for beginners apply in every tournament, in every phase.
frequently asked questions
Tournament questions.
What is the biggest difference between a tournament and a cash game? +
In a cash game every chip is real money and you can always buy in again. In a tournament your chips are your life: out of chips is out, and the blinds keep rising. That makes survival count in every decision, and it makes some choices that are right in cash wrong in a tournament.
When should I go all in with a short stack? +
As a rule of thumb: below fifteen big blinds, all in or fold is almost always better than calling or raising small. Which hands are enough depends on your position and your stack; that is exactly what you can train with the free push fold lesson and the trainer in the app.
What is ICM and do I need to know it? +
ICM is the method that converts chips into prize money value. You do not need the mathematics, only the conclusion: around the bubble and at the final table, winning chips and losing chips are not mirror images of each other. The article on the AKs fold on the bubble shows how large that effect is.
How many tournaments do I need before I know whether I play well? +
Far more than in cash. Tournament results swing enormously: even strong players fail to reach the prize money in most tournaments and earn their profit in a few deep runs. So judge yourself on your decisions per phase, not on your last ten finishes.
Which buy-ins fit my bankroll? +
Because of those big swings the rule of thumb for tournaments is wider than for cash: count on at least fifty to a hundred times your average entry. The bankroll tool works it out for your situation.
train per phase
A separate score for your tournament game.
Pokiq tracks your cash and tournament game separately: its own score, its own leaks, its own practice situations with ICM in them. Free to try.