Tournament Adjustments

[pete fabrizio]

Let's say you know a very successful cash game player who has limited success in online multi-table tournaments. What's the single best piece of advice you could give them about how to adjust to tournament play?

I understand there are books written on this topic, I'm just wondering how you all would sum it up, in a nutshell.

[Tosh]

Practice.

[pete fabrizio]

Very helpful. Yhank you.

[Airpoaneman]

Forget mutli tables tournaments man. Play SNG's. A multi table tournament is like a SNG but in MTT's you just wait for the best hand and hope some one calls your bets. Untill it gets down to the $..then the SNG practice will PAY OFF!!! Just play as many SNG's as you can. Even 4 at a time because time is money. Ans the more SNG's you play the better sucess you will have in MTT's

Good luck sir.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

I would tell him that poker is not a game where nut-shell summaries have much, if any, value. Either learn it all the hard way, expect to lose, or play something else.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[helpmeout]

Just play tight, dont play many drawing hands. I personally find them useless because even if you hit a flush draw on the flop all it takes is one big raise and you no longer have the odds to call.

When you get to only 6xBB its time to make a move to double up. Go all in with any pocket pair or 2 high cards.

When you are in a good position tighten up even more, but try to make value plays when you can. Wait for others to make desperate plays and then pounce.

[pete fabrizio]

Maybe "nutshell" is the wrong word, however, I do think there is something to be said for consise advice.

If, for example, someone were a very good tournament player, and wanted to start playing cash games, I'm sure I could come up with some "nutshell" advice: for starters, that they should get used to having both more rounds of betting AND more action per round.

[Doubling12]

Read the fox and the farmer story on Steve Badger's site (playwinningpoker), written by Chuck Thompson.

The biggest adjustment I have made is that you can't give up on a pot so easily, like you can in a cash game. If your chips aren't increasing, they're decreasing. Especially early in tourneys - many pots go to the person who bets first on the flop.

[Tosh]

You don't want to hear the truth?

[betgo]

In a nutshell, there are many different situations in a tournament, so you can't play the same hand the same as much as you would in a cash game.

In order to learn how to handle those situations, I would recommend getting experience in low buyin events and studying the books on the subject.