Your Guide to Making Online Poker Profitable

Multi-Table Tournament Games

Antes

If you have made it to the point where everyone is required to put up an ante in addition to the blinds, congratulations are in order.  You have made it pretty deep into the tournament.  There will probably be far fewer players now, and you should be fairly close to cashing in the tournament.  The blinds are going to be pretty big at this point, so players will be getting knocked out much more quickly.  Unless you are a big stack (1st or 2nd on your table), you are going to have to be very selective about the hands you play, because it will be very expensive to play.  But at the same time, you can't be too timid if you hit a strong hand.  Generally, if you are dealt a medium to high pocket pair, or an AK, AQ, AJ (maybe even A10), and you are the first to enter a pot, you should raise in order to push out the marginal hands and possibly even steal the blinds and antes (which will be a pretty good-sized pot).  If someone else has entered the pot before you, and especially if they have raised (which most players will do at this point), you will need to be even more selective - raise with a high pocket pair or AK, call with AQ (and maybe AJ), and fold with anything else (if you have a big stack you may want to call with lesser hands and see if you improve).

At this point in the tournament, almost no hand will go all the way to a showdown unless someone has gone all-in either pre-flop or post-flop.  Most of the time people will simply steal the blinds and antes with a big pre-flop raise.  If all you do is steal the blinds now and then, you'll do quite well.  Selective aggression is key at this point.  Many starting hands will call for a raise in one situation, and a fold in another, depending on your position, your stack size vs. your opponents, and their style of play.  If you have a good hand, before you decide how to play it, you need to examine who you're up against, his stack size, how aggressive he's been, did he raise or just call you, is he one of the blinds, etc.  You need to use these factors to figure out what he might have, to determine if he's weak, because you will need to take advantage of these situations, even if it means bluffing.  Unless you're consistently getting great hands, you're going to have to bluff now and then in order to stay alive.  You need to use the information you have to determine when a bluff will work.  In many ways, you're playing your opponent's hand more than your own.  When you sense weakness, you need to pounce.  Of course, if you have the nuts, you will want to slowplay a bit in order to extract as many chips as you can.

Late in the game you will often see small stacks going all-in with marginal hands, so you'll have chances to knock guys out and increase your stack.  Wait until you have a good hand and you are most likely the only opponent.  Part of your decision should be determined by his stack size in relation to yours.  If he's all in with 500, and you have 5,000, then you know he could be desperate and going all in with a low pair or and Ace and a small card (or worse).  So there could be a lot of hands you could have that can beat him  And your risk is relatively small, so even if you lose, you'll still have a good sized stack.  The best situation is to be one-on one so that you increase your odds of winning.  One way to insure this is to re-raise after the all-in bet, which will discourage other players from getting in.  But only do this if you have a really strong hand.  If you are not the only person who has called the all-in, you need to see what falls to decide what to do.  Many times the callers will just check to each other all the way to the river.  If you hit your hand on the flop or the turn, but fear you could be beat with another card (such as a flush or straight draw on the board), you may want to bet to get the other player to drop out, but only do this when you're confident you're winning at the time.

Final Table

If you've made the final table, pat yourself on the back, you've done well.  Most of the strategies you've used in the late stages will work here as well.  You may want to be even more tight pre-flop - the blinds will be enormous, and thus, your stack size can change pretty quickly if you play too many hands.  The amount of the payoff for each position you finish will increase dramatically, so by being more passive you will outlast others and increase your total payout.  But at the same time, you need to play your big hands, and bluff those times you sense weakness in order to keep your chip stack from getting eaten away by the blinds and antes.

At this point you have played with at least 4 of the players on the final table for a very long time.  You should know by now their tendencies, and how they play when they're up and when they're down.  A guy who has played passively in order to make it to the final table will probably keep playing that way once he gets there.  The same is sometimes true for aggressive players, although many will slow their play at the final table in order to outlast others. 

The play will usually consist of someone raising pre-flop and everyone else folding, or one person calling and whoever bets big on the flop wins.  You will rarely see hands go all the way to the river unless there is an all in.  Occasionally, you will see two big stacks playing normal poker, but generally the guy who raises first wins.  And you need to do the same.  Because it is so expensive to play, your motto should be "raise or get out."  The exception may be if you're in late position, you have a good drawing hand, and you can see the flop for cheap. 

Once you see the flop, you need to decide if you're winning or losing at that point.  If you think you're winning you should make a good sized-bet (at least half the pot).  If you think you're losing you should get out if someone else bets.  Slowplaying and setting traps are not as effective at this point of the game, unless you have the nuts.  Stealing pots is the best strategy overall - since the pots are already huge you're assured of a big increase in your stack, but if your trap backfires, your chip stack could be devastated.  Now is not the time to let your opponent draw out on you (hit a lucky hand when the odds are strong in your favor).  You should make your opponents work hard to take your chips from you, but at the same time, when you have a good hand, you need to make them pay dearly to see more cards.