Playing to Win in Poker Tournaments

My brother-in-law, who is not a poker player, replied to my Facebook comment something along the lines of "well it would be stupid to try and lose them all," but you would be surprised at how many poker players actually sit down at the virtual felt without trying to win the tournaments they have entered. Instead, they set their stall out to try and cash whilst hoping to run good enough to take the tournament down.

In my opinion, you should never enter a poker tournament you do not think you can win. To the majority of people this will seem rational, but there are poker players who constantly buy into tournaments where they have no edge and therefore no hopes of winning. If you do not have an edge in the games you are playing then you should not be playing them. Simple.

The jury is still out on how to approach a poker tournament's early stages, as some players prefer to employ an all-out attack strategy in an attempt to build a big stack early or bust out trying to get one. Others sit tight and only play the more premium of hands until the blinds and antes increase to a level where they are worth adding to their stack. Whatever approach you prefer during this stage of a tournament you should always be looking to make decisions that will improve your chances of going all the way and winning the event you are competing in. This may mean you take any small edge that you can find, or it could mean you pass up a small edge in the hope you will find a better spot for your chips later in the tournament. 

One particular stage of a tournament really highlights which players are there to try and win and those who are more than happy to fold their way into the money place. As the money bubble approaches you will see a number of players completely alter their playing style. Those players who have hopes and aspirations of winning the tournament will almost certainly use the looming bubble as a tool to aid their accumulation of chips and will go on a relentless attack. Those players who have given up on winning will just fold, fold and fold again until the pick-up AA-QQ. Whilst it is true the first player type will crash and burn before the money places come around much more often than Mr Foldalot, they will also go on to finish much deeper in tournaments and win far more by trying to win rather than be happy with cashing.

Whenever you enter a poker tournament make sure you do everything in your power to go deep and win. You will be surprised at how much more profit you make in the long term, and we all know poker is a game based on the long term.