playing tight in a poker game tournament

lovido · Oct 2, 2018

When is the best time to play tight in a poker tournament, from the start or at the latter stages of the game, and how about you see yourself as the chip leader on a table? Because I do miss lots of opportunities when playing tight.

Danoncebay · Oct 2, 2018

It really depends, some people recommend playing tight when you are about to burst the bubble, however, personally at this stage is the most profitable to steal blinds and generate bluffs. On the other hand, being the chipleader also gives you the power to press everyone with the blinds since they know they should be careful with you.

jamie Smith · Oct 2, 2018

Well... at the early stage of a MTT you should always play tight, later in the stages of a tournament, if you should find yourself opening your range of hands you play with starting stacks........ focussing on the short stacks..... to manipulate them to fold....

najjah166 · Oct 2, 2018

it all depends on the temperament of the player, but generally play tight is always profitable, because in the table the other players know it, and it allows you to bluff from time to time, it succeeds

Bodomovac · Oct 2, 2018

lovido said:
when is the best time to play tight in a poker tournament, from the start or at the latter stages of the game, and how about you see yourself as the chip leader on a table? because i do miss lots of opportunities why playing tight.

I usually play little tight, but there is no universal answer. It all depends on the type of tournament (slow, fast, deepstack...) and type of players you are playing agains.

Also big component of your decisions should be your position on table. Depending on your position, you adjust your game style. Mix it up, don't be afraid.

migesan · Oct 2, 2018

in my opinion, to play at the start of the tournament, it turned out that it works if it plays patiently, I usually start playing a little bit more when I enter the bubble, after playing into the money it is easier to play.

JAAMEZz · Oct 2, 2018

i usually play less tight when blinds are lower, wont limp really but will open my range. when blinds get bigger w/ less people i tend to close my range a bit. and on the bubble depends, but i will use the bubble to apply pressure for sure

neptun1914 · Oct 3, 2018

It very much depends on the particular tournament and players inside it. For example if it is a public freeroll and there is a lot of "allin with every 2 cards" players it is a good idea to play tight in the first 15, 20 minutes till most of these players are either gone or build good enough stack to start playing more responsibly. another place where most people play tight is near the bubble especially if they have qualified for low amount of money (via satellite or if tournament is freeroll). Generally good advice is to play the opposite of the trend on the table. If most players are aggressive be tight and wait for strong hand to crush them. If they are tight be aggressive and steal from them.

ammje · Oct 21, 2018

I think you should play tight at the beginning of the tournament, you expect good hands because the blinds with so small that not worth seeing many flops, and not worth trying to steal bb.
When the blinds are bigger, I think you can increase your range of hands, I try more moves, like stealing and bluffing
.

akmost · Oct 21, 2018

I think you should play abc poker in the very beginning and after you are ITM , the chaos always happens between those two phases. Sometimes you should play some marginal spots in order to get ITM with a healthy stack and aim for a final table where all the money is.

Be the chip leader gives you a massive advantage over your opponents , you can see more flops you can apply more pressure and all that nice elements but don't go crazy and don't try to eliminate everyone , it's not your job. Your priority is to maintain a healthy stack when chip leading. Many inexperienced players get the CL and after few hands they are back to basics.Don't be one of those if you want to become a profitable player.

bstest · Oct 21, 2018

Tight in the beginning. Expand your range from mid to end. But TA is the standard for a winning game. And don't forget luck.

mariale_1990 · Oct 24, 2018

I play tight depending on the situation at the table, the tournament and my intuition, also depending on how much is needed for the bubble to explode ... being chip leader helps control a little more your opponents, that if you know how to use that to your favor, when and who to steal, when to do bluff

pepsilv · Oct 24, 2018

Depends on the table you ase playing sometimes you gotta play tight and some times you gotta play losse, depends on various stats of the table.

Ovuvuevuevue · Oct 24, 2018

Hey, there are many factors to determine whether to play tight or loose in a tournament. In the early stages it's always advisable to play very tight. This ensures that the bad players get weeded out and you can run deeper and closer to the money. Around the bubble where players are playing tight to reach the money you loosen up to take a lot of their chips and capitalize on their fear. Tighten up once the bubble has been burst and then play your own natural game when reaching the final table. Your stack size also matters when determining decisions. The bigger your stack size the tighter you should play because there's no reason to risk your chips. This is especially important during the later stages where ICM starts mattering and your chips are way more valuable. If your stack size is really small then you should be looking to all-in with premium hands to double up efficiently and still have a fighting chance. Other factors that affect your playstyle include your opponents, your skill level, the blinds and antes, the type of tournament, among others.

sibird · Oct 24, 2018

lovido said:
When is the best time to play tight in a poker tournament, from the start or at the latter stages of the game, and how about you see yourself as the chip leader on a table? Because I do miss lots of opportunities when playing tight.

What do you do when you have a shortage of money or running out of money? You try to minimize your expenditure. You spend only to buy essentials which are needed for your survival. You don't buy each and every item you wanted and You don't waste your money.

Now consider another picture. What will you do if you have more than enough money? You would probably buy everything you wanted to buy. You try to fulfill all your desires. You don't bother if some part of money is wasted.

And that is the answer to your question. If you have shortage of chips (say, less than 10xBB) then you must play very tight. You can't afford to lose any more chips. Your survival could be in danger.

On the other hand if you have abundance of chip, you can play loose and you can explore more. In this process if you lose some chips then it won't threaten your survival.

LuisBoaC · Oct 24, 2018

I like to start out tight when the blinds are low and there are lot of people shoving with very wide ranges (because I'm playing a freeroll or low buy-in). I then loosen up as the blinds increase and I need to start building a stack. A lot of players tighten up on the bubble so this is a good chance to steal some blinds with a wider range. Post bubble and near the end of the tourney the blinds/antes are so high you can't be too tight or they'll gobble you up. This is too often what happens to me, when I finally get a good hand I've barely any chips left, and everyone knows I have something cos it's the first hand I've played in ages, so I either win a small pot or lose to another very strong hand.
As well as the above I try to constantly adapt to my opponents and mix up my play. If the table is tight I loosen up and vice-versa. If I've had a run of good cards and won a few pots but haven't had to show my cards I will tighten up as people will be getting suspicious and playing back at me with a wider range. Etc.

Steve Deeble · Oct 24, 2018

I typically play tight at the beginning of the tournament and closer to the bubble. Most of the bad tournament decisions I’ve made was not playing tight around beginning and the bubble.

dbchristy · Oct 24, 2018

TAG unless you are CL then LAG no need to get crazy tho

tauri103 · Oct 24, 2018

if you are a beginner, I advise you to play tighter, and expand your range as you learn to play.

personally it depends on the table but I tend to play wide at the beginning and tighten my game thereafter. it also happens that I play wide again just before the bubble or if I have a chip advantage.

If you wait 30 or 40 hands to play a shot, you will miss the action. A hand with a high card is therefore a hand to play.

kddy · Oct 24, 2018

If you just start playing you should be more careful and selective with your hands to play, as you go grabbing experience your game will not be so conservative, of course in an FT is to play something Tight

acemenow · Oct 24, 2018

Depends on the game and the table I am on, most freerolls I start out loose and tighten up and on pay for tourney's I tag to lag

AKQ · Oct 24, 2018

definitely start tighter because of the implied odds or you could say definitely open your range due to implied odds lol I love poker theory

neverbluff · Oct 25, 2018

CC has an article on playing TAG - https://www.cardschat.com/tight-aggressive-poker.php

Generally, the more recreational players at my table (early stages) I'll play tighter. Especially deep stacked, there isn't much reason to fight over 5BB pots when you have 100BB. As you get closer to the money, and see how your opponents play, you can start opening up wider in certain spots. The idea is to have a default strategy internalized and then deviate from it once you notice a weakness in your opponents.

lovido · Oct 25, 2018

sibird said:
What do you do when you have a shortage of money or running out of money? You try to minimize your expenditure. You spend only to buy essentials which are needed for your survival. You don't buy each and every item you wanted and You don't waste your money.

Now consider another picture. What will you do if you have more than enough money? You would probably buy everything you wanted to buy. You try to fulfill all your desires. You don't bother if some part of money is wasted.

And that is the answer to your question. If you have shortage of chips (say, less than 10xBB) then you must play very tight. You can't afford to lose any more chips. Your survival could be in danger.

On the other hand if you have abundance of chip, you can play loose and you can explore more. In this process if you lose some chips then it won't threaten your survival.

so true

lovido · Oct 25, 2018

Hi, guys, yo'll have made good points and i think it's helping me a lot to improve my playing style.. Thanks.

playing tight in a poker game tournament

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