Poker Tournament Strategy Guide 2025

Early Stages Tight Play

“Tight is right” is an old saying that refers to the beginning stages of a tournament. Once the beginning stages of a poker competition have commenced don’t make bets that are too big. Many experts refer to this as the ‘open small and bet often’ stage. So, you basically keep your bets small and consistent.

Let loose

So, once you have made it through to the next stage you can let loose a bit. Depending on the stack you are playing with. If you have a big stack then it’s advisable that you place bigger bets.

However, if you have smaller stacks then it is advisable that you make average size bets. The aim, in this case, is that you get a dream hand that will allow an ‘all-in’ bet.

Be Cautious of the Bubble

In a poker tournament, the bubble is a scenario where every player that remains makes it to the cash. In this case, every player is hanging on desperately to make it to the money. The majority of players begin to fold in this case, so you want to ensure that by the time this round comes, you have enough chips to make marginal bets.

Adapt and Change where necessary

The last table of the poker tournament is quite different from the rest of the tournament. The prizes in a poker competition go to the final top three players. In this part of the tournament, you have to keep your eye on the prize.

Poker Tournament Heads Up

When the top two players are identified, heads up poker comes into play. It will be of benefit for you to learn this game before playing it for real money. It is a simple game to understand in theory. Only two players are required for this variation.

Your poker face is much needed here as you’ll be making larger bets and you can’t just fold on every hand. Bets at this stage should be aggressive.