Know your game.

**CRKURNUTZ** · 01-30-2012, 04:28 PM

So here you are, you want to play a poker tournament but before starting out on your quest to action-packed excitement for what will be hopefully the next few hours; consider the amount of time you you're willing or able to invest in your tournament.

Avoid registering for a tournament that's going to last at least 3-4 hours if you need to be at the school to pick up your kid within the next two hours. When you first look at an event, you need to evaluate it's tournament structure the type of tournament is it deepstack, turbo, rebuys? What is the pay structure?.

It is always important to be aware of these things before choosing your game. How aware are you regarding tournament structures/blind levels? Here are some examples of blind structures in a typical microstakes $2 and change buyin on multiple sites that I found to be very interesting:

On Pokerstars the blinds go up every 15

minutes. They start at $10/$20 in the 1st level by level 10 they are $300/$600.

On Carbon Poker the blinds increase every 10 minutes. Like Pokerstars, they start out at $10/$20 but by level 10 you are playing $50 Ante & $250/$500 Blinds.

On Party Poker Every 12 minutes the blinds increase. They too start out at $10/$20 by level 10 they are $150/$300.

So while the buyin is the same and the blind levels start out the same; the entire structure of each tournament is completely different.

Deepstack: You start out with roughly 75-100 Blinds. Depending on the site most blind levels are 15-30 minutes in length. But again, it's the blind structure of the tournament that you need to watch out for.

The blind structure is where the majority of deep stack events actually end up being not so deep in the later levels. Many tournaments give players a lot of chips and then implement a tournament structure that it will enable the game to finish in the same amount of time as a normal stacked event. The Deepstack GTD $25 buyin on Doyles room is a classic example of this. Position is probably the most important in Deepstack Tournaments.

Turbo: Players will normally start out with 1500 chips.Turbos seem to be more suited for those whom prefer a more aggressive approach to the game. Position is not as relevant here (but still useful) compared to the Deepstack tournaments. I say this because the blind/stack ratio is very short to begin with.

There will be a lot of Pre-flop action and players will be shoving allin. It's very easy for stacks dwindle down quickly. The blinds usually increase every 5 minutes and it's not unusual to see other players at the table with short stacks (5-4 Blinds) within a very short period of time. You'll want to see as many flops as possible during the first 2-3 levels but then you will want to tighten up, play more premium hands & steal whenever possible.

The majority of players are looking for a double up and will shove with any hand that has showdown value. You have to pick your spots wisely here. If you have chips use this to your advantage on the bubble by pushing medium-sized stacks around. Avoid getting into hands other big stack cannons unless you think you have a premium hand.

Payout Structure: Is another important factor to consider. For example, if the top 20 players get paid but there's not much difference in profit between placing 20th-10th position then you're basically in the anti-bubble, the exact opposite of a bubble. It's a plateau or as I like to call it, a "flatliner". Play will be different here than from playing the bubble.

In bubbles, players tend to take fewer risks because short-term survival is essential. Larger stacks will be exploiting that by open-shoving a lot. Set goals into your game before you begin playing. Think about your intention.

Do you want to cash, finish in the top 3, the top 5 if the top 10 get paid, or do you want to win it all? Obviously your primary goal would be to win it, but many players would be satisfied with just placing ITM (In The Money).

So the next time you decide to enter a tournament remember to consider the type of game you would like to play. Know your game. Just like every poker player has his/her own unique style, they all have their game. Just be sure to know yours.