Are you a poker player? Do you love to play tournaments more than cash games? Poker tournaments are a retreat if you can keep up with your focus and patience, as then only you can enjoy yourself while competing in one. Nowadays, tournaments running on online poker sites are highly lucrative that are attracting professional, recreational, and amateur players alike in droves. These tournaments are witnessing the participation of players from all over the country who hope of turning their small investments into meaningful sums.
Although learning poker is easy, It is not kid’s stuff to navigate through online poker tournaments. A player needs to equip himself with hands-on gameplay experience and the rules and strategies to find success in poker tournaments online. Here are the five winning tips that will help you enjoy these tournaments and also make profits from them:
Be Ready For a Long Session
Generally, the low buy-in and big field tournaments on poker sites take several hours to complete. It is better to be psyched up to play for a long time (at least 6 hours). Work on your patience level, and be ready for a lengthy grind in case you go deep in the event. Many times, poker tournaments start at 7 pm in the evening and finish at 4 am in the morning. Such a lifestyle is accommodating for poker pros but if you have a job, then do consider your work commitments. You should be aware of what you’re getting yourself into when registering for big field tournaments.
Be Stacked Up For Crazy Swings
When playing a poker tournament, you will experience a high variance, and credit goes to the amateur and recreational players. Moreover, you will find a sheer number of opponents who can be nearly impossible to fold a hand – they will call your raises including all-ins with unworthy hands – that leads to unpredictable outcomes. Thus, it’s better to maintain a strong bankroll – at least 200 times of your buy-in – which you can depend on during rough times.
Value Bet Your Hands
It may sound weird, but many successful tournament players believe in the rule – “never run a bluff at any stage of the tournament”. There are a lot of players who prefer playing their cards only and do not care about the opponent’s hands and gameplay. The main motto of these players is to get to showdown and win the pot. In such scenarios, it is always better to play ABC poker and make sure you get the maximum value for the hands dealt. As you will find many players ready to call your bets, you can take advantage of it with your stronger bankroll.
It’s OK to Fold Some Strong Hands
When playing poker tournaments online, you may come across donkeys (weak players) who may luckily hit the nuts on the river, and you may miss that valuable pot. For example, if an amateur player calls your pre-flop, flop, turn and eventually raises on river, there is a high possibility that he has hit a premium hand. So, you need to keep yourself prepared to fold some strong hands once in a while.
Balanced Game Play
It is advisable to follow a balanced approach when playing large field, small buy-in poker tournaments. For instance, you should vary your bets and change playing style when playing against poker pros, and follow ‘hit-or-miss’ approach (not always) when playing with less-skilled opponents. Even if you don’t make a profit in such tournaments, at least you walk away with the wholesome experience of playing varied hands with different types of players.
Hence, next time you plan to play online poker tournaments, follow the above tips to emerge as a long run winner.
