How to Prepare and Compete Like a Champion in Poker Tournaments

Poker can be an isolating sport, with tournament play making the experience more so. Unlike cash games, rarely will you encounter players looking out for one another’s wellbeing.

Erratic decisions that cost chips can quickly lead to early elimination. To stay out of trouble and compete like a champion, use these tried-and-true tips for making smart moves in poker tournaments.

1. Know Your Limits

Knowing your limits when participating in poker tournaments is of utmost importance. These events differ from cash games as you must either stay until the end or bust out, leaving limited time off of the table and needing to be spent wisely.

Knowing how tournaments work – starting stack and number of players at each table, as this affects tempo of play and how soon money will be won – will also be essential.

Finally, to gain a better understanding of ICM situations with programs like ICMizer, you will need to invest time in drilling ICM situations using these programs. This is an essential area to study when dealing with short stacks in bubble and final table scenarios.

2. Have a Plan

A successful poker player always considers their actions before acting, much like how a chess player does before making moves.

An effective plan will help keep you focused throughout a tournament and help ensure you’re playing according to its intended rules – for instance if you are medium stack, an effective plan would include looking to steal blinds and exploit any weaknesses from opponents’ hands.

Set yourself a target amount of chips by the end of the tournament as an intermediate goal rather than one intended to help win it all.

Remember, poker is considered a mind sport along with bridge, chess, backgammon and cribbage; thus you must be in optimal physical and mental condition to maximize your chances at reaching the final table. This requires feeding both body and mind with proper fuel while building self-belief in yourself and trust.

3. Know Your Opponents

Poker tournaments force players to stay until either they win or they bust out; it isn’t like cash games where you can just leave and come back later – this means hours of intense play with numerous decisions to be made, especially in later stages. Preparation for this type of poker game is therefore absolutely essential!

To stay ahead, it is vital to get to know your opponents. Start by assessing their default profiles and baselines – these can be assessed through studying body language, behavior and poker play style – then look out for subtle or significant changes; such as when an opponent begins defending his blind from early position with weak or medium strength hands likely in preparation for a showdown hand or calling raises with marginal hands.

4. Have a Strategy

Tournament poker requires having a strategy. Tournament play can be mentally and physically draining, so you need a detailed plan of attack in place to succeed.

One characteristic that most good poker players share in common is aggression; however, that does not require being an aggressive 3-bettor every time someone raises. Instead, having just enough aggression for your tournament format and level is ideal.

As part of your strategy, it’s wise to limit your starting hands and only play big ones when necessary, particularly early positions. Be aggressive late into a tournament when your opponents may try to protect their chips – this can open up opportunities to win some huge pots that you would otherwise miss. Also keep in mind that most players won’t reach the money pool; setting goals like “making the final table” as your primary aim might not be practical.