Final Table Takedown

Knows a thing or two about final tables.

Final tables are the most fun and exciting aspect of tournament play. You have outlasted the entire field to this point and now big prize money is on the line. As I talked about in my previous article about multi-table tournament play, I want to enter the final table with as many chips as possible. I am only interested in first place and the big first place payout.

The money bubble and the final table bubble are where I like to pick up a lot of chips. A lot of players play way too passively at these times not wanting to risk their tournament life and be the "bubble boy." For this reason, I like to increase my aggression even more and steal blinds and antes without many players playing back at me with less than premium hands.

My Multi-Table Tournament Strategy

Big Player Fields= Big Prizes

I have decided to take a break from cash games and work on developing my tournament game, in particular, small buy-in, large player pool events. The beauty of these tournaments is that they are filled with inexperienced players who don't know how to play large tournaments correctly. For a small buy-in, you can land a huge payday if you make the final table, and more importantly, win the entire tournament. My only goal in a tournament is to win. All the big prizes are at the final three spots and first place usually is awarded anywhere between 17-38% of the entire prize pool depending on how large the tournament is.

For this reason, I like to try to accumulate a big stack early so I can put a lot of pressure on my opponents and accumulate even more chips allowing me to play increasingly more aggressive as the tournament gets down to the money bubble.

The money bubble is what will usually define the rest of my tournament. I will either bust quickly or end up in a top spot if I can abuse the weaker players and build a huge stack in the process. No one wants to go deep into a tournament only to bust out right before the money. This is completely the wrong mentality that too many players have which makes them extremely exploitable.

Good Tournament Players Are Extremely Dangerous With a Big Stack

If I have a big stack on the money bubble, I am willing to open almost every pot with any two cards. It is amazing how many times it will fold around and I pick up the blinds and antes which get increasingly higher as we progress through the tournament. It is tough for the smaller stacks to play against a big stack especially when I am playing super aggressive and keeping them off guard. I let them play the guessing game while I apply the pressure forcing them to pick up a monster hand or donate me plenty of blinds and antes. Putting someone at a decision for their entire tournament life is one of the strongest moves in tournament poker.

Top 5 Reasons You Lose at Poker

Poker is not an easy game. It has been said that close to 90% of people that play poker are long-term losing players. Why is this? In this article I will outline the top 5 reasons why an overwhelming majority of players don't show a profit in the long run.

5. You play far too many hands out of position.

Hates playing out of position.

A flaw that many players have is they play far too many hands out of position. When you play out of position, you give your opponent the advantage of seeing how you act before they have to act. This gives them an informational advantage and can use that advantage to exploit you. I am a huge advocate of playing in position and I think it is more important then the cards you hold. It is a lot easier to deduct an opponents hand range when you are in position and this will enable you to pull off more successful bluffs and more importantly maximize your value bets when you have a good hand. One of the best poker players Phil Ivey has been quoted saying "he would not even want to play his grandma out of position."