Single table tournaments have been my main source of income for the last 18 months and I’ve made a good living from them. I’ve occasionally given bits of advice on STT play on the forum, and I thought that writing this guide might help some members with their approach to this popular and potentially very profitable form of the game.I play 9 seat $100 and $200 tables, up to 4 at a time. I use this system but, as I have a lot of regular foes, I have to vary my play a bit more than I would if I was playing on the smaller stake tables, where there is more traffic. The basic strategies remain the same no matter what the stake.
Most people approach the STT in the wrong way. They play loose early, splashing around in lots of pots when the blinds are small. Then they tighten up as the blinds rise and the money approaches. These tendencies are easily exploitable and lead to most of the profit.
I’ve tried to make this guide as simple as possible, it is by no means comprehensive but hopefully someone will find it useful.
Stage 1 – I am a Rock
As you start with about 30 big blinds in most STTs there is an illusion that you have got a bit of play. In fact the game is very fast and the big blind will often be 10% of your starting stack within 30 hands. Most often one of two things will happen to the players who start out playing fast; they either double up or they go bust. If you play very tight, and play your premium hands hard, you will rarely go bust and sometimes you will double up. Conserving chips and staying in the game are more important at this stage than winning chips.
The first 2 or 3 levels you should play very tight. Play your big pocket pairs aggressively; there are lots of bad players who will pay you off. A-K and A-Q should also be played aggressively but be aware that a pre-flop raise and a continuation bet on the flop will cost you up to one third of your stack. If you’ve missed the flop, or it looks a bit scary then don’t make continuation bets against more than one opponent. Against one opponent you can bet the flop (1/2 to 2/3 of the pot) if you’ve missed but if you get called then give up. Middle pairs should also be played aggressively pre-flop but even more cautiously after the flop unless you hit your set, be prepared to let your hand go if you meet resistance on a rag flop.
You can call with small pairs when in late position, you are trying to flop a set and when you miss the flop don’t try to bluff at it. Don’t call raises with small pairs except perhaps min raises when in late position or on the big blind. If you call in early position you will often find that you end up throwing away your hand to a raise behind you or calling a raise and investing more than you would like on the 8 to 1 shot of hitting your set.
Hands like A-J, K-Q etc can be dumped pre-flop, you don’t want to be messing about with these type of hands at this stage. This obviously isn’t very exciting, but don’t worry you’ll have plenty of fun soon enough.
Spend this time observing your opponents, try to determine the tight players so you can steal their blinds later, who will make loose calls to defend their big blind and who will fold to a reraise.
As you start with about 30 big blinds in most STTs there is an illusion that you have got a bit of play. In fact the game is very fast and the big blind will often be 10% of your starting stack within 30 hands. Most often one of two things will happen to the players who start out playing fast; they either double up or they go bust. If you play very tight, and play your premium hands hard, you will rarely go bust and sometimes you will double up. Conserving chips and staying in the game are more important at this stage than winning chips.
The first 2 or 3 levels you should play very tight. Play your big pocket pairs aggressively; there are lots of bad players who will pay you off. A-K and A-Q should also be played aggressively but be aware that a pre-flop raise and a continuation bet on the flop will cost you up to one third of your stack. If you’ve missed the flop, or it looks a bit scary then don’t make continuation bets against more than one opponent. Against one opponent you can bet the flop (1/2 to 2/3 of the pot) if you’ve missed but if you get called then give up. Middle pairs should also be played aggressively pre-flop but even more cautiously after the flop unless you hit your set, be prepared to let your hand go if you meet resistance on a rag flop.
You can call with small pairs when in late position, you are trying to flop a set and when you miss the flop don’t try to bluff at it. Don’t call raises with small pairs except perhaps min raises when in late position or on the big blind. If you call in early position you will often find that you end up throwing away your hand to a raise behind you or calling a raise and investing more than you would like on the 8 to 1 shot of hitting your set.
Hands like A-J, K-Q etc can be dumped pre-flop, you don’t want to be messing about with these type of hands at this stage. This obviously isn’t very exciting, but don’t worry you’ll have plenty of fun soon enough.
Spend this time observing your opponents, try to determine the tight players so you can steal their blinds later, who will make loose calls to defend their big blind and who will fold to a reraise.
Stage 2 – Crank it up
There are two ways of playing in Stage 2, how you play will depend on how many chips you have.
By level 3 or 4 you will normally have lost a few players the blinds will now be starting to hurt if you haven’t doubled up yet. It is time to get busy. If you have 10 big blinds or less the method is simple - bet your whole stack any time you enter a pot.
The range of hands that you push with will depend on many factors. I’m not going to say ‘you have this hand so you should do that’, but I will go through some of the factors that need to be considered before you decide; push or pass. Your aim is to pick up the blinds uncontested most of time and to try and avoid being dominated if you are called.
Your cards, obviously if your hand is strong enough you can push from any position. Be wary of pushing with weak aces, as all too often the caller will have a stronger ace. You are better off pushing with K-Q than A-6.
Your position, the less players you have to get through the better, you need a much stronger hand to push UTG than you do on the button.
Short stacks, if either of the blinds is very short then you need a stronger hand, as you are more likely to be called. Also be aware when your push has to go through a very short stack before reaching the blinds, often these players have given up and will call with all sorts of hands.
Using your observations, work out which players are more likely to pass and attack them. The middle stacks are your natural prey as they have the most to lose by calling. Big stacks can be attacked providing you have enough chips to do them significant damage.
There is no need to panic until you get down to 6 or 7 big blinds, after that you need to be pushing at least once a round just to stay ahead of the blinds and retain your fold equity. Get down to 5 big blinds and you need to be pushing any chance you get.
In the words of Amir Vahedi: "To live, you must be willing to die."
Much of the time you will have a larger stack, then you don’t need to play move in poker just yet. You can start stealing from the medium stacks and using your observations about your opponents. Steer clear of the other big stacks - unless you have a massive hand, the potential loss is not worth the risk.
Don’t get too attached to your big blind, just treat those chips as chips in the middle, the same as any other hand. If someone is relentlessly attacking your blind then the resteal becomes a powerful play if you’ve seen him fold to reraises before, you don’t always need a hand to make this play. Some people won’t pass, you’ll need a much bigger hand to reraise these players, as it will likely go to showdown.
Getting your chips in first is vitally important, your calling requirements will depend on how loose the bettor is, but err on the side of caution - if you call, you only have one way to win the hand.
There are two ways of playing in Stage 2, how you play will depend on how many chips you have.
By level 3 or 4 you will normally have lost a few players the blinds will now be starting to hurt if you haven’t doubled up yet. It is time to get busy. If you have 10 big blinds or less the method is simple - bet your whole stack any time you enter a pot.
The range of hands that you push with will depend on many factors. I’m not going to say ‘you have this hand so you should do that’, but I will go through some of the factors that need to be considered before you decide; push or pass. Your aim is to pick up the blinds uncontested most of time and to try and avoid being dominated if you are called.
Your cards, obviously if your hand is strong enough you can push from any position. Be wary of pushing with weak aces, as all too often the caller will have a stronger ace. You are better off pushing with K-Q than A-6.
Your position, the less players you have to get through the better, you need a much stronger hand to push UTG than you do on the button.
Short stacks, if either of the blinds is very short then you need a stronger hand, as you are more likely to be called. Also be aware when your push has to go through a very short stack before reaching the blinds, often these players have given up and will call with all sorts of hands.
Using your observations, work out which players are more likely to pass and attack them. The middle stacks are your natural prey as they have the most to lose by calling. Big stacks can be attacked providing you have enough chips to do them significant damage.
There is no need to panic until you get down to 6 or 7 big blinds, after that you need to be pushing at least once a round just to stay ahead of the blinds and retain your fold equity. Get down to 5 big blinds and you need to be pushing any chance you get.
In the words of Amir Vahedi: "To live, you must be willing to die."
Much of the time you will have a larger stack, then you don’t need to play move in poker just yet. You can start stealing from the medium stacks and using your observations about your opponents. Steer clear of the other big stacks - unless you have a massive hand, the potential loss is not worth the risk.
Don’t get too attached to your big blind, just treat those chips as chips in the middle, the same as any other hand. If someone is relentlessly attacking your blind then the resteal becomes a powerful play if you’ve seen him fold to reraises before, you don’t always need a hand to make this play. Some people won’t pass, you’ll need a much bigger hand to reraise these players, as it will likely go to showdown.
Getting your chips in first is vitally important, your calling requirements will depend on how loose the bettor is, but err on the side of caution - if you call, you only have one way to win the hand.
to be continued...