How to survive a tournament what are some good goals?

I usually try to win one hand every time the blind goes up is one goal, another is to make it to the final table. Once I was chip leader and my goal was to not play any hands because people were very low on chips and the blinds would soon eliminate them.

So, what are some things you do to survive?

There isn't really any reason for having any short term goals when you're playing a tournament, you should be taking one hand at a time. For each hand, you should take into account all the parameters and play it the best you can using those.

You should always be playing to win the tournament you're playing in (there are some very rare exceptions to this), it's not about survival, it's about winning, understanding this will help your game tremendously.

Players have different views on how to play the big stack and it depends on the situation, but you should be bullying the other players more often than not

dsanga01 said:

I usually try to win one hand every time the blind goes up is one goal, another is to make it to the final table. Once I was chip leader and my goal was to not play any hands because people were very low on chips and the blinds would soon eliminate them.

So, what are some things you do to survive?

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Its hard to give an answer here. Are you playing turbos, deep stack, how long are the blind levels, what rate do the blinds increase?

Each format will have a different strategic approach. And as mentioned, your goals may be a bit off base. Your goal in any MTT is to make money, and as much as you can. Saying "I am chip leader, I will not play any hands" is a self defeating way to play. When you have chips, its time to put pressure on your opponents. But you must also be paying attention and know when and who to pressure.

Harrington on Hold em 1+2, Tournament poker strategy are two good books to start with.

A good goal is not to lose all your chips too early

Sometimes, when down to two tables and I am stack leader and I notice that several players will soon be all in because of the amount of blinds I will hold off on playing hands unless they are very powerful. This strategy had gotten me to the final table and into the money.

At the final table I will put pressure on the blinds and bet aggressively. I notice chip amounts and try to predict when low stacks will be going all in.

dsanga01 said:

I usually try to win one hand every time the blind goes up is one goal, another is to make it to the final table. Once I was chip leader and my goal was to not play any hands because people were very low on chips and the blinds would soon eliminate them.

So, what are some things you do to survive?

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Just my $.02, but I would say the first thing you should do is change your way of thinking. It's not about survival (at least to me), it's about winning. If you're thinking about survival, I wanna be at your table because I will quietly get stronger and stronger in chips playing you and anyone else who wants to just "survive".

That's just my way of doing things, and I'm sure there are others who have a different approach. But the way I play, either I bust early or end up at the final table with a mountain of chips. Either way, I am attacking. Especially when smaller stacks are just trying to survive.

Granted, I bust more often, but I also win more money when I do cash. I'd rather have less cashes and more money than having more cashes and less money.

first goal in any tourney is to make the monwy after that u could relax and play the best u can but knowing u made some money..of course making final table and winning it is the main goal but not always happens.

Play your best and play to win. Those are the fundamental goals you should have for just about any tournament. Any others just supplement those goals.

Others to keep in mind (regarding turbo/regular SNGs): don't get short enough to lose fold equity, pay attention to how people play their blinds (I need to get better at this one).

I normally aim to always have at least 50BB, unless I go over 100BB, then i try to stay above 75BB. I also always aim for the final table, and then i play tight there to try and get higher up. I also never play a hand unless it is AA during the bubble.

Jonathan Gerhard said:

I normally aim to always have at least 50BB, unless I go over 100BB, then i try to stay above 75BB. I also always aim for the final table, and then i play tight there to try and get higher up. I also never play a hand unless it is AA during the bubble.

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mistakes here on many levels. Im not trying to be mean, but this thinking is not gonna benefit anyone but the others on your table. First off, ou cant plan your BB's. And only AA on the bubble almost guarantees you having your blinds stolen constantly (the players will notice your tightness and exploit you mercilessly, if they know what they are doing) as well as making your AA worthless, as no one will call your raise. Tight on the final table is the best way to finish 3rd-10th. You want first, you need to play and not sit around waiting for AA.

Be patient and play right. Sometimes it is hard to win a hand every 5 mins. because you are card dead. If you are involved in the hand, it doesn't hurt to pay attention to the table so that when you are in a hand you have a better idea of the range of an opponent's hand.

OK, I`ll be serious here....

When I`m playing I look to stay around middle position until we get near the money.

Now I mean here after the first hour break. I also want to keep withing 3 double ups of the chip leader.

I follow the above mainly to keep my patience - I think some people can get too carried away with wanting to be chip leader early on.

A lot of people in this thread have mentioned winning. I agree, I would prefer to be playing to win rather than to limp into the cash. However, like everytime u play any kind of poker, its about making the right decision.

This is answer to the OP "How to survive a tournament what are some good goals?"

In every tournament my goal is to make the final table. It takes a certain amount of chips to make the final table. I add all the chips in play and divide by nine and start going on a quest for that number plus 10%.

heehawkid said:

In every tournament my goal is to make the final table. It takes a certain amount of chips to make the final table. I add all the chips in play and divide by nine and start going on a quest for that number plus 10%.

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What's nice about your approach is that it takes overwhelming distractions out of the equation. A perfect example of an overwhelming distraction to me when I first started was staring at the size of the field and feeling defeated before I even started due to the sheer number of players in the field.

Definitely a nice way to concentrate on your plan of stack-attack in a very simple and ATTAINABLE manner. Two thumbs up!!:icon_thum :icon_thum

I usually play very tight at the start and only play premium hands for the first couple of blind levels. The problem in big fields is that you tend to get moved about a lot in the early stages which makes it difficult to get a read on players. To do well in tournaments you need to take chances at some stage and you also need to be willing to get into flips when the odds allow. I guess it depends on how much getting a small payout means to you rather than going deep and making some real cash.

Sometimes it helps to set goals during each break.

Not the kind you cant do anything about like how many bbs you have and where you want to be in relation to the chip leader, etc.

I like to set goals that are related to the tournament structure and my table. I will set goals such as "I will exploit the player in the sb when Im in the BB because he doesnt call a certain size raise preflop" "I will exploit the player 3 to my left who plays in a predictable way" if the situation is correct. Small goals are just like metnatl notes about the players on your table.

I used to set goals like "I will just try to make it to the next break and then the next break etc." That doesnt work because sometimes you dont catch an A/K when youre allin preflop to a pair of jacks. So setting more realistic goals helped a little. Adapt, adapt, adapt: to the structure of the tournament, the players on your table, and the relative stack sizes, etc.

Whenever i play a tournament i try to wait for big hands

leefolds said:

Whenever i play a tournament i try to wait for big hands

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See you at the rail.

leefolds said:

Whenever i play a tournament i try to wait for big hands

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Bring a wrestler with you. They all have big hands............

In really large field tourneys (like 5000 player freerolls) I tend to play very little for the first hour if there is a lot of action. I also do other things during really long tourneys and since I'm distracted I end up playing tighter. I start to really pay attention around 1/2 way through. I don't usually think of goals until deep in the tourney. In smaller tourneys I don't think about surviving, I just play, although if shorter stacked I might try to survive to certain money levels before making a move.

When I was starting out I had goals related to learning poker, like focus on position or try different bet sizing.

If you're trying to survive large field tournaments, you're doing it wrong.

dsanga01 said:

I usually try to win one hand every time the blind goes up is one goal, another is to make it to the final table. Once I was chip leader and my goal was to not play any hands because people were very low on chips and the blinds would soon eliminate them.

So, what are some things you do to survive?

Click to expand...

Not to be a dick but seriously, you're looking at tournament play completely wrong.

Otherwise.. why not change your goal to.. "I want to win 30 hands every time the blinds go up!... and at least 6 hands per orbit!" (< makes about as much sense as your goal here to be honest).

My goal when playing..... I want to make as many correct decisions as they arrive.. one hand at a f'n time. Ultimately I WANT TO WIN!!!

Okay.. thought of a few goals here for MTT play:
I will not punt my stack away (after building a decent stack.. say in mid-levels) & then taking a crushing blow when an uber-fish gets it in a a HUGE DOG.. and losing a big chunk to the fool... I WILL NOT LET THIS AFFECT future decisions.. I WILL NOT PUNT!! (this goal has been an easy one to make).
I will celebrate the FISH on the tables. I will not be upset when I get boinked 40-50bb's deep (in mid levels) in multiple tourneys at around the same time, getting it in way ahead in each case. nope.. as my table closes I will dream happily to myself.. "ah.. for the love of donks. Thank God for the donkeys!! Please.. keep them coming & may more of them find a means to deposit with and may they fill my table at crucial moments of MTTs & will they please continue to get it in real bad... like they're not even capable of thought (< this goal.... I am still working on!!!)
can't think of any others right now.....