by Joe Wrighter

Created on: January 26, 2010

Though some players prefer cash games or single table sit-and-gos, the Texas Hold 'Em elimination tournament remains online poker's biggest draw. These scheduled tournaments often begin with hundreds or even thousands of competitors, and like the game of poker itself, making it to the final table takes a combination of skill and luck. Though there isn't much the player can do about luck, of course, there are certain strategies that lead to successful tournament competition.

There are two basic approaches to tournament play. The first is to be very aggressive and take risks early on, with the intention of quickly building a sizable chip stack that will last a while. Players who use this aggressive strategy will often go all-in with a decent pocket pair like 99 or JJ, or even two high cards like AK or AQ, hoping that someone will call them. Getting beat will mean a quick exit from the tournament, but if the player wins, they can often double their chip stack. With a much larger stack than most players at the table, the potential is then there to "bully" other players with the chip advantage, increasing the stack further and enabling the player to advance further in the tournament.

The other primary strategy is the much more conservative "wait and see" approach. This player is determined to stay in the tournament as long as possible, even if it means folding some good hands and letting his or her chip stack dwindle. The idea here is to play it safe until you get a really good hand or flop, and then capitalize on it. Sometimes this will happen early on, but other times it requires a lot of patience. The player employing this strategy will not go all-in blindly before the flop, unless they have a top hand like KK or AA. However, the player may still raise aggressively with hands like KQ or AJ, and then go all-in if they hit on the flop.

Sometimes the most effective tournament players combine both approaches. For example, Player A may play aggressively at the start, and then if he manages to amass a big stack, he then switches to a more cautious approach from then on. If his chip count is high enough at the beginning, he may only play a few, select hands the rest of the way and still be able to maintain a decent stack deep into the tournament. On the other hand, Player B takes the "wait and see" approach until she manages to win a big pot. Now with a much larger chip stack, she opens up her play and takes more risks, potentially becoming a dominant force in the tournament.

No matter what strategy one adopts in Texas Hold 'Em tournament play, it is important to keep a cool head and carefully calculate the risks/rewards. There will be times that it may make sense to go all-in even with a weak hand, and other times the smart play will be to fold an excellent hand. It all depends on the table, the players, and the specific situation. With experience, most players begin to recognize good opportunities and steer clear of uneccessary risks. The end result will be a strategy that the player feels comfortable with and consistantly successful tournament play.

Learn more about this author, Joe Wrighter.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.