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Poker Stars Sunday Millions: Final two table strategy

Poker Stars Sunday Millions: Final two table strategy

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The Motivation

In this article

• Adjusting your game according to the number of opponents
  
  
• Stack sizes influence your play style
  
  
• How do you approach the heads-up play
  
  

Your motivation is the key difference in the way you play at a Final Table. Some people are already happy with just reaching it, whereas others want to win the whole tournament, no matter what.

If your only goal is to win, then a riskier and more aggressive playing style is advisable.

But if you are already content with being among the last 9 or 10 players, and every won position and increase of your winnings is only a bonus, then you should avoid confrontations and watch how the others go to war with each other.

In this article we will show you how to strike a balance between playing too aggressively and wasting your chips; and playing too passively and end up being bled to death by the Blinds. In addition, your playing style also depends a lot on the number of opponents and the proportions of the different chip stacks.

7-9 players (Ring Game)

As an average stack and facing so many players, it is crucial that we just play our cards. Tricky moves, like setting traps or trying to bluff the others out of a pot, are a common mistake that many players do at this stage. With so many opponents, there is a high chance that at least one of them has a very good playable hand. Here it is only important to remain patient and to simply play our hand. With our amount of chips we are in a relatively safe position and don\’t have to worry about the Blinds becoming dangerous.

Furthermore, it is important that we don\’t get into confrontations with the Chip Leader or another Big Stack. The risk of being eliminated by the only person covering us is simply too big. Our goal should be to end up playing against the Short Stacks and put them under pressure.

Let us show you a perfect example where many people would pick the wrong playing style.

We are on the button with 16 BB and everybody folds before us. We look at our cards and see 73o. Both the SB and BB are short stacked (less than 8 BB).

What shall we do?

Many players would now get the wrong idea and push to try and steal the Blinds. But this is wrong!

We have to consider which hands will call us and against almost all of them we would be an underdog. Certainly many think now that we have to keep up the pressure on the short stacks, which isn\’t that wrong. But the keyword is \”selective aggression\”. Only when we have a good starting hand, we will apply pressure. It is important that we set up the situations in which we play for the chips, and not be pushed around ourselves. Our future raises also won\’t get much respect anymore if we have to show such a trash hand. One of the worst case scenarios is to lose a big chunk of your chips, become a Short Stack yourself and end up with the table image of being a Maniac.

Thus the only correct decision in our example is: FOLD!

Greater risks should only be considered when some of the Short Stacks have been busted and we are down to 4-5 players. As an average stack with about 15 BB, it is very important to have a tight image. Otherwise, our opponents won\’t take our raises seriously and will often put us All-In, which can only be called by very few hands. So let\’s only attack the Short and Middle Stacks with quality hands. If there are other Big Stacks acting behind us which are known to make Re-Steal moves, it\’s always a good idea to go All-In with 10-14 BB with an Ax or a Pocket Pair. With only a normal Raise, a Re-Raise would face us with a difficult decision.

Sitting at the Final Table as a Big Stack isn\’t as easy as it seems. Many players think, now, that they have to control the table and kick the odd Short Stack out of the tournament. To control the table means to also build up pressure with marginal hands, correct? Wrong. As a Big Stack our main weapon is the stack itself. We shouldn\’t dump it by playing recklessly. In this situation, the keyword is also \”selective aggression\”. We don\’t want to take risks. We decide when to play, and we do that with good cards. If there\’s one thing we don\’t want, it\’s to double up a Short Stack and thus lose our chip lead.

Let\’s illustrate this with an example:

UTG 15 BB

…

BU 30 BB (Hero)

SB 12 BB

BB 25 BB

Preflop: UTG raises to 4 BB, Hero is Button with AQ

What shall we do?

UTG makes a strong bet while a Big Stack is in the Big Blind. This shows strength. Thus we barely have any Fold Equity if we push. With AQo we are often a slight favourite, but we will just as often be in a coin flip situation if the opponent raised with a pocket pair. Altogether we have to reckon that his range is too big while our chance to win the pot is too small.

So we will fold our hand, even if it is a difficult decision. Because we pick the situations in which we show strength and put the others under pressure.

Let\’s modify the example a bit:

MP3 15 BB

…

BU 30 BB (Hero)

SB 12 BB

BB 9 BB

Preflop: MP3 raises to 3 BB, Hero is Button with AQ

This situation is similar, yet some decisive factors have changed. MP3 only raises 3 BB this time, while a Short Stack sits in the BB. This is quite often a Blind Steal attempt. In this case we are way above his range and receive a good Fold Equity as he won\’t get any profitable pot odds for a Call due to his smaller raise. As a rule of thumb we can say that you have a good Fold Equity if you raise the opponent\’s bet by at least five times the amount.

Re-Steals, so Re-Raises (usually All-Ins) with a marginal hand like A5s after an opponent\’s Raise, are an option when

• the opponent\’s bet looks like a Steal attempt
• the original stack of the villain is about 5-7 times bigger than his Raise
• we ourselves have a considerably bigger stack
• our own hand has somewhat good chances against his Call Range and thus isn\’t always dominated (e.g. AQ+, A2s+, 45s-KQs, 22+ with a Call Range of JJ+, AQs+, AKo)

To have a bigger stack is therefore important as we make sure to not bust out against a Monster. Overplaying Re-Steals is of course not desirable either, but they are a very important weapon to win the tournament and strike fear into the hearts of our opponents.

We are a Short Stack when we have less than 10 BB. In this situation it is vital that we act, yet it is wrong to push with any two. Clearly, we have to make a move and our goal should be to steal the Blinds. But we still have more than 6 opponents at the table, so we have enough time to pick our situations.

We should definitely wait for better starting hands. Any marginal Ace and strong Kings like KQ or KJ are playable. When we do have such a hand, we should always go All-In and avoid funny moves like a 3 BB Bet. If we already invest a third of our stack pre-flop, we\’re Pot Committed anyway, so the best decision is to go All-In immediately. This way, we might even be able to get better hands, like a Pocket Pair, to fold and steal the blinds. In case we are called, we are often facing a 50:50 situation or we are a (slight) underdog. It is crucial that everybody folded before us though. With limpers you have to be careful and after a Raise you need a quality hand!

Important factors for an All-In Push are:

• Your cards (Pay attention to the Call Ranges. 78s is often dominating A3o)
• Your position (How many players still acting behind you could have a potential Monster?)
• Your image (After raising twice in a row, you should fold your A8o)
• The stack sizes of the Blinds (Attack Short and Middle Stacks prone to be \”harmed\” by your move)
• The playing style of the Blinds (Preferably attack passive/tight players)

These factors are also valid for a Middle or Big Stack.

Playing with 4-6 players (Shorthanded)

With only 5 players left, we are about to play for the win. To make a wrong decision now will more often than not mean elimination. As an average stack, there is one factor which is extremely important. In the hands we play, we need Position on the Short Stacks. We definitely want to play our pots against these players and avoid messing with those who have more chips than we do. As long as we will never face a bigger stack, we will never have to go All-In and risk losing our chips.

It is time for another example which will explain our strategy in this phase of the tournament.

We are 5-handed. The Blinds are 500/1000 with 100 Ante. We are in the SB with 28k chips and hold A3o. In the BB is the Chip Leader with 74k chips. Everybody in front of us has folded.

In a normal Cash Game, this would be an easy Raise as we have the Equity. But this isn\’t a Cash Game, it is a Final Table and requires a more strategic reasoning. Let us consider all our options.

Raise: Very risky, because unless we get AA3, we won\’t know where we stand. If an Ace comes in the flop and we bet, and the BB puts us All-In, we don\’t know what to do as this is a perfect Way-ahead/Way-behind situation. Thus a raise without a perfect board and a good playing style of the BB is very dangerous for our chips.

Fold: With a fold, we would avoid any confrontation, but let\’s face it: It is a very weak move. We have a playable hand, and to act like a scaredy-cat is not really a sign of skill.

Limp: So all that is left now is to limp. It is often underestimated, but we do have a hand which is not strong enough to raise it against the Chip Leader, yet is too strong to just be folded. So we limp in, remain active and see what happens. If we hit a favourable flop, we\’ll bet post-flop. If not, we\’ll wait for the BB to act and react ourselves with either a Call (considering Pot Odds), or muck our hand at a fairly low price.

If we modify the example so that the BB only has 8k chips, it completely changes our style of play.

In this case, there\’s no question: We put him All-In. Unless he has the Bullets (AA), we have a good chance that he either folds, or we are at least a slight underdog, if not even a minimal favourite with our ace.

In summary, as an average stack against 4-6 players, we will play carefully against the Big Stack(s) and aggressively against the Short Stack(s).

As a Big Stack, our attitude barely changes. We won\’t take any high risks as the Blinds don\’t bother us. The others have to make moves to grab a few chips. In this phase of the tournament, time plays in our favour. So we decide when to really put the heat on the others.

It is important to not call any All-Ins with marginal hands. We should be the one putting them All-In and having them decide if they want to risk their tournament life or not. If they go All-In, it\’s certainly not with 72o (unless we play against Scotty Nguyen).

It is furthermore important that we avoid playing huge pots. We are able to wear down our opponents by playing small pots. With bigger pots there\’s always the danger of pushing our rivals and losing our chip advantage.

An example:

The game is 4-handed, blinds are at 500/1000 with 100 Ante. We are Chip Leader with 52k chips and sit in the BB. The Button goes All-In with 11k chips. The SB folds and we hold T8s.

The biggest mistake we can now make is to call this All-In. The Button could try to steal the blinds with a marginal hand, but our hand isn\’t very pretty either and we\’re almost always the underdog. Improving the others through these situations is not our goal. Thus we fold and wait for a situation in which we hold a good hand and put our opponent to the test.

However, you should call these All-Ins with good hands like AJo or 88, even when you are not in the BB, and use these small +EV situations to extend your chip lead.

In addition, we should again make Re-Steals in the correct situations. An example would be when an Average Stack raises against a Short Stack, and you re-raise with a marginal and, as long as you have the Fold Equity (bet 5-7 times the previous Raise).

In case everybody does pay you (due) respect, you should take Raises seriously though. Sometimes the opponents muck everything except QQ+ and AK against the Chip Leader.

Short stacked, we can turn the tables on the Average and Big Stacks. They are waiting for good hands to put us under pressure, and we have to do something or the blinds will kill us. So we play more aggressively because after all, what do we have to lose?

We are almost on life support and if we want to win the tournament, we have to make a move. To wait for everybody to bust until we are in the Heads-Up and then double up about ten times to be on par with the remaining opponent is rather unlikely to happen. So we steal the blinds while the others wait for good cards. An example:

The game is again 4-handed, with the blinds at 500/1000 and 100 Ante. We have 13k chips and are UTG.

We hold QTs. What shall we do?

No question, we push. Actually, there are only 2 cases.

Either everybody folds and we win the blinds, which immediately adds another 2k chips to our stack. If we can do this a few times, we are right back in the game.

Or we will be called, and then probably face a coin flip if the opponent has a small pocket pair. This is somewhat favourable for us and the kind of situation we are looking for.

It could also happen that our opponent calls with AA, KK or QQ, and then we are as good as dead. In every other situation, we\’re only a slight underdog or even a slight favourite.

Here as well it is important who we confront. If there is another Short Stack, he would profit if we are called by another player, so it pays off to attack him. If there is no other Short Stack, the same reasoning applies when going against an Average Stack. A Double Up against a Big Stack is not as profitable as if we win against an Average Stack, as he then would be a Short Stack and we would be closer to the next position.

In any case we should not wait too long for a good hand. We have to act if we want to win, so we have little choice. Who knows when we will receive a similar hand. If we end up pushing All-In with 73o and only have a remaining stack of 4 BB, we barely got any Fold Equity. And if we will be called, we can just as well stand up and leave.

Games with 3 players (3-Handed)

Now you might ask yourself why this is a chapter of its own. Well, the difference to a short-handed situation is that we are always part of the action. Either we are in the Blinds or on the Button. Thus we don\’t have time for a breather.

In the situation of being an Average Stack and having another Short Stack on the table, it is our goal to make him leave first. We don\’t want to go out before he does. But this doesn\’t mean that we just doze off and fold every hand, waiting for the Big Stack to take out the Short Stack. Again we want to avoid confrontations with the bigger stack. We do not want to play big pots against the Chip Leader!

However, we do want to put the heat on the Short Stack. And once again our keyword is \”selective aggression\”.

Here\’s an example:

We are on the button with K9o. The Short Stack is in the SB, the Big Stack in the BB, obviously. Let\’s consider our options.

Fold: Sure, we don\’t want to play against the Big Stack, but like we said earlier, we don\’t want to fall into a coma and play like a coward. Folding would be very weak.

Raise: Technically, it would be the best move as we are ahead often enough. But we will have a problem if the Big Stack decides to play with us, because with our Pre-flop Raise, we already have a big pot and that\’s not what we want after all.

Limp: So once again we\’ll just limp into the pot. We remain active and we have position. Let\’s have a flop and see what happens. If we don\’t hit and the BB raises in front of us, we can easily lay down our hand. If the others check down to us, we can bet half the pot and see if that is enough to secure it. When the BB then calls and we have a trash hand, we have to put on the brakes on the Turn.

Take note that you shouldn\’t play against very aggressive Big Stacks who already shout \”WEAK!\” when the Button limps, and every now and then also raise with trash. In this case you should raise before the flop and then try to keep the pot small, or take it down right away.

If we were to modify our example so that the SB is the Big Stack and the BB the Short Stack, our playing style again changes dramatically.

In this situation, a Raise is obligatory to put the BB under pressure. In case the SB calls and the BB folds, we still have position. And since the SB often checks, we can toss in another bet and see where we stand. If the SB calls again, we\’ll slow down and see if we can reach the Showdown relatively cheap with a marginal hand.

You always have to remember that chip stack and position are the most important factors in this phase of the tournament. Especially against the Short Stack we have to use these options. So hands like Ax or Pairs, with a stack of 10-14 BB should always be pushed All-In to avoid being forced to fold by the Big Stack.

With only 3 opponents it is important to keep our chip lead, as it is immensely advantageous in a Heads-Up situation to be able to put the other one All-In at any moment.

Furthermore we should remember that in such tournaments, the prize money makes enormous leaps once you hit the Top 3. As a Big Stack, we can use this to get an edge on our opponents as they often make the mistake of playing too passively, trying to reach the second place without too much damage and then eventually get lucky in the Heads-Up to win the tournament.

For us this means nothing else than to claim any pot aggressively which is not fiercely contested by opposing Bets. This works especially in hands we play against the Average Stack as he is often more concerned about the Short Stack being eliminated than to win chips from us.

As the Short Stack, there\’s only one option for us: Proper aggressive play. The Average Stack often waits for us to bust first, and the Big Stack has his Chip Advantage which he wants to keep as well. Hence there is no reason for them to call our All-Ins with marginal hands. We will benefit from this by increasing the pace and often push even with very marginal hands. There is nothing to lose as the Blinds will only keep on increasing. And that is exactly what the other two want, thus more often than not they will \”work together\” trying to eliminate the small guy, us.

We have to take advantage of this situation with our pushes. Yet it is very important that we never call an All-In, unless we hold a premium hand. We put the heat on the others by forcing them to consider calling our All-In with their marginal hands and wondering if we might hold a pocket pair.

Heads-Up

We have finally made it and are now in the Heads-Up. There is only one more opponent between us and the big tournament win. Of course we don\’t want to make a mistake now and \”only\” finish second. In a Heads-Up, there are two factors which we have to consider. First, and the most important one, the opponent. And then of course the chip stack situation. We will now take a closer look at these two factors and show you how to get the most out of this phase of the game.

In Heads-Up, we only play against one person. We will have a tremendous advantage if we are able to understand how he plays, and if we know how he perceives and reacts to our moves. We have to try and get in his head.

The crucial psychological aspect of a Heads-Up is to understand your opponent and know how to use this information against him. If for example he is too aggressive, we will slow down and wait for the right moments to involve him in big pots. If on the other hand he is too passive and often folds pre-flop, we\’ll put the pedal to the metal to show him that he cannot wait for a good hand or expect to hit an ideal flop.

In a Heads-Up it is very important to simply analyze the game. And this is also the most difficult part. You have to realize it when a player is dominating. But this insight does not mean that we will simply give up. We will use it. If we clearly outclass the other one and are able to outplay him Post-Flop, we want to involve him in as many small pots as possible, slowly bleeding away his chips.

This game of Smallball is very time-consuming but also quite low-risk. We try to avoid major confrontations and bring our rival to the point where he will almost be gobbled up by the Blinds and we have up to ten times his amount of chips. Then we can start to put him All-In Pre-Flop and hope to hit the right cards, in case he calls. If he only folds, it\’s even better for us as the blinds will become even bigger in comparison to his chip stack and he will be forced to call with even worse cards.

But what if the situation is completely different? If the opponent outplays us, we have to apply the opposite strategy. If our adversary, let\’s say Phil Hellmuth, always plays small pots against us, he will take away our chips bit by bit. Thus we have to play Big Bet Poker. We push whenever possible. Phil once said that he would never call an All-In with Queens only, and that\’s how he would also play against us. We go All-In and he says he has Queens but waits for a better situation. We look at our 76o and tell him to wait some more then.

Or let\’s take an extreme example. Let\’s imagine that our mother has the opportunity to play Heads-Up against Phil Ivey tomorrow for a million dollars. Both will receive 10,000 chips and standard rules apply. The only problem though is that our mother knows nothing about Poker, but doesn\’t want to let such a chance slip. So how do we best prepare her for such a Heads-Up against the world\’s best Poker player?

Do we tell her:

\”Mum, simply play your Draws straightforward as he bluffs a lot.\”

or

\”Try to steal his Blinds if you notice that he doesn\’t have good cards.\”

or maybe

\”Try to play your position after the flop, and if you are OOP, simply check/raise sometimes to see where you stand.\”

Our mother will probably be at a complete loss and simply bob her head sheepishly, wondering what we are actually talking about.

The only strategy we could give her is to play Big Bet Poker, and that in an extreme way. So our advice would simply be:

\”Mum, as soon as you have two cards which don\’t include a 2 or a 3, you go All-In. And you do that all the time.\”

This way she might have a tiny chance to win, as the pre-flop All-Ins neutralize the post-flop skills of the opponent. Now it\’s up to Phil Ivey to get lucky in these situations and pick his calls.

Now we\’ll look at the chip stacks. If we are way ahead of our opponent, we simply play the cards and try to slowly get into his head to adjust our own style of play.

But if we are trailing, it is important how far we are behind and how big the Blinds are, because this will dictate our strategy.

We have 130k chips, the opponent has 300k chips. The Blinds are at 2000/4000 with 500 Ante. We\’re on the button with A3o, which is a great hand in Heads-Up due to the Ace. So what shall we do?

RAISE! Unlike with the shorthanded example, we can now purely play according to the chip EV. From the SB, we can easily check on the Turn after a called Continuation Bet and thus make it to the River with Ace High. A3 with its Pre-Flop Equity and bad Playability should thus be raised most of the time. If the opponent folds, it\’s just fine with us. Equity-wise we could also go All-In, but the Blinds are much too small and don\’t demand such a drastic move from us.

Another example:

We get the feeling that our opponent outplays us.

We again have 130k chips and the villain has 300k chips.

He raises to 16k and we hold ATs. What to do now?

The essential factor is that he is seemingly outmatching us. Thus we have no other choice than to go All-In to make it clear that it\’s now up to him to decide.

We\’re only hopelessly behind against Pocket Aces. Even against KK we have a chance to win this hand if we hit an ace.

Often the opponent will fold after our All-In and we have thus won 16k chips. Even if he thinks he outplays us, he will muck better hands like small pocket pairs.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has shown you that specific strategies are needed for a Final Table, and that you cannot play like you are in a Cash Game or still in the early stages of a tournament. More often than not, a lot of money is at stake and thus we hope that this article will help you gain a few more cents than usual.

1. Introduction

In this article

• Types of odds
  
  
• How to play draws in various parts of the tournament
  
  
• Examples of draws
  
  

Draws, or drawing hands, are defined as incomplete hands that need to be completed by a community card to become made hands.

The strength of a draw depends first of all on how many cards can complete it. These helpful cards are called outs. A second factor in determining the strength of a draw is the so-called foldequity. This is the chance that your opponent will fold his hand when you play your draws aggressively. Your fold equity increases when there are less, or only one opponent, and when these tend to play tight or cautiously.

To play draws it is essential that you are familiar with the basic mathematics of poker. It is essential to know the probability of completing your draw, so that you can play it profitably in every situation.

In this article, you will learn…

• …how to calculate the probability of completing a draw.
• …how to play draws in the early, middle and late stages of a tournament.

2. Outs – Which cards help me?

Outs are all the cards that can still be dealt and that will improve your hand, and possibly to make it to the best hand.

Example A

A player holds:
The flop brings:

The player has a worthless hand for a showdown. However he has a chance to make a strong hand, namely a straight, if an Ace or a six fall on the turn or river.

These cards, the aces and the sixes, are this player\’s outs. Now let\’s see how many there are. It\’s rather easy to determine, since we know how many aces and sixes are in a card deck. There are four cards of each rank, which makes a total of eight outs. Only one of these eight cards needs to fall in order to improve this player\’s holdings to a strong hand.

Here is a concrete example of the player\’s outs:

Example B

A player holds:
The flop brings:

The situation has become a lot better for the player. Not only does he have outs to the straight with every Ace and six, but any club will bring him a flush, or five cards of the same suit. On top of that, the Ace and six of clubs will give him the straight flush.

The number of outs has increased. For one thing, we can count every remaining club in the deck as an out. There are a total of 13 cards per suit, 4 of which are already out. Thus there are 13-4=9 outs to the flush. Among the eight outs to the straight described in the previous example, two were already counted towards the flush outs, namely the ace and six of clubs. This makes a total of 9+6 = 15 outs:

Further examples

Player	Flop	Outs	Explanation
		2	2 outs, the remaining threes, can improve the hand to three of a kind.
		4	4 cards will complete the gutshot straight draw, namely the four remaining twos.
		5	The two remaining eights will improve the hand to three of a kind. The three remaining kings will give two pairs, kings and eights. That makes a total of 3+2=5 outs.
		6	One of the three remaining queens or three remaining aces will give us top pair here. That\’s a total of 6 outs.
		8	Every 4 and 9 will complete the OESD to a straight. An OESD always has 8 outs.
		9	There are 13 cards of each suit in the deck. Four of them are already out, hence there a 9 outs left to complete the flush.

3. Odds – What is the probability of completing my draw?

What are odds? It is simply the chance for a hand to improve.

This is also called odds against…, because they give the chance of a hand not improving. How often will I miss my draws and how often will I complete them – What are the chances? These are odds.

Let\’s have another look at a previous example:

A player holds:
The flop brings:

On the flop, the player already knows 5 cards, the hole cards and the three first community cards. Thus 47 unknown cards can come on the turn. 8 of these 47 cards will help him and complete his draw, and so there are 47-8 = 39 unhelpful cards. Hence the odds from the flop to the turn are 39:8, or about 5:1.

Here is an easy way to count the unhelpful cards:

Since we know 5 cards on the flop, the holecards and 3 community cards, there are 52-5 = 47 unknown cards. On the turn there are 46 left. The helpful cards are your outs. Hence the following calculation:

4. PotOdds

Now that you know the chance of hitting a draw according to the number of outs you have, let\’s see how to use this knowledge practically during play.

Let\’s have another look at a previous example:

A player holds:
The flop brings:

Now let\’s look at a situation where the player holds the above cards and is on the flop against one opponent. The pot is $10. The opponent bets $2. Is it worth it for our player to stay in the hand and pay $2 to see the turn card?

As we know, the odds for hitting his straight on the turn are about 5:1 against him. That means that he will improve his hand in one of six cases. Let\’s assume now that he wins the $12 pot in one of six hands and loses his $2 investment for seeing the turn at each of the other five of six hands. This is all on the assumption that he will give up his hand without any improvement on the turn.

If he calls the bet on the flop in 5 out of 6 times, he has lost $2 each, that means he loses 10$ and wins $12 on average. Therefore his pure profit, which is calculated winnings – loss, is $12 – $10 = $2. For that Reason it is worth to call the bet, since it is profitable in the long run.

At this point the pot odds come into play. They reflect the ratio between the current size of the pot and the amount required to make your next call. In other words, they are a term for the cost/benefit ratio.

In the situation above, the pot contains $10, the $2 bet in addition, results in a pot size of $12. The player has to pay $2 to stay in the game and see the turn card, thus the pot odds are $12 : $2 or also 6:1

As the numbers 6:1 and 5:1 already suggest, there is a simple rule:

What if the opponent bets twice the amount, which is $4 ? On the one hand, the pot size increases to $10 + $4 = $14, but on the other hand the pot odds are now $14 : $4, which is a ratio of 3,5:1. In this case it would be unprofitable to call the bet. The player would be well advised to give up his hand to avoid long term loss.

Let us look at the calculation: He wins the pot in one of six cases. He loses in five of six cases $4 each to call the bet. After six attempts, he wins $14 as opposed to lose $4 * 5 = $20, which is a total loss of $6.

Straight draws are a common occurence, which is why it becomes clear why players who don\’t have any knowledge of the mathematics behind poker lose money in the long-run. They might win a pot here and there, but not often enough to compensate their long term losses.

In tournaments there is also the problem that one can\’t rebuy any chips. Thus there are other strategic considerations, and the expression \”Protecting one\’s chips\” is very important. This means that although a decision taken purely because of pot odds might be correct in cash games, it could be strategically wrong in tournaments. These concepts will be further explained in the following paragraphs.

8. Example 

5. How to play draws in the early tournament stages

The following factors influence the play of draws in the early tournament stages:

• The number of opponents

  The more opponents there are, the less aggressively draws should be played. If all opponents before you have checked, you should usually just check behind and take a free card. This is also true when more opponents are still to act behind you. Basically the strength of a draw diminishes as the number of opponents grows.

• Position

  If you are first to act, then a bet is not recommended. Rather you should try to make a plan about how to continue the hand if you miss the turn, or the opponent bets the flop.

• Foldequity

  Fold equity is, as previously mentioned, the likelihood of winning by forcing out your opponents. Although fold equity is theoretically existant, the lower limits, especially in the early stages of the SNG, are often populated by a lot of very bad and loose players, that will play any hand regardless of potodds. Therefore it is important not to overestimate the amount of fold-equity you have.

• The pot size

  In the early stages of a tournament the pot size is rarely big enough to make an aggressive play of draws profitable.

• Your odds

  If the pot odds are correct, it is usually right to call with a draw, as long as the bet doesn\’t represent a too big part of your stack. Even if you get good odds, you must always see how much of your chip stack is at risk.

• Your outs

  The more outs you have, the easier you can call on a draw.

Recommendation: Don\’t risk too many chips! It is better to play cautious and take free cards than play draws aggressively.

6. How to play draws in the middle tournament stages

The following factors influence the play in this stage of the tournament:

• Your foldequity

  Fold equity plays a decisive role at this stage of the tournament, since here it is probably the biggest. It is also important to pay attention to the previous action. If one or more opponents have shown strength, then you will most likely have less fold equity.

• The pot size

  The size of the pot usually dictates whether to go all-in or just make a normal bet.

• Your outs

  The more outs you have, the more aggressively you should play your draw.

• The number of opponents

  The more opponents there are, the more chips are in the pot, so depending on the size of the pot, playing the draw aggresively can be very lucrative.

• Reads / Insights on the playing style of your opponents
  
  

  Reads, or a good knowledge of your opponent\’s style, play a significant role in playing draws during the middle stages of SNGs. Is your opponent very loose, will he easily call with weak holdings? In that case your fold equity is low. If he is tighter or plays scared, then it is of course higher.

Recommendation: Always take the size of the pot compared to your chip stack into consideration. The larger the pot the more lucrative an aggressive played draw will become.

7. How to play draws in the late tournament stages

The following factors influence the play in the late stages of tournaments:

• Your outs

  The more outs you have, the easier you can push all-in.

• Your foldequity

  In the late stages, one usually has a rather weak fold equity, as most opponents have low chip stacks.

• Your odds

  Odds rarely play a big role at this stage, since one is mostly in push/fold mode. Pots are so big that one practically never has correct pot odds.

• The pot size

  Usually the pot is big enough to go directly all-in.

• Who has the initiative?

  If you have the initiative, meaning that you were the preflop aggressor, and that you have a strong draw then you must go all-in, if you give yourself enough fold equity. If your opponent has the initiative and has pushed all-in, then you should call only with a very strong draw.

Recommendation: In this stage of the tournament you will seldomly have much fold equity because of the very low chip stacks. Because of this one must let go of draws against loose opponents, who are very likely to put their chips in the middle.

8.1. Hand 1: OESD in the early stages

Chip stacks:

Button (t1500)

Hero (t1500)

BB (t1500)

UTG (t1500)

UTG+1 (t1500)

MP1 (t1500)

MP2 (t1500)

MP3 (t1500)

CO (t1500)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K.

UTG calls t20, 2 folds, MP2 calls t20, 3 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t80) 5, T, J(4 players)

Hero checks, BB checks, UTG bets t60, MP2 calls t60, Hero calls t60.

Commentary:

On the flop hero holds an OESD, so 8 outs. That means that he will complete his straight on the turn 17% of the time. The odds are thus 5:1. Hero must call t60 in a pot of t200, which is 3:1. In most cases, against 3 opponents, he can discount the A and 9 from his outs, because they are likely to complete a flush for one of the opponents. Because of this one can only count 6-7 outs. In this case, Hero will hit his draw approximately 1 in 7 times on the turn. However, the 60 chips only represent a fraction of Hero\’s stack, and he can easily win more when he hits, so a call is in order here.

8.2. Hand 2: Flush draw in the early stages

Chip stacks:

MP2 (t1740)

CO (t5705)

Button (t1340)

SB (t345)

BB (t1430)

UTG (t1470)

Hero (t1470)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with A, K.

1 fold, Hero raises to t90, 4 folds, BB calls t60.

Flop: (t195) Q, 3, 4(2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets t120, BB raises to t1340, Hero ?

Commentary:

In most cases the opponent has at least top pair. If he has QJs, for example, Hero is a slight favourite, at 52:48. In the best case scenario where the opponent has only top pair with the queen, Hero can count the flush draw, ace and king toward his outs, which makes a total of 14, meaning he is a 52% favourite. This means that it would be profitable to go all-in if his opponent never did this with a better hand than top pair. This is not the case however, so Hero must fold.

8.3. Hand 3: Monster draw in the middle stages

Chip stacks:

UTG (t1730)

CO (t2280)

Button (t2728)

SB (t10952)

Hero (t2310)

Preflop: Hero is in BB with 7, 8

UTG folds, CO raises to t200, Buttoncalls t200, SB calls t150, Hero calls t100

Flop: (t650) 9, 9, T(4 players)

SB checks, Hero bets t200, CO raises to t2080, Button folds, SB folds, Hero ?

Commentary:

Hero\’s calling of the raise preflop is somewhat marginal, but is OK if the hand is played well post-flop. On the flop, Hero has an OESD and flush draw. That means that he has 15 outs, or a 65% chance to complete his straight or flush.

It should be noted however that with 3 opponents, there is a chance that someone has a higher flush draw. It is also possible that an 8, jack or king will give a straight to an opponent.

Nevertheless, Hero\’s draw is strong and the pot is large enough – compared to his stack and current place in the SNG – to choose a different line than the one used here. As long as the opponents aren\’t overly cautious, the best choice here is to check, and push all-in to a bet. Even though opponents will easily call a bet of 400 to 600, they will be less likely to call this all-in. Hero\’s bet of 200 chips in this hand is not appropriate.

8.4. Hand 4: OESD in the middle stages

Chip stacks:

UTG (t680)

UTG+1 (t2579)

MP1 (t1739)

MP2 (t2196)

CO (t3403)

Button (t1740)

SB (t5773)

Hero (t1890)

Preflop: Hero is in BB with 4, 5

UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls t200, MP2 folds, CO folds, Button folds, SB calls t100, Hero checks

Flop: (t300) 2, 3, J(3 players)

SB bets t300, Hero raises to t1690

Commentary:

Hero isn\’t desperately shorstacked yet. On the flop, he has an OESD, so 32% chance of hitting a straight by the river. One of the two opponents, the chip leader, bet pot on the flop. The other opponent has to act after Hero. There is no reason for Hero to push all-in here because his fold equity against SB, who showed strength, is rather low. On top of that, there is another player yet to act, so the correct play here is to fold.

8.5. Hand 5: Flush draw in the late stages

Chip stacks:

CO (t2355)

Button (t5030)

SB (t3205)

Hero (t2910)

Preflop: Hero is in BB with 7, K

CO folds, Buttoncalls t200, SB calls t100, Hero checks

Flop: (t700) A, 9, T(3 players)

SB checks, Hero bets t400, Button raises to t800, Hero?

Commentary:

With a flush draw on the bubble against two opponents, the best line here is to just check. After the button\’s raise, it would cost Hero 400 chips for a pot of about 1900, which gives him pot odds of approximately 5:1. Hero completes his flush about 1 in 5 times on the turn. This means that he has correct odds to call. However the bubble is the stage where one must not risk one\’s stack in marginal situations or through risky play. In this type of situation, Hero will lose a significant part of his stack 80% of the time. Since he doesn\’t have a big enough stack to have good fold equity when he pushes all-in within the next few hands, the correct play is to simply fold the hand.

9. Conclusion

Let\’s sum it up:

Odds are the ratio: unhelpful cards : helpful cards

Pot odds are the ratio: total pot : amount to call

A draw is profitable to play, as long as the pot odds are good enough compared with the odds, or in other words, that on the long term, one can win more chips when completing the draw than one can lose, in the other cases.

There are however other factors in tournaments. Here the main question is: Even if I have correct odds, how many chips can I, or can\’t I, afford to risk?

To win in the game long-term it is imperative that you understand and memorize the concepts of odds and pot odds. It is important to know when one can play a drawing hand, and also how to bet against players that are on a draw so as to give them incorrect odds. Take time to think about and understand this subject, as it is a major step forward for your game, and your bankroll.

1. Introduction

In this article

• How much should you bet
  
  
• What are you trying to accomplish with your bet
  
  
• Factors that are influencing your bet
  
  

Bet sizing means determining the optimal size of a bet. How much you bet depends on different factors:

• the board
• the pot size
• the chip stacks
• the number of your opponents
• the development of the current hand
• the image

In this article you will learn, how to determine a good and adequate bet size.

A second major aspect of this article deals with the question, which aims you have with your bet. Why do you bet? It will be easier to make the right decision in a particular situation, if you know, what you are doing.

2. Factors you have to consider when deciding the bet size

2.1. The board

When analysing the board there are two important aspects that you take into consideration:

• Did I hit and what did I hit?
• In what ways could my opponents have hit this board, e.g. are draws possible?

2.2. The pot size

You normally describe your bet size in relation to the size of the pot:

• pot size = the whole pot
• 2/3 pot size = 2/3 of the pot
• 3/4 pot size = 3/4 of the pot
• 1/2 pot size = 1/2 of the pot

Your bet size depends on the pot size. The bigger the pot, the bigger your bet.

2.3. The stack sizes – How many chips does everyone have left?

In a tournament you will often be confronted with situations, in which you or your opponent are not able to make adequate bets in relation to the pot size, without being forced to go all-in afterwards.

If your opponent has 1000 chips and you bet 700 chips on the flop, he won\’t be able to call without becoming commited to the hand. Should he call, he would have 300 chips left on the turn, in a very large pot and will have to almost always call further bets due to the pot odds. In this kind of situation you can say: the player is pot committed. He can\’t get out of the hand, because he has already invested too much.

Because of this you should always consider: Will this bet cause me or my opponent to become pot commited? If this is in fact the case – it is wiser to go all-in immediately

because this will inevitably happen anyway.

The question is therefore: If I bet, what will happen, if my opponent calls? Will one of us be pot committed?

2.4. The number of your opponents

Depending on the number of your opponents and the structure of the board you have to decide, whether you should eventually protect your hand. The more opponents and the more possible draws, which could beat your hand, you are confronted with, the more you have to protect your hand.

The number of your opponents can also be crucial when deciding whether you should make a continuation bet or not. What a continuation bet is will be gone into more detail later, but it generally means betting the flop after having raised preflop. When continuation betting it is not necessary to have hit the flop, you simply hope, that you will push your opponent out of the hand by showing strength. The probability of being able to bluff everyone else out of the pot decreases with an increasing amount of opponents.

2.5. How did the hand develop so far?

When, if and how much you bet also depends on the way the current hand has developed of course. Has another player shown strength by raising preflop or did he just call to see a cheap flop?

2.6. Image

What do your opponents think about you? What kind of player do you represent? This is your image. Have you recently played many hands or fewer? Did you play aggressive or not? Your opponents will always react differently depending on what kind of image you have. If you played many hands aggressively, they could consider you to be a notorious bluffer. Then you could make bigger bets with a strong hand because they won\’t believe you.

But the images of your opponents is also important for you. An opponent, who plays many hands without giving them up will also call bigger bets. If you want to get paid off for a good hand or protect a hand, you should make bigger bets against him. On the other side bluffs like a continuation bet do not make sense against him.

3. What are you trying to accomplish with your bet?

Some of the factors which help determine your bet size have already been mentioned, but when deciding how much to bet it is also important to know what goal you are trying to achieve with your bet. When betting you have to know: What do I want to accomplish?

You can set different goals with your bet:

• Winning as many chips as possible with a strong hand. You can also say: maximizing the value.
• Winning the pot with the help of a continuation bet, the bet on the flop after having raised preflop. This can also be a bluff.
• Trying to find out how good your hand is: How does my opponent play if I bet? You get information about the strength of his cards and if he wants to stay in the hand.
• With a small amount you can also try to see a cheap card or showdown. This is called blocking bet, which should keep your opponent from making a big bet, which would be too expensive for you.
• If the board makes draws possible or your hand is very vulnerable, you can make the next card expensive for your opponent by betting. This is how you protect your hand.

3.1. Maximizing the value – Winning as many chips as possible

Winning as many chips as possible with a good hand can be achieved by inducing mistakes of your opponents. For being able to estimate, which bet your opponent would call, you have to get an impression of his image (how he played so far) and his hand.

If the pot is already big and your opponent\’s chip stack is relatively small, so that he is pot committed, you can go all-in directly.

If the pot is small in relation to your chip stacks, you will have to consider some things. A pot size bet normally is daunting, if your opponent didn\’t hit anything. In this case a half pot size bet would be better. On a dry board you could even check, in order to let your opponent make a bet or a bluff.

If the opponent has already checked, you will have to take the board and the development of this hand into consideration. You must decide, whether you want to check and give him a further cheap card or if you make a half pot size bet.

If you have a rather loose image, you should make a bet because your opponents may falsely assume your bet to be the attempt to steal the pot. Yet the more opponents are in the hand, the more you should be wary of protecting your hand. You don\’t want to be beat just because someone hits luckily due to you giving away cards too cheaply. If there are many draws possible on a board you should always adquately protect your hands by making larger bets (like pot size bets).

Against aggressive opponents, who will probably bet if you check, you can also play check/raise.

Maximizing the value does not mean pushing your opponents, who are holding draws, out of the hand. Instead you want them to make mistakes, which means paying too many chips for their draws. You can also say: You want to give them incorrect odds. But this is a different issue, which will be mentioned in continuative articles.

3.2. Continuation Betting

Having raised preflop you will often not have hit the flop. Nevertheless you already represented a strong hand with your pre-flop raise. If there is only one opponent in the hand you can bet on the flop again – as a bluff. This is called a continuation bet.

This bet shouldn\’t be too big, so that it doesn\’t look like the attempt to steal the pot. Normally a 1/2 or 2/3 pot size bet should be sufficient.

On some flops you shouldn\’t make a continuation bet. If you have a pair of jacks and the flop brings an ace and a king you can normally check. You should do the same, if there is more than one opponent in the hand. You can only make a continuation bet then, if you have a solid image and your opponents are able to fold in such situations. Furthermore the chip stacks are very important. A continuation bet shouldn\’t be too big in relation to your stack or already pot commit your opponent.

3.3. Evaluating your hand

It will happen quite often, that you didn\’t really hit the flop or that the board could induce draws. If you raised preflop, you should try to find out what your hand is worth by making a 1/2 pot size bet. If you hit a pair of tens sitting in the big blind with JT, for instance, but there is no queen on the board yet, such a bet is advisable. Depending on your impression of the opponent, you should give up the hand against resistance or try to see a cheap showdown.

The more opponents are in the hand, the less you should make such bets because second best pair or worse is often not strong enough.

3.4. To keep someone in check – Block Betting

The concept of the block bet is one of the more advanced topics, but shouldn\’t remain unmentioned. It requires a good impression (reads) of the opponents and their possible hands. The aim of a block bet is to so see a cheaper next card or showdown, if you think, that your opponent would otherwise make a bigger bet.

If you have a hand you could probably be ahead with, but which is not really strong, you can make a small block bet on the river, in order to keep the opponent from betting bigger. The bet shouldn\’t be too big in relation to your chip stack, but should neither be small, so that the other player doesn\’t want to raise. In a pot of 700 chips, a bet of 200 chips would be enough.

If you are holding a draw on the flop, a small bet could have the same effect. You can avoid a big bet of your opponent and see a cheap next card by making a small bet yourself.

3.5. Protecting the hand

As soon as the board allows draws, which could beat your hand, you need to be aware that your opponent could actually be holding these cards. Protecting your hand with a bet means, betting so much, that your opponent will make a mathematical mistake, if he calls. You make the next card too expensive for him. If the opponent has a flush draw and you make a pot size bet on the turn, he cannot call profitably anymore.

4. Examples

4.1. Continuation Bet with AK

Chip stacks:

UTG (1730)

Hero (1500)

MP1 (1500)

MP2 (1360)

MP3 (1500)

CO (1490)

Button (1320)

SB (1480)

BB (1620)

Preflop: Hero is in UTG+1 with AK

UTG folds, Hero raises to t80, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO folds, Button folds, SB folds, BB calls t60

Flop: (t170) QQ9 (2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets t120, BB calls t120

Turn: (t410) 4(2 players)

BB checks, Hero checks

River: (t410) A(2 players)

BB checks, Hero checks



Results:

BB has Kh, Ad (two pair, Aces and Queens)

Hero has Ah, Kc (two pair, Aces and Queens)

Comment:

I didn\’t hit anything on the flop. But the structure of the flop could mean the same for our opponent. This is why I bet 2/3 of the pot here. I guess he has got a pair, a queen or perhaps AK due to his call. Thus I wouldn\’t have invested more chips and I am happy to see a free showdown.

4.2. Maximizing the value with a very strong hand

Chip stacks:

UTG (1525)

UTG+1 (1760)

MP1 (1425)

Hero (1435)

MP3 (1685)

CO (1260)

Button (1455)

SB (1440)

BB (1515)

Preflop: Hero is in MP2 with KA

UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls t30, Hero raises to t120, MP3 folds, CO folds, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds, MP1 calls t90

Flop: (t285) TJQ(2 players)

MP1 checks, Hero bets t150, MP1 folds

Comment:

On the flop I have the best possible hand (nuts) against one opponent. There is nearly no flush danger. After he checked I have the opportunity to give a free turn card or to make a 1/2 pot size not scaring the opponent. Perhaps the first option would have been the better one. There is not so much danger of a flush against one opponent. On the other hand you have to face the question, which card on the turn would make him invest some chips.

4.3. Evaluating JJ with an ace on the flop

Chip stacks:

UTG (1725)

UTG+1 (1545)

MP1 (2545)

MP2 (1850)

MP3 (220)

Hero (1335)

Button (1630)

SB (1545)

BB (1105)

Preflop: Hero is in CO with JJ

UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, Hero raises to t150, Button folds, SB folds, BB calls t100

Flop: (t325) 77A(2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets t200, BB folds

Comment:

I make a 2/3 pot size bet here to get information about my position. Although I want to see anything but an ace holding JJ, the opponent didn\’t show strength and possibly called the raise with a weaker hand out of the big blind.

4.4. AA – Maximizing the value on the flop and protecting the hand on the turn

Chip stacks:

UTG (1320)

UTG+1 (1480)

MP1 (1650)

MP2 (1500)

MP3 (1690)

CO (1450)

Hero (1430)

SB (1480)

BB (1500)

Preflop: Hero is in Button with AA

UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls t20, MP2 folds, MP3 calls t20, CO folds, Hero raises to t120, SB folds, BB folds, MP1 calls t100, MP3 folds

Flop: (t290) TQ3(2 players)

MP1 checks, Hero bets t160, MP1 calls t160

Turn: (t610) 5(2 players)

MP1 checks, Hero bets t520, MP1 calls t520

River: (t1650) T(2 players)

MP1 checks, Hero checks

Results:

MP1 has 8s, Js (a pair of Tens)

Hero has Ah, As (two pair, Aces and Tens)

Comment:

On the flop I have an over pair against one opponent. This is why I bet a bit more than half pot size. By calling my opponent shows, that he probably hit the flop somehow or has a draw.

For this reason I bet more than 2/3 of the pot after he checked on the turn. The 10 on the river could easily be a card he already hit on the flop. On the other hand draws failed, so that I can\’t think of hands I beat, which would call a river bet. If he hit a queen, he would have raised on the flop.

4.5. Maximizing the value with three of a kind on a draw heavy board

Chip stacks:

UTG (1500)

UTG+1 (1500)

MP1 (1500)

MP2 (1500)

MP3 (1500)

CO (1500)

Hero (1500)

SB (1500)

BB (1500)

Preflop: Hero is in Button with JJ

UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls t20, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO folds, Hero raises to t80, SB folds, BB calls t60, MP1 folds

Flop: (t190) 8TJ(2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets t100, BB calls t100

Turn: (t390) 6(2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets t240, BB calls t240

River: (t870) 8(2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets t540, BB folds

Comment:

I\’m sure to be ahead with three of a kind on the flop. But you cannot deny the danger of draws on this board. Nevertheless I don\’t want to push the opponent out of this pot. I make a half pot size bet. The third clubs completes a possible flush draw on the turn. But I still think I\’m ahead because he could have bet already on the turn. I would have called an all-in due to the possibility of a full house or four of a kind. On the river I get the full house and make a 2/3 pot size bet.

5. Conclusion

You now know that your bet size depends on several factors. It also depends on the purpose of your bet. As a standard amount you should always take 2/3 of the pot to pot size. For a continuation bet 1/2 pot size should be sufficient. Of course a block bet, which wants to keep the bets small, should be smaller, 1/3 of the pot or less.

1. 介绍

听着你对手摆弄筹码发出的哗哗声。你瞥了眼你手中的两张起手牌再看看你的对手们，到你做决策的时刻了，此刻到底该做什么样的决定才是最英明的呢？

锦标赛因为它的决策性，刺激性和多样性而变的非常的有趣。当然它同时也能给那些会正确使用策略的人带来可观的收入。当你在电视上观看那些专业比赛的时候有没有想过：哇，我真想也去参加这些比赛啊。不错！你行的！你也能做到的！你将会在下面的文章中学到在即时锦标赛(S\’n\’G)中初学者所必需了解的并且为成为一个成功的专业玩家做好准备。

在下面的文章中你将了解什么是即时锦标赛(S\’n\’G)和学会如何在这种锦标赛中采用何种策略来取得成功。并且你将学习到一到两种专业的策略让你遥遥领先你的对手。如果你是刚刚接触扑克的，我们将告诉你所有必需了解的基本知识，比方说，什么是早期位置还有什么是顶对子？

在下个部分，你将了解到什么是即时锦标赛(S\’n\’G)的基本策略。后面的部分将帮助你加深对这些策略的理解从而达到在实战中运用自如。

2. 什么是即时锦标赛(S\’n\’G)？

即时锦标赛(S\’n\’G)是扑克锦标赛的一种。首先你需要在一个有空位置的桌子上坐下然后等到这个比赛需求的总人数达到后就会立刻开始比赛。下面的策略是针对总参赛者数为10人的锦标赛的。

当你参加一个锦标赛的时候，你需要交纳名为\”买入费\”（buy-in）的参加费. 这笔钱将直接作为比赛底池的奖金，而你和你的对手们就是要在接下来的比赛中赢得这笔奖金。当然作为扑克室自然也要从这底池中抽取小小的一部分作为服务费，这叫做抽佣（Rake）.你会在锦标赛介绍的部分看到像$10.00 + $1.00这样的字样。这就说你需要付$11才能参加这个锦标赛。$10作为底池奖金，而$1就作为交付给扑克室的抽佣。

3. 怎样玩好即时锦标赛(S\’n\’G)？

下面两点是你需要了解的策略中最为重要的：

• 如果你输光了你的筹码，你将被淘汰出局，并且不能再买入筹码。
• 越晚淘汰出局你将赢得越多的奖金。

这两个要点包含了: 在锦标赛中你要能尽可能长的留在游戏中. 越多的对手比你先出局, 这也就意味着你有赢得更多奖金的机会. 因此与纯粹的为钱游戏的目标不同, 因为在锦标赛中的首要目标并非获得大多数筹码.

你可能会想：但是最后只有一个人能赢得最多的筹码啊。的确是这样的。比赛开始五到十局后有人筹码多有人筹码少这是不可避免的。但是实际上通常并非早期筹码最多的人将会得到第一名。

在锦标赛你只有固定数量的筹码。为了在竞赛中生存下去你必须保护好你的每一个筹码。当牌局对你有利的时候要尽可能多的下注，但不要在牌局对你非常不利的时候去下大注。

另外一个非常重要的就是锦标赛的盲注(blinds)会随着锦赛开始后时间的增加而不断增加。如果你有很多的筹码而此时的盲注却是很小的，此时你可以耐心的等待强的起手牌。因为此时没有人强迫你去冒很大的风险。然而，在后期盲注很大的情况下你将会承受非常大的压力如果你只剩下五倍大盲注的时候。因此你不得不玩那些相对来说很弱的起手牌，因为如果此时你还想等待强的起手牌，你的筹码将会因为强制性投入大小盲注而使用完了。

4. 锦标赛中的三个阶段

阶段１：相对盲注（blind）来说你有很多的筹码

如果你拥有多过２４倍大盲注的筹码那么你就处于此阶段。在锦标赛刚开始的时候你就处于此阶段。此时的策略就是耐心等待好的起手牌因为没有压力去承担大的风险。此刻完全没有必要去玩大的投注。在此阶段你的目标就是要使用尽可能少的筹码来成功地进入到第三阶段。

阶段２：相对盲注（blind）来说你有中等的筹码

如果你拥有１４－２４倍大盲注的筹码那么你就处于此阶段。此时你的策略就需要改变成为第二种。比方说，当你只有小对子的时候你不再应该只是跟注，而是应该打得更加激进点。此阶段应该改为使用在后面将要提到的策略。

阶段３：相对盲注(blind)来说你有少量的筹码

当你拥有很少的筹码，仅剩下１３倍大盲注筹码或更少的时候那么你就处于阶段三。这在锦标赛进入后期的时候是经常发生的。阶段３的策略也称为全压或者弃牌法（push-or-fold-mode）．这个阶段也是最为关键的阶段。你之前阶段所采用的策略仅仅只是为了进入这个阶段３从而最终达到击败所有对手的目的。在此阶段你不需要做复杂的决策。你需要做的就是全押(All-in)上你的剩余筹码或者弃牌（Fold）．

5. 总结

如果你想在锦标赛避免被很早的淘汰出局，你无需在第一或第二局就开始在意你筹码的多少。参加锦标赛不是要你在早期显得的很强势或凶狠结果在后期却狼狈出局。如果你想越晚于你的对手们被淘汰出局，你就需要保存你的实力。你只有固定量的筹码，这也是为什么你需要谨慎使用每一注筹码的原因。如果这些筹码被白白浪费了，那就意味着你将越早被淘汰出局。这就是怎样在锦标赛发挥最好水平所有的原则。