In tournaments the first objective is to stay alive. Therefore, in the early stages, it is advisable to start with the highest possible hands.
As the tournament progresses, we must make the openings with the best ranks, but always with an efficient management of our stack, making payments that are profitable for us, either by the capital we have in hand or by the information we can obtain. That depends on the elapsed time of the tournament.
The more time passes, the more likely we are to have more accurate information about the characteristics of our rivals' game.
In a poker tournament, the aggression factor is crucial to becoming winners.
Aggression does not always mean
bluffing, but taking advantage of the opportunities that arise to put our rivals in a difficult situation to resolve.
For example, we are at a table with a large stack of 140 bb, we open 2bb from UTG and we are face to face with a CO player who plays very tight.
The flop does not represent a problem for us, because there are no projects and there is only one high card (A). Then we make a continuation bet of 1/3 and the opponent discards his hand.
In this type of situation, although we do not bet hard, little by little we are gaining chips and imposing a solid style of play.
But in the final stage of a tournament you have to play conservatively, because an error can leave you out, since the blinds are of great value.
Anyway, in a poker tournament you will have to be very lucky to reach important prizes.
Skill is necessary, aggression is essential, but luck will be a determining factor, which will often make the difference between finishing close to the prizes and collecting important amounts.
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