Poker Tournament Tips and Tricks

If you are a poker enthusiast and love playing tournaments then you are on the right page. We hope you understand the basics of the game and play poker frequently. When it comes to poker tournaments, the competition is usually high; you need to punch above your weight to win such tournaments. To help you achieve great success at poker tournaments, we have got some cool poker tournament tips that will come in handy. Once you gain the knowledge from these tips, try and apply them while playing online poker and see the results.

Poker Online Strategy to deal Dead Cards

Poker players often find themselves in a scary situation where they have an endless string of hole cards like 8-2, 9-3, J-2, 7-4 etc. These are dead cards, meaning they cannot be played from any position. When you have such cards, what do you do? You let your poker skills take the charge and bail you out of this situation. As an online poker player, you need to devise a smart strategy that will get you through this difficult phase.

Raise with any Ace

If you see an ace, evaluate your position. If you have an ace in an unraised pot in a late position, raise. For example, a hand like A-10 is playable in a late position and to win you need to take calculated risks.

Steal the Blinds

Stealing a blind can help you build a bit of a stack, although it won’t be possible to win many tournaments by just stealing the blind. If you are in a late position and no one has raised the pot, raise to a level where no one ‘calls’ but don’t raise to a level where you get depleted by another caller. By doing so, the chances are that there won’t be a caller and you might get the blinds.

Play Poker on your Gameplay

During a poker tournament, if you go card dead, other players start thinking that you are a tight player and are waiting for the best cards to make a move. Take advantage of this situation and re-raise a raised pot. Your opponents might be fooled into thinking that you have good cards. Some opponents might go away after the re-raise, taking you on your way to stack building. 

Press the paddle on the Pair

If you are stuck in a card dead series and get a pair in a poker tournament, then make a smart strategy that will confuse your opponents. Any raise that you make will scare your opponents, especially when you have been folding for a long time. So, take a risk, raise with a pair and you may flop a set.

Remember poker is a game of skills; don’t get deflated if you get bad cards.

Handling different Playing Styles of Poker Players

If you are playing in a poker tournament, you can use any or combination of the following poker styles: loose-passive, tight passive, loose aggressive, and tight aggressive. To know which strategy your opponents are using and to tackle them, you need to be a good poker player. The common poker styles that you will face at the final tables of a poker tournament are tight-aggressive, loose aggressive, and tight passive.

How to play a tight-aggressive player at a final table?

Tight Aggressive (TAG) players are knowledgeable players who are well aware of which hands to play, how to play out a hand, and when to raise. These players usually make it to the dying stages of the tournaments. They are the toughest to beat because of their sound strategies and poker knowledge. You need to plan out effective methods to get better at them.

Play with good hands only

Re-raise them

Use the continuation bet

Know when to fold

How to play a loose-aggressive player at a final table?

Loose Aggressive Players (LAG) are very aggressive on the table and not very selective of the poker hands that they want to play. They are scary to face because of their aggression and are unpredictable because of their bluffing skills. Keep the following tips in mind while facing them in a poker tournament.

Wait for your premium hands

Call for information

Early position raising

How to play a tight passive player at a final table?

The Tight Passive Players know their game but are risk-averse. They know which starting poker hands to play and are more than happy to check than raise, even when dealt with the best possible cards. They are easy to spot and read but can become difficult to handle in the later stages of the tournament. Following are some poker tips to handle tight passive players:

Beware when they raise

Don’t call, re-raise them

Now that you are aware of how to play poker by using the above-mentioned poker tournament tips, be a part of thrilling online poker tournaments on India’s most loved online gaming platform, First Games.