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The later stages of a multi-table tournament are the stages that separate the good poker players from the great poker players. Players who regularly final table and can be seen winning MTT’s often take advantage of the opportunities that arise at this stage of a tournament.

Playing tight late in tournaments

This is a mistake novice pkr.com poker players and some more advanced players make when playing MTT’s. They tighten up as blinds increase. Being more selective about that hands you play the later you get in tournaments is not a bad thing, as adjusting your hand selection is the correct thing to do. However, players can go too far and start folding hands they should not.

Playing hands like 9s-10s is a good idea early in MTT’s, when you have plenty of big blinds. However, do not just stop playing this hand as the blinds increase. For example, if you find you have 9s-10s in late position with no other players yet involved in the hand, it would be a mistake to fold 9s-10s. It is counter productive to stop playing hands like this and limit your opportunities to steal blinds.

Loosening up late in Tournaments

The reason loosening up late in MTT’s work is because pkr rakeback players begin to notice the size of the raise less and the actual cards they have more. This presents an opportunity that is not possible earlier in tournaments.

For example, later in a tournament with blinds at 600-1200 and 100 antes, most tight players will fold hands like 10-8 off suit and everything below regardless of the raise. If you raise to 3000, 3400 or 3800, it usually does not make a difference. Therefore, by choosing to raise by just 3000 will usually have the same result as if you where to raise by 3800.

Most poker players fail to realize this. Playing looser in later position when the blinds are higher is more effective than when blinds are small. It is also more profitable as you can also win the antes as well as the larger blinds.

This is just a loose generalization of playing late in MTT’s. You have to consider other things before committing to raise from late position. Stack size of opponents, blinds, the amount of big blinds that you have, and how tight your opponents on the small blind and big blind all have to be taken into consideration to truly use the looser approach late in MTT’s effectively. Nevertheless, as a rule opening your range or at least not limiting it is a good rule for increasing you chip stack so you can reach the final table.

Before you can learn how to beat double up tournaments on a consistent basis you’re going to need to understand what type of tournament this is. Not many online poker rooms offer double up tournaments yet, but there are several including Poker Stars that currently have this tournament structure. Generally you’re only going to find this type of tournament played online with 10 players at the table with the top 5 making money.

Since the goal of the tournament is to double your buy-in the top 5 out of 10 players win money. You almost double your money in these tournaments and the only reason you don’t is because of the tournament fee. If you have a poker rakeback deal in place though then you can lower the amount you’re losing on fees which will help your bottom line when you’re playing this type of tournament.

These tournaments are known to be very tight and the further you go up the buy-in level the tighter the tournament usually gets. If you make one mistake in these tournaments it can cost you your entire tournament so you need to be careful. You should really only play your premium hands early on. If you manage to double up on someone early on then you’ll be in great shape to make the money. If you don’t have that many chips after the early stages of the game then you might need to open up your range a little bit.

You will need to start trying to be the aggressor at the table a bit so that you can take down some blinds and antes from the other players. If you aren’t winning any chips in these tournaments then the blinds will eventually eat you up and you’ll wish that you would have made a stand earlier on. If you’ve been playing tight during the early stages of the tournament then you should be able to get away with stealing the blinds a couple times once they go up. Make sure you play your position and try to steal the blinds when you’re in a good position too.

In this type of poker tournament you don’t need to play a lot of hands nor do you need to win many hands. You can get away with winning one big hand in this type of tournament format. If you can double up in the early rounds of the tournament then most players will be scared to play against you unless they have a monster. You can use this to your advantage because you’ll be able to steal a lot of blinds. If anyone re-raises the pot then you can determine at that point whether you should just fold or whether you should put the other player all-in.

Once you get the hand of playing double-up tournaments you’ll be able to start trying to multi-table them so you can increase your earnings. You don’t need to play 10 at a time, but if you can learn to play 3-4 games at a time then you will see a huge increase in the amount of money you’re making for the time you’re committing.

Going on Tilt can be one of the most expensive things that can happen to a poker player. It is also the main reason why poker players lose their entire bankroll.
In order to stop yourself from tilting, you need to find out the main reasons that cause your tilt, so you can avoid tilting and losing your bankroll. Most are easy to notice, but you would be surprised how often it even the best players can go on tilt.

Reason Poker Players go On Tilt

1. Bad Beats – This is probably the main reason poker players go on tilt. The key to stopping yourself from tilting after a bad beat is to understand it is a part of poker. Poker is a game made up of mostly skill. However, there is a large percentage of poker that involves luck. Once you realize bad beats are a part of the game of poker, you will be able to take it on the chin and move on.

2. Cold Cards – This is another big reason players at Ultimate Bet Poker end up tilting. A bad run of cards is where they seem to lose blind after blind. The thing to remember is that all cold streaks eventually end. What makes a great player, a great player is the fact that they can sit and wait for the cold cards to end. What ever you do, do not open up the range of your hands you play because you have a bad run of cards.

3. Opponents winding you up – Letting an opponent get under your skin is another cause of tilt. I am sure you have seen it on TV, one guy winding the other guy up – trying to get them to tilt and take advantage. The easiest way to stop this is ignoring the opponent. If anything, this can send the other player on tilt if he cannot get you to play his game.

4. Personal reasons – Taking personal baggage to the felt is potentially the most costly reason player’s tilt. For example, if you have a fall out with the wife or girlfriend and are angry, you can end up losing your bankroll very fast. If you are angry or if you have your head somewhere else and not focused on poker, do not play.

They are many more reason player go on tilt. These are just the most common reasons. However, I have noticed players go on tilt for the strangest reasons. Some players are very easy to tilt, some are impossible. Nevertheless, this is what separates the good players from the great players. Just remember, do not tilt.