How to play poker well: we tell you everything in this article

Poker tournaments have not finished making online players dream. Indeed, the biggest tournaments display prize pools of several million dollars and a final table constitutes the ultimate dream of all the amateurs. Tournament play differs greatly from cash game play. On a cash game table, you decide the duration of your session while in a tournament, you are dependent on a structure. Here we give you our best tips to optimize your tournament game.

1. Manage your bankroll well

The temptation is great at the beginning of the tournament to play many hands. Indeed, you have several hundred chips and it seems to be relevant to play aggressively to increase your bankroll. However, the strategy to be adopted in a tournament differs from that in a cash game. Your primary goal in the tournament is to survive. In most tournaments, it is not possible to rebuy and the loss of your mat therefore means elimination. It is therefore imperative to know exactly the number of tokens you have at each moment as well as the value of your tokens. In a tournament, the value of your chips varies. The level of the blinds is increasing and the average mat is constantly changing.

2. Taking your time

If the cash game is a free race, the tournament is the poker marathon. Indeed, a big poker tournament can take 4, 5 or 6 hours of your time. It is not useful to play weak or intermediate hands at the beginning of the tournament. You don't yet know the profile of your opponents and there is no point in playing aggressively from the beginning. We advise you to play very tight at the beginning of the game and relax afterwards.

3. Pass the bubble without stress

The bubble is undoubtedly the most stressful moment in the poker tournament. Indeed, this is the moment when the players will finally return in the money . When we get to the bubble, the players with a small mat do everything not to jump. The passage of the bubble can therefore last several hours. We advise you here to play very carefully if you have a small carpet. Conversely, if you have a big mat, this is the time to put pressure on the other players. Players who are in survival mode will not follow you.

4. Playing intermediate hands

After surviving most of the tournament, it's time to play more aggressively. The intermediate hands that you have to play at the beginning of the tournament are interesting here. If you wait 30 or 40 hands to play a move, you will miss out on the action. A hand with a high card is therefore a hand to be played.

5. Praying during the corner flips

In all tournaments, sooner or later you will arrive in a situation of corner flips. In this situation, you have a 50% chance of doubling your carpet or being eliminated. It is common to experience one or two corner flips in a tournament. The only thing to do here is to think positive to have the right card. In case of loss, all you have to do is leave with dignity.