Final Table 3-way play

How good is your tournament play. I'm looking for some help in playing down to the final three people in a tournament game. So if anyone can add some strategy, I would like to hear about it.

As for me. I tend to keep playing tight when I make it to a final table. Still playing only good cards and trying to use my position to steal pots. If you can steal pots, this will help out tremendous. So even in a 3 way, I'm looking to steal what I can from my opponents, just to take that bit off of them.

At the same time I'm not afraid to fold away junk. No sense in calling with nothing and letting that add up to another 4 blinds you could of seen right?

As long as your Big stacked, this is ok. But what if your on the low end of a 3-way. Are you waiting for the two best cards before the blinds eat you up.

The thing is that I have seen people play this different ways. I have seen people pushing all-in with good cards when they get them, as well I have seen people almost blind out only to hit a run of cards and come back.

What makes the difference on a 3-way play. Should you loosen up your cards and play more. Is it better to play then or when blinds are at 1,000 or if someone raises it 2,000.

How many people would prefer to let the other two people battle it out, so you can go heads up.
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This dilemma is the reason to play a lot of SNGs. You will face that very problem often in SNGs.

There is no set answer. IMO, it depends a lot on the other players, as well as on your own style.

I want to be in line for #1, so my general game plan is to play (raise) any hand with potential, and try to get a comfortable big stack. Then I sit back and, barring the appearance of premium cards in my hand, I let the smaller stacks battle it out for a bit. I'll raise any decent hand in the SB and on the button, and will raise my BB if one of the others limps in and my hand deserves a raise. When I have the big stack, I will keep some pressure on, but, by that point, the blinds are putting a huge amount of pressure on all by themselves, normally. I hope to whittle their stacks down, but I fold garbage. My goal is to avoid giving a small or medium stack any large number of chips, if at all possible.

None of this works at all without a bit of luck. At the end, it's all about who can get away from hands that would lose them a lot of chips, and who can stick with the hands that end up good. The lead changes many times, in most cases. Many tournaments end because both final players have a good hand and stop jockeying. And, boom, it's over. It's funny, the end is always a bit of a shock.

Play a lot of SNGs and get comfortable with the flow of this.

It depends (lol). It depends on the size of blinds in relation to stack sizes and the size comparison of stacks to one another (in one scenario it might be correct to be shoving otb just about every time (or even every time)).

Say for example that you're the CL and the med-sized stack is in BB when you're on SB.. and btn is severely shortstacked... then in this spot you're hammering away on the mid-sized stack and it's optimal to actually leave the shortstack opponent in play (unless he's so short that you're getting odds to call his shove obviously). It really just 'depends' on the situation.

If the other two players are aggressive, you might be better off letting the other get knocked out and than start playing if you have a good enough stack to wait.

doops said:

Play a lot of SNGs and get comfortable with the flow of this.

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There is some merit in this suggestion. However, one should bear in mind that there are differences as well as similarities between an SNG and the final stages of an MTT. In the latter psychological elements such as tiredness, stress, and excitement over the size of the payouts can have a profound effect on opponents. That level of pressure is not found in a single-table game.

Poker Orifice said:

It depends (lol).

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Very true. And, as well as the other factors people have mentioned, it crucially depends on reads. The FT is the place where the old adage about playing the players, not the cards, comes to the fore. If stacks are sufficiently deep (sometimes they are not) to allow anything other than a simple push-fold game, bold use of position and choosing the right opponent to target can make all the difference to your prospects of success.

Usually, with average stack on up I try to play the opposite ofthe majority of the table in terms of tight/loose. Always remember to play aggressively though.

I feel ya

My biggest dilema in tourney play is near the end of a tourney going absolutely card dead. Many times not even able to get any face cards. In the begining and middle of a tourney I seem to do well and build a decent chip stack. But then my luck runs out and the garbage comes. With the blinds being high my stack decreases rapidly. I am forced to attempt to steal pots or push with medeocre cards.
I would rather get better cards near the end of a tourney but that doesn't seem to happen to me much. I'm actually a pretty good short stack player, but would not wish to be in that position as much as I end up that way. But the grind must go on!!

et1961 said:

My biggest dilema in tourney play is near the end of a tourney going absolutely card dead. Many times not even able to get any face cards. In the begining and middle of a tourney I seem to do well and build a decent chip stack. But then my luck runs out and the garbage comes. With the blinds being high my stack decreases rapidly. I am forced to attempt to steal pots or push with medeocre cards.
I would rather get better cards near the end of a tourney but that doesn't seem to happen to me much. I'm actually a pretty good short stack player, but would not wish to be in that position as much as I end up that way. But the grind must go on!!

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Well, you don't normally get to the end or even the middle without cards. And the truth is that, at the final table, short handed, there are going to be a lot of hands where nobody has a face card. Whoever bets it like they have it, wins. So position is huge.

I've found that, in a long tourney, there are almost always long stretches of card-deadness. (OK, once a year or so, if you play a lot, there's a tourney where you stay a luckbox the whole time. It's sweeeet.) It's hard to be patient as the blinds and antes grow. But it's necessary. Eventually, one gets a playable hand... well, almost always. It might not win, but it came. It's awful when one of those stretches comes 3-handed, tho.

Egon Towst said:

There is some merit in this suggestion. However, one should bear in mind that there are differences as well as similarities between an SNG and the final stages of an MTT. In the latter psychological elements such as tiredness, stress, and excitement over the size of the payouts can have a profound effect on opponents. That level of pressure is not found in a single-table game.

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Another thing to remember too is that reaching the three-handed stage of a single-table SNG usually means the bubble has just burst and that can have a huge impact on the way people play. Some players who have been nitting it up on the bubble suddenly turn super-aggro in an attempt to make up the ground that they've lost or just in sheer exhuberance at cashing. Some people figure they're guaranteed a payday now so they go crazy. And some previously aggressive players can suddenly go super-tight, hoping one of the abovementioned types of players will knock themselves out and give them a free payout jump.

These things aren't typically such a big factor when you're three-handed in an MTT because the post-bubble craziness happened before the final table and the players should be less prone to sudden changes in playing style.

"In the latter psychological elements such as tiredness, stress, and excitement over the size of the payouts can have a profound effect on opponents. That level of pressure is not found in a single-table game." This from Egon Towst

This is sooooo true!!! If you're playing in a 45 man SnG taking 2 hours max and first place pays $85 or $171 or higher depending on your BR the pressure is miniscule compared to a 7 or 8 hour MTT and the prize money brings on a whopping sense of anxiety. And poker being a game of decision making is affected by this anxiety (which you can use to your advantage because the others are also feeling that anxiety = tighten up, most of the time.) This is something that I have been working on as well-and meditation seems to be helping a little.


With 3 people left in a big MTT I dont think youre looking for advice anymore because most people are taking deals. But my advice would be to Relax, any which way you can, so that you can think and feel clearly clearly. You need to get a feel for when youre ahead or who is weak, and use calcultaed aggression. Because PO hits the nail on the head with "it depends!!!!!" its something you need to get a feel for, because soooo many factors come into play. Egon has a good post for final table play, and one thing he recommends is splashing some cold water over your face. Freshen up so that youre thinking clearer than your opponents, or just take a deal.