Multi-Table Tournaments:Tactics for Stage 2.

 

This is the follow up article regarding the tactics to employ during the different stages of a multi-table tournament (MTT).

 

 

For the start of an MTT tournament we advised you to choose your position carefully and play a tight game, the middle of the tournament, however, necessitates a more aggressive playing style. This is simply due to the fact that during this phase there will be more ‘dead money’ on the table, because the blinds will be of a higher values than before.

 

When we talk about the middle of the tournament we are referring to the time between when there are 100 players before the bubble and which stops once the bubble has burst (taking 1000 as the number of original entrants).  It is generally during this phase that players begin to think about the bubble, and thus they stop playing as many hands as they previously were, it is therefore up to you to take advantage of this pattern.

 

During the middle stage of the tournament, you will need to be able to differentiate two types of player; those that play to win (category 1) and those that will be satisfied to arrive at the bubble and to attain a winning place (category 2). Adhere to the first category of course, but make sure you still play intelligently. Your playing style will depend on the size of your stack. If you played the beginning of the tournament according to how we advised you in the preceding article, then you should have an averagely sized stack. But sometimes you will already be in the top 30 players, whereas at other times you will only have a small stack, however, by following the advice you will generally be somewhere in the middle, as we said, with an averagely sized stack.

 

The big stack game (at least twice the average stack):

It is great to have such a large stack; you can eliminate other players without it costing you too much. A large stack plays loosely, and even if this is not your natural style, people will be expecting you to play large.

 

Thus, your role is to determine the degree of resistance that you should be commanding at the table. With a bit of luck, there will be lots of players belonging to the second category of player at your table and you can steal the blinds much more easily then.

 

Play ‘any two cards’ and enter into the round by re-raising.

 

The amount of the re-raise should not be by 3 x the big blind, but rather by around 2.5 x the big blind. Why? Simply because you are in the process of testing the table in order to establish your opponents’ levels of proficiency at the game- and because you will be obliged to fold your bad hands, regardless of their favour, on any re-raise. Somebody who folds in front of a re-raise at 3 x the big blind will equally fold in front of a re-raise of 2.5 x the re-raise during this stage of the tournament. And if you really do have a hand worth playing, it will be easier for the short stacks to go all-in.

 

If the table is weak, you will notice that you will easily be able to steal the blinds. At the start, begin by stealing button, then CO (Cut Off), Hijack, all the way to the Under the Gun position (on the condition that the table allows you to do this, of course). The most important rule, if you are playing in this manner, is to be the first to enter into the round. If a player folds before you, then he is EV (expected value i.e. expected…) to attempt purely to steal the blinds in this situation. In relation to the size of your stack, you could re-raise, but now, you cannot do this with any old card.

 

If someone goes all-in after you re-raise, then you must employ the following analysis of the situation: what is the size of your stack? If the stack of your opponent is less than 10% of your stack and that you have good odds, of at least 2:1 you can even call with ‘any two’. Additional advantage: you will be defining yourself as a maniac at the table and your opponents will fear you. If the other players see that you can follow a re-raise with a 3 of hearts and a 9 of spades they will think twice before going all-in against you when the situation arises again, especially if the preceding time has resulted in the elimination of the other player. But be aware that the next time the situation arises it will no longer be possible to call with any old hand, because this time your opponents will only go in for a good hand.

 

If they have a medium sized stack, call with a 10-10+ and Ace-Queen+, and possibly some slightly weaker hands if the other player has a loose profile. In this phase of the MTT, play with as many hands that have a 45/55 chance or a 40/60 chance, for as long as your stack allows you to do so.

 

If your opponent also has a large stack, capable of inflicting significant damage to your own, only call when you have Ace-King, Ace-Ace and King-King. If he is a tight player then you should even consider folding on an Ace-King.

 

When re-raising with weak hands, pay attention that the following players do not have a very small stack, after you or at the big blind, this will just be a waste of chips.

 

Re-steal as much as you can from the big blind. Treat all re-raises at the button or after the CO as an attempt to steal and re-steal by 3x with any reasonable hand- such as assorted connectors or small pairs (in case they have the false idea of calling you in position). You also need to take into account the profile of your opponents and only do this against big or medium stacks. Against small stacks, you do not have enough fold equity. Re-steal as much as the table allows. Early or late, you will have a ‘monster’ stack, and thanks to your image as maniac, there is a good chance that you will make a good return.

 

The Short Stack Game:

Unfortunately, you will not always have a large stack when you enter into the middle part of an MTT, and there will even be situations when you will find yourself at the table with a hand of 8, condemned to wait for a good hand to come along. In this case, the manner in which you play will very much depend on the category in which you fall (i.e. 1 or 2 as above).

 

If you are a good player then you can allow yourself to lose the buy-in of the particular MTT and to compensate this loss with serious management of your bankroll. If this is the case then do not play just for a paying place in the bubble, that will not even win you enough for a pint, but play for the victory of winning.

 

With a hand of 8 or less, play according to the ‘First in is All-in’ rule, with any cards dealt.

 

You will be surprised at how many times you will be able to steal the blinds by playing in this manner, because you will always have, in this situation, the fold equity over other players: you have constructed an image as a tight player in the start of the MTT (see previous article- click link below) and there will still be a few players from category 2 at your table.

 

The only exception to this rule is when there is a large stack in the big blind position. In this case, you can only go all-in with a really good hand. And remember that if it works once, you can permit yourself a whole round before you restart because you hand is from now, a 9.

 

Another disadvantage regarding the small stack is that you lose the possibility of trapping your opponents. Do not make the error of attempting to trap them. The majority of the time you will only be trapping yourself.

 

If you receive Ace-Ace UTG (under the gun) then put yourself directly into the game and do not play a limp/raise. Put yourself in your opponents’ shoes. They will see a small stack player limping UTG for 800, although there is only 7000 in the stack behind. For the most part, what comes to mind to begin with, in these situations, is ‘he has a monster!’ (Big stack). It will only occur if a player behind you with a ‘monster stack’ wakes himself up that you will get the re-raise that you are waiting for. In the contrary conditions, you will see that the big stacks limp comfortably behind you, in ambush with speculative hands. Do not offer them this opportunity.

 

But the insta-push with the best hand will present an advantage; often, a big stack that sees a small stack go all-in UTG will call, this is because he will be thinking “he surely has something in hand, but the hand can’t really be that good. Plus, what idiot would go UTG with an Ace-Ace?”. After which he will double your chips nicely!

 

The medium stack game:

With a medium stack there is not much you can do. You should be playing for the victory, and if you proceed intelligently there is always the possibility that you can transform your medium stack into a ‘monster’.

 

With a medium stack: try to trap.

 

There are two manners in which to attempt to trap with a large pair (i.e. Ace-Ace and King-King, and occasionally an Ace-King). The first, which is without a doubt the best known method, is to limp/raise. Limp at the start in order to send a signal of weakness then re-raise to the limit if a player has raised before you. (Note: if you have a hand of 30, do not wager to limit in one blow, but wager only a 3 bet of 12 x the Big Blind).

 

The above move is well enough known, thus do not attempt it with a Queen-Queen, your opponents will know what you are doing and will bring you down, because if your 3 bet is re-raised, you will most probably be behind. Your opponents will understand quickly what you are doing and you will only be called by opponents with hands that can beat you, unless the player in question is already pot-committed.

 

Also, be careful not to entrap yourself, by this we mean that it is easy enough to find your-self in a multi-way pot because the other players have also attempted to trap. In this case, do not re-play your hand and control the size of the pot. Even more importantly: be ready to fold your Aces if 2 players or more put themselves to play for the limit after you bet at the flop. Your over-pair is no longer worth anything. If you have attempted this move with King-King, fold if a dirty Ace appears at the flop. You can not attempt to trap other players without running some risks for yourself, and that is the price you pay.

 

But, there is another, less well known, method for trapping opponents; this is the ‘overcall’. Imagine that there is a re-raise when the first players speak. Instead of the standard re-raise to isolate your opponents, content yourself with calling. This move works well in general. If another player tries a re- re-raise before the flop, then the pot will be sufficiently significant for you to bet to limit straight away (still taking a hand of around 30 as a starting point). If nobody re- re-raises and that you are in at the flop, no-one is going to put you down on your Aces.

 

After a classic continuation bet on the initial re-raise, if you raise 1x the size of the pot, you can easily re- re-raise to the limit and 90% of the time your opponents will put you under at four-of-a-kind or on top pair and you will call more often than they will. And even if they fold you will already have brought in a good pot.

 

If you are unlucky enough not to get a monster, take note of the spots that will allow you to steal a few blinds and attempt to play a few hands when there is a large pot.

 

Here are two examples that show you how to work it:

1- Play in the fashion of: ‘Jack-High? Aggressive all the way!” against little blocking bets:

 

 

 

As you can surmise, this hand is only being played because I am in position. Even if I am chip-leader at this table, I am only slightly above the table average of the MTT. Even more importantly: I am playing this hand against two opponents who have nearly as bigger stack as I do, this then gives me a good fold-equity.

 

The flop only gives me a gutshot straight four and here is what happens: the steadfast player at the Big Blind makes a small blocking bet of 800 in a pot of 7,600 and the initial re-raise folds!!! (I imagine that he must have been served such cards as a pair of nines. Otherwise, he would surely have managed to get a small pair or a minimal four-of-a-kind like me, with the odds; he would have been forced to follow).

 

I call, with the intention of being able to play with any card that is dealt at the flop. I will be able to put down on an Ace-Jack, Ace-Queen, Queen-Jack or a King any player with a bad kicker.

 

At the turn, he makes another blocking bet of 2, 400 in a pot of 9,200. I re-raise in order to get three-of-a-kind, which I could easily happen, given the way that I have played my hand up to the present moment. But I do not re-raise a lot here, just enough to accumulate the knowledge I require. Firstly, because I pre-empt that I may fold my hand if he re-re-raises to the limit, and additionally to ensure that I have enough chips to be able to make a good bluff at the river. (Note: it is crucial to re-raise the turn to be able to subsequently bluff at the river. Otherwise, you represent nothing).

 

After his check at the river, the only thing left to do is to bet, since I would surely lose the round when he beats me with his hand. Do not commit the error here of betting too weakly at the river, as he did at the flop and turn, because in this case there is the risk that he will call you with an Ace-High, and he would have good reason to too. Bet half of the pot, as if you had a 10. If he was attempting to under play an exceptional hand, this would still leave you a hand of 15.

 

2- Call in pure bluff, in the fashion of “I have nothing, buy you’re even worse off!”

 

 

This is a perfect example of a bluff call. Vilain has a big stack and plays very LAG. He re-raises everything- I know that I re-raise with nothing in this situation, but I just wanted to steal the blinds since I was first to speak. I am 90% certain that I will be able to put him down in one of the 3 following hands: Ace-High with a four-of-a-kind missing colours, 56 or 53. And beat each one of his hands. If I do not put him down on a pocket pair, it is because he is happy to call me at the pre-flop.

 

He bets, an amount that is forceful, but I re-raise to see if my top pair top kicker is good or not. He calls, this is, for me, a sign that I am on top.

 

Followed by a weak bet at the turn and an insta-push at the river, this is an automatic call for me. No four-of-a-kind has come in, and there are no Ace-Jacks- I already saw 3-better Ace-10 pre-flop before.

 

I reflected a couple of seconds before calling, because the decision would hold the weight of all my chips. I wanted to be certain of my read of the situation. (Note: I have not called here simply because I am not capable of putting down his top pair at the flop, but only because I am sure of being ahead. And I am ready to bet all my chips on this certainty).

 

As you can see, there are many methods to augment your stack during the course of a tournament. If you have not managed to touch any games and have not landed on any favourable situations, let yourself steal several blinds and resort to the strategy of First in is all-in.

 

To follow will be an article about the techniques to use at the end of an MTT. For the moment, you have passed the bubble; you are in a paying position (i.e. you’ll receive some money- at least a pint’s worth!)

 

 

 

Click here to read the article for tactics to employ in the first stages of an MTT

Copyright © www.online-casinos.co.uk, 2009. All Rights Reserved.