Late Stage Multi Table Tournament Strategy

Keeping your cool, outlasting hundreds of other players and making it to the late stage of an MTT is a great achievement but this is where the hard work really begins. You've lasted this long but now it's crunch time and you're going to be busy making moves and getting chips. You're eventually going to have to get every single chip in play so there's no time to waste.

In the late stages you'll see a lot of chips change hands as players jockey one another for position. Big all-in raises before the flop will be just as common as standard raises and people are going to start getting aggressive as the blinds get bigger and bigger. Your job is to steal every pot you can without getting caught. It takes a light touch and a cool head but if you stay focused, you can pull off the win.

Look for medium sized stacks and steal their blinds as often as you can. The medium-sized stacks are the most willing to fold because they don't have enough chips to call but they aren't so desperate that they'll call with a wide range of hands. If you have a big stack, you can steal from other big stacks because they usually try to avoid confrontations with other big stacks.

Your cards don't matter as much in the late stage because you don't want to see showdowns. The safest way to get chips is to make your opponents fold. If you run into something strong and have a showdown that's great but don't count on strong hands winning the tournament for you. It takes tenacity and aggression to win, not big cards.

Late position steals are the safest because you can make your move after all the people in front of you have folded. The only problem with late position steals is that people are more suspicious of them. If seven people in front of you fold and you push all-in from the button, you can bet the blinds will seriously consider calling you with anything decent.

Early position steals are riskier but they look more legit. If you raise something from under the gun, the other players at the table will assume you have a strong hand. The problem here is that you haven't seen what anyone else is going to do. In late position you have the advantage of aborting if someone goes all-in in front of you. You don't have the same luxury in early position.

Sometimes you'll get stuck at aggressive tables full of opponents who also like to steal. You'll have a hard time finding good spots because someone will always be trying to steal the pot before you get a chance to act. If this happens to you, you're going to have to add the 3-bet to your repertoire.

Try to identify the opponents who raise the most often and push all-in on top of one of their raises. It's a risky play but it's what you have to do if you're stuck with a bunch of chip thieves. The good thing is that when your re-steals are successful, not only do you win the blinds but you also win the money your opponent raised with.

When you make it to the bubble, you can really amp up the aggression to even more chips. Average poker players tend to tighten up during the bubble in the hopes of making it to the money. This is the perfect time for you to get out there and steal a bunch of chips. Some people will be thinking the same thing as you but if you avoid them and pick on the weaker opponents, you can pick up plenty of extra chips.

After the bubble breaks your opponents will loosen up again so you'll have to ease up on the aggression. Keep an eye out for chip-stealing opportunities while you wait for strong hands. If you're lucky enough to get a strong hand soon after the bubble, there's a good chance it'll be paid off.

When you make the money, make sure you keep your head in the game. You're in this tournament to win it so stay sharp. Look for the timid opponents, the loose opponents and the aggressive opponents and adjust your play for each one. If you keep up the hard work you'll be sure to make it deep.