general mtt tourny guidelines?

David Slansky
Since the 2009 World Series of Poker is upon us, here are a few "Cliff Notes" concerning those aspects of tournaments not normally encountered by expert, higher stakes cash game players.
The big five are:

1. You must quit if you lose your chips.
2. The stakes are continually going up.
3. There will likely be some players at your table who play a lot worse than your normal opponents.
4. You are sometimes playing with or against a shortstack.
5. Once you are in the money or near it, your EV rises (without your chips increasing) when other players go broke.

Each one of these facts has an effect on the way an expert high stakes cash game player should adjust his strategy when playing in a tournament. Let’s look at them one at a time.

1. The fact that a player cannot reach into his pocket to buy more chips (except for the early stages of a rebuy tournament) is very significant in the late stages in a tournament and we will look at that when we get to No. 5. But, it is also a fairly important factor in the beginning of a tournament if all three of the following are true:

1. He plays a lot better than most of his opponents
2. The stacks are deep
3. The stakes rise slowly

Those last two factors definitely describe WSOP tournaments. I will let you be the judge as to whether that first factor describes you. If it does, the theoretical best strategy for you is to avoid slightly positive EV gambles for a large chunk of your chips. For example, it would be wrong to put yourself in a position where you would have a 51 percent chance of doubling up and a 49 percent chance of going broke if you estimate that you had a 55 percent chance of doubling up through conservative play. This admonition is clear cut if you are contemplating calling a big bet. It is less clear if you are contemplating making that bet (especially if you are against someone who, like you, wants to avoid big risks).

One time you might want to ignore this advice would be if there is something profitable you can do with your time if you bust out early. With so many tournaments going on the same day at the WSOP, you might want to factor that in.

2. There are two adjustments that you need to make due to the fact that the stakes are going up. One is to be aware that your medium stack might instantly turn into a small stack. If that is so, you should play that medium stack a tad looser than you would otherwise. But, this is of very minor significance at the WSOP where stakes rise so slowly.

The other adjustment is that you should "advertise" more than usual against strangers during the first one or two levels. Because the benefits you receive from that advertising will often come at higher stakes. If you are playing no-limit or pot-limit, you should bluff more than normal to help getting paid off later on. Playing limit, you should probably give off a tight image to help pull off a bluff down the road.

3. If there are relatively weak players at your table, it is important to identify them quickly and to figure out their weaknesses. After which it behooves you to try to play pots with them rather than the other good players at the table. Although that would also be your goal in a cash game, it is even truer in a tournament. Since you are trying to avoid close gambles, you should be even more averse than usual to confront other experts.

4. Shortstack strategy is not substantially different from normal play if the game is limit. But, in no-limit it is quite different. If you are used to playing deep stack no-limit games, you may need to brush up on the mathematics of those all in situations you will be encountering when the tournament stacks are small. Specifically, you will need a good understanding of when to shove up to three or four times the size of the pot if it will get you or the other player all in.

5. Although most people say that they "play to win," the fact is that situations occur where the smart thing to do is make the play that significantly increases your EV even though it reduces your chances of winning the tournament by a very small amount. For instance, suppose you were at the final table in fifth place, sixth through ninth places all had tiny stacks, and the chip leader moved in with what you were somehow sure was ace-king. To call with a pair would only be right if the bracelet was worth a lot more than the prize money as far as you were personally concerned.

This decision is even clearer cut if you have a very short stack and are just short of the money. If some stacks are even shorter there is little to gain by doubling up so it is better to avoid close gambles and just make sure you sneak into the money.

On the other hand, if your stack is not small and those of your opponent’s are, it is important that you recognize the situation and take advantage of the fact that shorter stacks will be very reluctant to take risks. If no one else has yet entered the pot, you will be looking to steal blinds and antes with a high proportion of your hands.