Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 14 November 2008 / Leave a comment

You only have to look at how steeply the prize money goes up when at the final of a multi table tournament to realise how important it is to try and get to those all important top three places. This leads to numerous players at final tables trying to 'ladder' - that is, to stay alive just to get one or more rungs up the prize pool.

Although this can be an optimal strategy at points (usually when the big and mid stacks around you are showing no concern for their own lives and playing numerous big pots), most of the time it is critical that you attack as much as possible to give yourself a chance at getting back in contention for the top prizes. One of the key signs that you are playing with a weak player(s) is that they seem to be folding to much less than a playable stack while seeming to wait for someone else to bust.

Identifying these players is extremely useful - especially if you are short yourself - as they provide the best players to attack. Because they are showing a willingness to drop down below a playable stack (usually below five or six big blinds) you can be extremely confident that if you raise or shove into their big blind that they will only call you with very strong hands. As a good example of this, I once saw a very weak player fold queens face up from the big blind with only three big blinds back, claiming he had a read on me (I had seven five off suit), but obviously desperate to just get one place higher in the pay structure.

One of the key skills you will need to develop if you are to become a successful multi table player is to be able to identify what stacks are trying to do what. At any final table there are always stacks that you can basically raise and steal from with impunity, and stacks that you want to avoid getting involved in at any cost. This is where the skill of poker becomes so important. Your actual cards start to lack any meaning when you are basically just playing people and situations. Watch for those trying to ladder, attack them at every opportunity, and try and get the chips you need to get to the top.

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