PokerWorks

When you sign up for a tournament at PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker, do you have a goal of making the money? The final table? You would be surprised how many people consistently set low goals when it comes to playing poker. Your goal... each and every time you play... should be to win the poker tournament. If you are on top of your game, focuses, paying attention to the other players at your table you should feel that you can win any poker tournament that you enter. This isn't ego... it's confidence... and every good poker player MUST have this kind of attitude going into a tournament. You can't go into a tournament thinking “I just want to double up in the first hour” or “I just want to make the money” or “I don't want to be the first one out.” Having a losing attitude leads to losing play. Go in with the attitude that you are going to do whatever it takes to win... and... you just might!

Now, of course, you probably do want to double your stack in the first hour and make the money. These are good goals to have and they will put you into position so that you can win, but if these are your only goals you will end up facing situations that you should not be putting yourself in.

But how do you go about playing to win every tournament you enter? Obviously, the likelihood of that happening is slim to none... it's a mathematical impossibility. A good poker player, however, will put themselves in the position where they have the best chance to win every time they play (and this is where doubling up in the first hour/making the money come into play). You have to get a read of your table and figure out what players you can take advantage of, who is tight and likely to fold to a steal raise, who is loose and likely to donate chips to you with top pair weak kicker (and also likely to bust you if you aren't careful).

One of the best things you can do early in a tournament is to not risk all your chips without the nuts. The only time, early in a tournament, you should go all in is with A-A pre-flop or the stone cold nuts post-flop, and usually then only if you are sure your opponent will call, because it's a waste of the nuts if your all in bet induces a fold when a smaller bet would have gotten a call and added chips to your stack.

There are some things you can do to help you gain the confidence you need to feel like you are capable of winning any tournament you enter. Study the game. Look at the hands you played. Learn from the successful ones... why did they work? Look at the failures... why did they fail? What could you have done differently to avoid those failures? You are ALWAYS going to make mistakes; the key is to minimize the number you make and the amount of chips that the mistakes you do make cost you.

What's the final answer at how do you play to win? There isn't a definitive answer. The key is to figure out what works best for you. If you don't feel comfortable seeing every other flop early in the tournament than determine how you can accumulate the most chips with the style of play that you use. Be confident with the decisions you make. Follow through. Don't let fear of failure... fear of losing money... come in between the decision you should make and the decision you do make. If you make decisions based on wanting to win... you will. Win, that is.