How to Make a Deep Run in Your Next Online Poker Tournament

One of the many silver linings that has come from the Covid-19 pandemic is the emergence of online poker tournaments as a mainstream activity. While popular prior to 2020 as well, participant numbers have boomed over the past few years in online tournaments, bringing with them significant increases in prize money. With such high stakes, here’s how to go deep in an online poker tournament by using intentionality and strategy.

Go Deep in Online Tournaments by Starting Easy

With some online poker tournaments attracting prize pools of more than $20 million, it is crucial to head into any event with a clear strategy in mind.

An approach that famous poker player Daniel Negreanu recommends, is to start slow. The reality is, many big online poker tournaments will have well more than 1000 participants, making the field very cluttered in the first hours of a tournament. At this stage, what it all comes down to is survival.

As the saying goes: You can’t win a poker tournament on the first day, but you sure can lose it.

To go deep in an online tournament, start by playing incredibly tight. Only move on large premium pairs in your pocket and wait for 90% of players to bust before you begin widening your range.

Make the Most of the Bubble When it Comes

One of the stages of an online poker tournament that brings the most stress to players is the bubble.

This occurs when enough participants have been knocked out of the tournament, that soon players will win prize money when they exit. Heading towards this stage, all players want to make it into the money, so they begin playing more cautiously.

However, anyone who has experience online casino India real money at Casumo will know that this can be the best time to move up the ranks in a poker tournament. Players who find themselves at this stage of an online tournament and have a reasonably sized stack should consider capitalising on this phenomenon to win easy folds.

By playing aggressively, cheap pots can be won from smaller stacked players who are simply hanging on until the bubble bursts, rather than playing each hand based on its merits.

Take Calculated Risks Ahead of the Final Table

While it’s important to bide your time in an online poker tournament and play patiently, there’s also a time and a place to take calculated risks.

An approach that the most successful poker players of all time recommend, is doing this before making the final table of a tournament. Once a final table has been decided, it becomes difficult to claw back from being a small stack at the table, as the range of many players will open up significantly.

This makes it better to start taking enough risks to develop a healthy pot before the final nine players in an online tournament. Once the bubble has burst and the end is in sight, often this is where the tournament is won.

Head into the final table with a healthy stack, and the game is yours for the taking; fail to do so, and you’ll likely struggle to get much further.