1. The number one tip for improving your poker tournament game is to focus on position. Ideally, the vast majority of your poker hands should be played in position and the number played out of position should be extremely low.
2. The beginning of the tournament is the best time to change things up a bit and play low pocket pairs, suited connectors and creatively attack opponents who prefer not to fold overpairs.
3. Keep your play style tight and solid as you go through the tournament game. Avoid a raise and fold have it and try not to call your opponents’ raises with hands that are not very strong. Stacks less than 15-22bbs limit your options so keep your game tight.
4. Stacks of 15-25bbs give you the option to use it as a “restealing stack.” If one of your opponents habitually raises late in the game, it becomes more beneficial to you to raise again even if your hand is not great. This will force the other player to call your raise, which will require them to have a great poker hand. This is an effective way to rule out late razors who have nothing to back up their confidence.
5. Keep in mind that you are at the poker tournament to win. This will require so aggression and confidence to attack the big stacks when you have a big stack yourself. You only win a prize if you’re one of the top three places at the poker tournament, so it does not help if you avoid the big stacks and play more conservatively. If you gain momentum and build a position where you can attack them directly, go for it and they may just lose to you.
