No Limit Holdem Tournament Strategy

(Early Tournament Strategy)

You’ve seen how it’s done on television, and you’re crushing your weekly home poker game. Now you’re ready to sit down to your very first Texas Hold’em tournament.

But before you face down a table of steely eyed poker players who want to break your will, take your chips and send you crying home to momma, you’re going to need to put together a holdem tournament strategy that will allow you to take their best shots and come back fighting.

Your first instinct is going to be to show these jokers that you’re not going to be pushed around by anyone, but the early stages of no limit tournaments are all about survival, and there are three things that you need to remember.

  1. Tight is right
  2. Small Ball
  3. ABC Poker

Tight is Right

When the tournament starts, your adrenaline is going to be pumping and you’re going to be fired up about playing some hands, but the last thing you want to do is lose your buy-in due to undisciplined, overexcited play.

Give yourself time to settle in, observe your competition, and play only premium starting poker hands. Remember, the blinds are going to be very small in relation to your chip stack so you can afford to sit a few hands out.

Small Ball

You aren’t looking to hit any home runs at this point.

Singles will do nicely. Concentrate on winning a few small hands and staying ahead of the blind increases.

You should never get your chips all-in without a monster hand. Let other maniacs who are trying to double up early do battle with each other.

ABC Poker

Online and offline tourneys are filled with guys who love to limp in early while the blinds are low with junk hands.

Keep it simple, play straightforward poker, and make a habit of raising with your premium starting hands.

The last thing you want after missing a flop with a strong starting hand is to be facing a bunch of limpers holding God knows what.

Make your tournament opponents pay for playing trash hands and play your good hands aggressively.

Remember, survival is the goal.

You don’t need to build a monster chip stack to advance to the middle and later stages of the tournament.

Take it slow, stay calm and focus on playing intelligent, disciplined poker. A no limit poker tournament is like a marathon.

It’s not important who is first out of the gate. Finishing in the money is the only thing that counts in this game.

No Limit Holdem Tournament Strategy - Part 2