hello guys, im totally cash players online and live and i am trying to learn tournment before i study i want to ask few questions.

1. what is optimal theory or play on tournment?
give improper odds to opponents? or take down the pot immediately is important?


2. i think on tournment, people use small bet sizing compared to cash game. i am just curious why?


3. in cash i usually 3b in position 3x and oop 4x on preflop. i think on tournment, people use smaller size bet. how much 3b on preflop on tournment?

At 100 bb's it's the same, some will argue stack prevention some against. It changes effective bb's. Can't really put it in a vacuum. 100bbs is not like 60bbs is not like 30bbs etc.

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*stack preservation

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1) Playing in a tournament you have to have recognition that once you lose all of your chips, you are out. So there has to be some "survival" aspect for strategy. My coach teaches me that could be built in by looking for edges. In cash games it is correct to call with 34% at 2:1 pot odds. In an MTT, you want some sort of edge to take that risk. Instead of 34%, maybe looks for 36% equity to have an edge.

Basically, the near 0 cEV spots should be avoided. Look for edges approximately the value of the small blind and larger in high ICM spots.

2) Small bet sizing allows a player to play aggressive without risking as much when the aggression doe snot go right. Let's compare a standard cash line: Hero raises to 3BBs, get called and the pot going to the flop is 7.5 BBs. Hero bets 5BBs on the flop with air and gets c/r and has to fold. Hero loses 8BBs.

IN an MTT, hero bets 2.25 BBs gets called, and the pot is 7BBs (with antes) and hero bets 3BBs same results as above. In this instance, hero "saved" 2.75BBs. With 100+ stacks, not that much of a big deal. But if you had say a 30BB stack, that saved 2.75BBs is huge.

3) I base it on stack size. With 100+ stacks, I use 3x still for opens and 3b sizing. Adding 1/2BB for OOP 3bets. Once I get down to around 60BBs, I reduce both to 2.5x. Under 40, I go down to 2.1x - 2.2x for both.

Bet smaller. Learn Push Fold charts. Learn how to play 25BB stack, as much of the $ is when that is the average stack. Realize that hands like 76s and 55 suck at those levels (when facing a raise, unless you can profitably shove). Learn when you have fold equity, as this is the MOST important part of short to medium stack poker.

knowing people's approach and willingness to going broke at various stages. understanding, at least, that it is dynamic and different from cash.

1) If you try to take down pots immediately you are almost always giving opponents improper odds to call. I think the question is: do you want to end hands early or try to milk opponents for more chips by getting them to call tempting bets while risking losing the pot?

Early on in tournaments I try to chip up as much as I can. In later stages I tend to try to take down pots if they would add a significant % of my stack.

2) This is the "small ball" style vs "long ball". When you play small ball, you win less but you lose less. For me I prefer small ball, especially early on because it allows me to play more hands. But in position with limpers in front of me I will raise to a large amount. This will often take down the pot. And when it doesn't, then I am playing a big pot in position (risky but odds should be favorable).

3) Again this is a small ball vs long ball question. I think early on I tend to 3-bet larger (like 3x plus 1x for every other person in the pot). With fewer chips (less than 75 bb's), I tend to go to 2.75x + 1x for every other caller in the hand, and under 50bb's its 2.5x + 1x for every caller. I don't ever go below 2.5x because then the other player will have greater incentive to call and we lose that part of the 3-bet advantage. When below 25 BB's I am just shoving anyway.

I do make adjustments for position (so my 3 bets from the blinds tend to be larger). And on occasion I will make the 3-bet smaller on the Button with no other callers. But mostly I want to try to buy the button with my 3-bet.