Early Stage Strategy in a MTT
In the early stages of
multi table tournaments, the blinds are so small that invariably the pot sizes reflect this, therefore there's less value in winning them. There are far more novicy players in the tournament at this stage than any other, the potential to lose to a substandard hand is greater as a result. Rather than get involved in high risk and low reward situations like these, it is recommended to play patient poker only using the premium hands dealt to you; you will develop a solid tight table image and reduce the number of bad beats taken by amateurs playing mathematically incorrect poker.
MTT Startegy for the Middle Stage
In the middle stages of
multi table tournaments you get the opportunity to use the rock solid table image you have developed in the early stages, introducing more aggression into your game because many opponents will have the mindset of wanting to hold on just to make the money rather than to forge ahead with visions of the final table, your goal is to capitalise on this negative thought process chipping away at such opponents winning small pot after small pot while also looking for good spots to double up with your premium hands.
The calibre of player at this stage in the tournament is considerably better, so bluffing increases in value because your opponents are more capable of laying down a hand, this is also worth using to your advantage, although the play should'nt be overused and ideally it should'nt involve risking most of your chips, especially if the opponent would have folded to a smaller bet. Your play is still solid overall, but you are getting involved in more pots and taking small calculated risks against the right types of player to keep your stack bigger than average.
End Tournament Strategy in a MTT
The end portion of
multi table tournaments is where most risks should be taken, most of the prize pool is shared between these players with significantly more going to the top 3; the end stage is generally considered to be the final table of 9 or 10 players.
Changing gears too early at a final table is prevalent, some opponents will be making moves right from the start of the final table and although this strategy is'nt without its merits, a better alternative is to continue playing the same solid no frills poker that got you to the final table at least until the action becomes shorthanded, then open up your game gradually taking more risks as players get knocked out.
Don't settle just for making the money, play to win the tournament.
Multi table tournaments offer poor value only paying out to the top 10% of players, this is compounded by the fact that most of the prize money goes to the top few players and the rest have to settle for a minor payout, it is imperative that when you do find yourself in a good position within a tournament, you take full advantage of it, otherwise you will likely be a breakeven tournament player at best. This is why MTT's favour the small percentage of highly skilled players and are such bad value to the majority.
Players that join a tournament normally don't start with enough chips to properly withstand the sort of variance they might experience, most tournaments only provide a few thousand chips to the players at most which is'nt a sufficient bankroll, meaning risks will have to be taken at some points, but for most of the tournament you should be looking to play solid poker without getting into too many risky situations.
