Online Tournaments

A lot of folks play cash games and do very well at it. Though the money is good, there is something missing, a sort of emptiness. They may walk from the table with a few hundred, or a few thousand dollars, but so may some of the other players. There is a complete lack of closure because cash games are a long series of battles in a war that seems to go on forever. A player is never declared to be the "winner". This is where tournaments have a big advantage on the cash game, there is closure. You either join the ranks of the beaten, or emerge as the champion of that tournament.

Tournaments require a different approach than cash games. The skills that make you successful against your cubicle mates when playing in your kitchen don't necessarily transfer well to tournament play. First of all, playing in a tournament, specifically one online, requires a different approach. Because nobody can see your face, you can relax all your physical tells. If you feel like twitching, twitch away. Just watch your betting patterns and how long it takes you to make a move. Those are the tells you need to worry about in cyberspace. Also when playing an online tournament, you want to let the blinds determine your play. Most tournaments escalate the blind and ante structure as the tournament moves on. This is to keep things moving forward by killing off players with expensive forced bets. Early in the tournament the blinds will be small in relation to your bankroll. Exploit this financial advantage. This is the time to see more flops and limp in with marginal hands. Stay away from pre-flop raises and let the other competitors exhaust their bankrolls with attacks and counter attacks.

Before you turn on your computer and log into the tournament, have a plan of action. Tournaments draw hundreds to thousands of people, and the guys with the most chips make it to the later rounds. Plan to double your chip count within the first hour. It is very possible you will not reach this mark, but it gives you an attainable goal, and provides boundaries. This will help moderate your play. Once you have doubles your number of hips, tighten up and play patient poker. Let the players burn their chips on fast and loose play.

Remember that even in cyberspace your position at the table is meaningful. Conventional wisdom here is to play tight in the early positions and loosen up your game in the late positions. From the early seats you will want to fold marginal starting hands. There simply is too much action that can happen behind you. You don't want to have to keep up with raises and re-raises from the players in the late positions.

Overall, your game should be tight and controlled. Bluffs should be used sparingly and try to fly under the radar while the other players busily try to take each other out. Lastly, when playing an online tournament, there is always the temptation to be playing in other poker rooms at the same time. The idea is that you can make a few bucks when it is not your turn to act. This is always a bad idea. Use your idle time to observe your opponents and break down their games. Watch their betting patterns and try to get some clues by how they play.