Are you wondering how to win poker tournaments? This article will help you on the road to success with easy-to-apply tips and ideas for increasing your chances of a deep run.

You’ll learn how to approach Texas hold’em online tournaments in order to perform better. Additionally, you’ll find tips to help you hone your mental preparation, as well as your in-game strategy.

What Is Running Deep and How Can You Achieve It?

If you’re a poker beginner, you might not be familiar with all of the jargon just yet. So, what does it mean to be running deep in a poker tournament?

The phrase simply suggests that you’ve progressed to the latter stages of a tournament. You’ve outlasted the majority of other players. You’re either guaranteed a cash prize already or are very close to winning one.

Someone constantly running deep in tournaments would be considered a skillful poker player. After all, they’re consistently doing well despite the inherent variance of these events. In order to become such a player yourself, you’ll need to put in some work. 

When thinking about tournament poker tips, novices tend to focus on the strategic decisions made during a tournament. While that’s certainly important, there are plenty of other things worth paying attention to. You’ll learn more about these in the coming sections.

Pre-Tournament Preparation

You can’t just show up to play an online poker tournament and expect to run deep. Even before you register, there’s a lot you could be thinking about.

Study the Game

This advice might sound boring, but it cannot be stressed enough. If you aren’t studying poker, you simply won’t improve, and you’ll find it difficult to run deep in tournaments at all (never mind consistently).

Thankfully, there are plenty of resources available, many of which are free. You can read articles, visit discussion forums, watch good players on live streams, or listen to podcasts. There’s bound to be a format that you’ll enjoy. If you have a little money to spend, consider investing in poker solvers and other study tools.

Try to focus on the areas you’re weak in. Furthermore, consider concepts that are especially important to tournament poker, such as the independent chip model (ICM) and short-stack play.

Physical Preparation

You might’ve heard the phrase, “A healthy mind is a healthy body.” Well, this can apply to poker just as much as everyday life.

Imagine you’re playing a tournament on two hours of sleep and you’re hungry. You probably won’t play at your best for very long. So, you want to make sure that your body is properly prepared.

Get enough sleep the night before a live event. Everyone is different, but it’s good to aim for at least seven hours. Stay hydrated and pack some snacks for when you get hungry. If you’re doing well, tournaments can last a long time, so keep that in mind when you prepare.

Mental Preparation

Your mind is also important. The mental side of poker isn’t just about knowing how to bluff. It’s important that you’re confident and have a positive mindset — both will be easier to accomplish if you’ve studied beforehand and feel ready.

You could also listen to music to set the right mood, either hyping you up or helping you to focus. Try something relaxing when you feel like you’re tilting. This should hopefully put you back on the right track.

Never play while drinking alcohol, which impairs concentration and decision-making ability. 

During the Tournament

While everything you’ve read above is a crucial part of a successful poker tournament strategy, you still need to play well. Here are some specific strategic tips that you can use during the tournament.

Different Stack Sizes, Different Approaches

In most cash games, players will be sitting on 100 big blinds or more. However, in a tournament setting, that range can vary throughout the event. You might find yourself with anything from a single big blind to over 1,000. This will, quite obviously, impact your approach.

Generally speaking, you should play the early stages of a tournament more conservatively. Only start making more aggressive decisions when you advance further. Why? You’ll want to earn a reputation as a solid player and get respect for your aggression once the blinds have increased.

In the latter stages of a tournament, a small stack won’t be able to play slowly and safely. It would simply be eaten away by the blinds and antes. Thus, such players need to widen their range. However, this also opens up an opportunity for an experienced player with a larger stack to knock them out of the tournament.

Defend Your Big Blind

For the most part, you must defend your big blind with an extremely wide range of hands. That becomes even more applicable when antes come into play and your pot odds improve even further.

The reason is tied to the fact that most players use quite small bet sizes. Therefore, if you call, your odds are likely to be quite good. 

Furthermore, you need to risk fewer chips in order to see the flop, as you’ve already invested your chips. If you haven’t been defending your big blinds much, you’ll be surprised how many times opponents will simply fold to you.

On top of that, this also helps you to conceal your hands. If you only defend your big blind with good hands, experienced opponents might notice and look to exploit this. If there’s something you should always avoid in poker, it’s becoming predictable.

Steal Blinds

The previous tip is not something that all players will follow. When you notice someone who’s not defending enough, look to capitalize on it.

That’s especially true when you’re in late position, such as the cutoff or button. Try to raise with a wider range of hands to see if your opponent is willing to defend their blind or not. If they are, you should probably abandon this strategy.

Start Running Deep Today

Now that you have a better idea of how to play tournament poker, you probably can’t wait to play the next event. The good news is you don’t need to drive to the nearest casino to get involved. Simply register at BetMGM today.With hundreds of daily poker tournaments and cash game tables available across a wide range of games, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.