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Poker tournament strategy obviously has similarities to ring game strategy, but tournaments are also a different
animal from "regular" games. They require different strategic and tactical thought, actions and preparation. Many of this site's
Poker Strategy Articles and
Rec.Gambling.Poker Posts address tournament topics, so don't just stop
with the articles linked below, but for starters, here are some articles that focus specifically on tournament poker.
Tournament vs. Ring Game Strategy
Turn Turn Turn: Tournaments and ring games call for different strategies
Making Money Playing Tournament Poker
The wages of playing tournaments
Winning a Poker Tournament
The key thing to focus on
Risk Losing
To win a tournament, you must risk loss
Tournament Dealmaking
Let's Make a Deal: Monty Hall poker
Running Without the Ball
Making do, not making hands
Tournament End Games
Proper approach to end game of tournaments
Aggressive Short-Stack Play
Don't go quietly into the night at the end of tournaments
Proper Poker Pace
Fast enough to win, slow enough to finish
One-table Satellite Strategy
Sputnik poker
No Limit Hold'em Tournaments
Changing of the guard
The Fox and the Farmer
Chuck Thompson's classic article on Limit Hold'em tournament player styles
Seven Card Stud HiLo Tournament Strategy
Adaptation, not rigidity
HORSE Tournament Strategy
They key aspect of this type of mixed game tournament
Poker Tournament Structure Adjustments
Good players adapt to different structures
Man at the Top
We keep score via money, not endorphins
Tournament or Ring Game Specialists
Talented, limited players
Tournament Poker Hands
Win tournaments, not hands
Mental Poker
Tournament-specific thinking
World Poker Tour and the Maverick Syndrome
The World Poker Tour and Texas Holdem
How the TV program will affect the game
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
NBC's sixty-four player tournament
Best All-Around Player Awards
The effect of tournament best all-around prizes
What are Poker Tournaments
Poker tournaments are structured competitions where players compete against each other to accumulate all the chips in play.
In "normal" casino games, each hand is unrelated to any other. Players can quit whenever they want. In tournaments, players can not
quit and cash out their chips. Play continues until there is a winner.
 There are different types
of poker tournaments: "Elimination" or
"freeze out" tournaments are the most common type.
In this structure all players begin with the same amount of chips, and play continues until one player has accumulated all the chips. As players are
eliminated, the active players are re-seated at fewer and fewer tables. While the winner of the tournament is the player who accumulates all the chips,
the payout structure rewards several players. For example, if ninety-five players start a tournament, commonly the "final table" of nine
players would receive prize money -- with eighth getting a larger prize than ninth, seventh getting more than eighth, etc.
"Rebuy tournaments" are structures where for an initial
period of time, perhaps two hours, players who lose all their chips are allowed to "rebuy" more chips and continue to play. Rebuy tournaments
generally feature more aggressive play earlier on as players do not face the prospect of elimination if they lose all their chips. Rebuys often lead
to larger total prize pools being played for than would be standard for the initial entry cost.
In "shootout tournaments" tables are not combined
as players are eliminated. Rather, each table plays down to a single winner. Then table winners proceed to a finals portion of the event. So, if a
tournament starts with sixteen tables, the sixteen table winners then compete either in another shootout round or elimination style until there is
a winner. Shootout tournaments normally last many hours less than elimination events.
"Satellites" are preliminary, "mini" tournaments. For example, prior to a tournament costing $1000 to enter, ten players
each put up $100, with the winner advancing to the main event.
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