Early Stage Strategy for Multi Table Tournaments

In the beginning of a multi table tournament (MTT) the blinds are small, the stacks are big and there are hundreds or thousands of players still left, hoping to make it to the final table. It feels like you have a big mountain to climb but if you play it smart during the early stages of a MTT, you'll live to see the majority of your competition eliminated for you.

The best strategy during the early stages of an MTT is to play tight, keep your eyes open and only get involved when you have a very strong hand. The blinds are too small to be worth stealing and your opponents are too loose for you to do anything but play straightforward poker.

When the blinds are small it's tempting to play extra hands and take a bunch of cheap flops but that's not how you win MTTs. The chips you spend to see cheap flops add up quickly and if you hit a marginal hand, it can lead to disaster early on. Instead, you should save your chips and put them to use later in the tournament.

Your early stage strategy should be focused more on chip conservation than chip accumulation. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take opportunities when they present themselves; it just means you don't need to go out of your way to make things happen.

Avoid easily dominated hands like AT and KJ in the early stages of a tournament. When the stacks are deep, you're not likely to get in all-in situations against hands weaker than those. Instead, you're much better off sticking with premium hands like the big pocket pairs TT-AA, AK and AQs. Small pocket pairs are also good for set hunting if you're in late position and several people are already in the pot.

When in early position, you should play even tighter. The worst thing you can do in a tournament is get stuck with an iffy hand from early position. It's hard to tell where you stand when in early position and it costs more to find out when someone has you beat. You can't just top off your stack in a tournament like you can in a cash game so treat those chips like gold.

In late position you can open up your game a little. Stick with the premium hands I mentioned above and if you're the first person to enter the pot, come in with a raise. Hands like the big suited connectors TJs and above are OK from late position as long as you don't get too attached. If you play a marginal hand from late position, be ready to fold it as soon as you take any heat. It's not worth blowing the tournament on a speculative hand.

I'm not advising you to turn into a rock by any means, but you do need to be careful during the early stages of an MTT. Tight-aggressive poker is the best way to win chips and stay out of trouble. It's good to get the chips from the weak players before other people do but don't risk your tournament doing so. Be patient and look for solid opportunities. In the early stages, the best way to earn chips is to simply have the best hand at showdown.