Yesterday we discussed the various stages of tournaments, and covered Stage One – The First Hour.  You can read it here. 

Stage Two – Making it to the Bubble. Once any rebuy opportunities have ended and a good number of (possibly weaker) players have been eliminated, your next goal is to make it to the bubble. Usually this is the top 10% of the field, so in a tournament of 2000 players, approximately 200 players will be left.

I consider this one of the most important stages to learn. Obviously, making it to the money is important to your bankroll, but learning to play this stage well will make you a better player overall. It takes a lot of time and practice to learn how to outlast hundreds (or thousands) of other players.

Patience is exceptionally important now, because you may be tempted to enter too many pots with mediocre hands.  By resisting this urge and waiting for key hands and opportunities (not necessarily always prime cards), you will be training your instincts to react to smart plays, rather than emotional ones.

This is the marathon stage. Action usually slows down and you have to train yourself to pay close attention to what the other players are doing, whether you are in the hand or not. Even online, it is possible to pick up tells from the other players, and if you are watching closely they become quite clear. Watch the cards and how the other players react. Are you at a very aggressive table, where more than three or four players are involved in a lot of pots, or are most people folding to a single raise? Use this information to your advantage and learn to play the players and your position, rather than the cards you are dealt.

Your main objective in this stage is to make it into the money, but also to accumulate enough chips to enter the next stage in good position. Keep in mind, these are all floating goals, your master goal is always going to be to win the tournament, however this helps keep that from seeming like an overwhelming task. Think of it like this. If your goal in life is to become a millionaire, you don't just go out and become one, that would be (virtually) impossible. You would come up with a plan and follow each step until you eventually reached that goal over years of hard work. Tournament poker is no different. Break the game down, set small goals, and always keep your master goal in sight.

Tomorrow:  Stage Three – In the Money