Tournament strats to take you deep!

[Gritz]

First I'd like to take a moment and say thanks to everyone who takes the time to post information on this fourm regarding strategies. I have read enough tips to keep me busy trying them in live/online games for a long time!

Now to buisness.

The top 5 ways I make it deep in NL Holdem Tournaments.

The first is the most important

#1. Play the game! While the blinds are low, you should be limping in with suited/non suited connectors in early mid position ONCE you have seen a few betting rounds at your table. You will want to get an idea of people's level of agression before you do this, so watching your opponents playstyle is key to this. The idea is, to flop open ended draws/flush draws, or hit a set. Any pocket pair lower then 10's you should limp with at low blind limits. The goal being to hit your set. If you miss the set, lay it down! I consider anything over 4/5 connectors worth playing as well.

#2. Avoid confrontations with the chip leader at your table. Typically, I will not go head to head with the chip leader on any draws. You may have a chance to double your stack but the risk is your Tournament life and it's almost always worth it to lay it down and try to trap him later with a big hand, like a set or straight.

#3. Don't give your chips away. In a freeroll with 500+ player's, the game doesn't really start until after the first break. This is when blinds threaten low stack's and position is very important. Most of the donk's are out at this point and you can be fairly certain that everyone at your table understand basic Poker Strategy, and you will want to start protecting your stack by dropping the low suited/offsuit connectors.

#4. Don't be predictable. If you find yourself getting eaten alive by the blinds/antes, take a chance! A/K won't always come, so if you get a hand like J/10 off, gamble! Push all in and try to get your blinds back. The worst way to bust is blinding out!

#5. Online poker is so different compared to live games. Everything is just a click away. When somone puts you all in, sit on your hands and think before calling them! Do you have the best hand? Is it worth risking your Tournament life over? What does your opponent have? Take the time.

I've only recently started playing online again, but I make it passed the first hour 80% of my freerolls using the strategies above. You could call them common sense, but they are tried and true even so. It's about patience. It's about an understanding that if you can make it passed the first break, you are a threat to anyone. People really start to hunker down at this point, and that's where real poker begins!

Good luck at the tables!

[BurtWH]

Nice post. Thanks for taking the time to share some information with others.