The Late Stage-Final Table
Toward the end of the tournament, there will usually be a large mismatch among stack sizes.
There will be a few players without many chips, and a few with large stacks of chips.
At the late stages, most players will be picking their spots, as you should be doing.
Pick your spots aggressively. Don’t get involved in multi-player situations, but play aggressive heads-up poker.
This is particularly true if you have a large stack and your opponent has a small stack.
When the game gets short-handed, play it as a short-handed game. Play aggressively, but be cautious.
You should be betting , not calling, unless you’re trapping someone. Any two big cards are gold. Any one big card has value.
The blinds are so high that on any hand you and/or your occonent are in jeopardy of being eliminated. Lots of blindstealing goes on here.
You better get your share. Pick your spots where your opponents are showing weakness.
But also watch out and don’t get caught in a trap.
With a huge hand, a,A, K,K, and so on, be the trapper. Don’t be afraid to slow play here because you are not likely to get drawn out like in a low-limit game.
THE PLAYERS
Johnny Davis is a successful tournament player who’s also a friend of mine.
He’s played in a lot of small tournaments in various locations and has developed a profile of opponent stereotypes that he’s found useful. I’m presenting them here.
Live Player
This is the player who plays live games but does not have much tournament experience.
This player is likely to play a tournament just like it was a live game. If they are aggressive in live games,they will be aggressive here also.
If they are a rock in live games, they will be the same here. The problem for aggressive players is that if they are not hitting the flops, they will soon run out of chips.
This type of player usually plans for three or more buy-ins in a live game. In a tournament when you’re out of chips, you’re out of the tournament.
The aggressive live player will bust out soon or build up lots of chips and could win.
The problem for rocks in a tournament is they play so conservatively that they never build up enough chips to really be competitive.
Against the aggressive live players, only play hands where you are the favorite.
Against rock live players, you can win some pots with a semi-bluff and occasionally with an outright bluff.
Casual Player
Many players who enter small tournaments are not regular poker players.
The buy-in is small enough and the payoff big enough that they are willing to take a shot.
These players have almost no chance of winning.
They make a lot of mistakes and you can spot them very quickly. Just play solid poker against them, and you will win.
Pick the Right Table / Picking a Seat / Theories of Poker / Betting Theory: The Odds
A Theory of Starting Hand Value
A Theory of Flop Play: Counting Outs and Evaluating Draws
The Dynamics of Game Conditions / Table Image / Player Stereotypes
Women and Poker / Spread-Limit Games / Double Bet on the End Games / Kill Games
Short-handed Games / Tournaments / No-limit and Pot-Limit Poker
