Winning Poker Tournament Key 1 – Know the Poker Tournament Structure

In the Introduction to Keys to Winning a Poker Tournament, I listed the five things I feel are the most important factors in winning poker tournament play and playing winning tournament poker.

5 poker tourney nuggets of advice

1.  Knowledge of the poker tournament’s structure.

2.  Knowledge of each opposing player’s tendencies.

3.  Wisdom to identify the proper time and place to push or fold.

4.  Courage to execute on your knowledge and wisdom.

5.  Discipline to stay the course and adjust as necessary (stay off tilt).

Today, we shall discuss winning poker tournament key #1.

Knowledge of the poker tournament’s structure

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Whether playing a home poker tournament, a back-room poker tournament, an online poker tourney, or playing live at a big casino’s poker tournament, you must become intimately familiar with your poker tournament’s structure.  The first question I ask the tournament director or host is a very general “what can you tell me about this tournament?”  It sounds like a very general question.  Rest assured, I am really asking several very specific questions.

I want to know from the tournament director how much the buy-in will cost (I also ask whether or not there is juice paid for entry to the tournament, as I want to know the total cost).  I also want to know if the poker tournament allows for rebuys or add-ons.  I want the tournament director to tell me how many chips we start with.

Get a copy of the tournament structure

Additionally, I ask for a copy of the blind structure.  The blind structure serves as my road map in the tournament, and allows me to plan my trip. I study the blind structure because I want to know what the blinds start out at, and how they progress.  I’m specifically looking to size up my starting chip stack, relative to the blinds.

This poker tournament information is important to me because as a poker tournament craftsman, I want to know where the poker tournament’s pressure points are, I want to know how fast or slow I have to play.  I also want to know where I can logically shift gears, as well as where other people are likely to shift gears.  The poker tournament’s blind structure gives me so much information, which is why I always ask the tourney host or tournament director for my own personal copy.

Finally, in knowing my poker tournament’s blind structure, considering we are playing poker tournaments to make money, it’s important to find out how the tournament is paid out, so be sure to ask for the payout structure as well.

imjusthere4thebeer

~ imjusthere4thebeer writes articles discussing poker strategy, poker tournament strategy, and cash game strategy for the Online Poker Circuit.  He also contributes editorial commentary on the world of poker to the OPC via his Poker Pub blog, and the State of Poker News.