Final Table Tournament Strategy

You’re in the money and you’ve earned your seat at the final table in the Full Tilt Poker Monthly Million. OK, so maybe you haven’t quite reached that level of tournament success but you’re at the final table nonetheless. Congratulations! You didn’t get here because you’re lucky, you’ve made it this far because you had a game plan and you stuck to it. Perhaps a bit of luck had a role in getting you here (as it often does) but overall you now understand the value of plotting a strategy and following it to the conclusion, which in this case is victory and a big cash out.

So how do you approach the final table and make one last drive for victory? To say it depends is an understatement. Are you the chip leader? Middle or back of the pack? Let’s take a look at all three scenarios and how they might play out.

Coming In As The Chip Leader

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that because you’re the chip leader you can bully the other opponents at the table and win the event. Look no further than the monumental meltdown of Brian Schaedlich, who in this years World Series of Poker Main Event was the chip leader by a huge margin going into Day 3. With over 800K in chips when the closest competitor had around $400K he made an early exit and came nowhere near the final table. He lost most of his chips from making ill-timed moves against opponents holding big hands. He got called down on bluffs and bled off hundreds of thousands of chips needlessly. The better approach is playing position well and betting big draws. If a player comes back over the top of a bet or a raise that you make there’s no need to commit chips unless you feel your read is correct and you’re holding the best hand.

Coming In The Middle Of The Pack

If you’re not the chip leader then the middle of the pack may well be the best place to be. Here you want to target the smaller stacks as well as any overzealous bigger stack that wants to make the mistake of pushing you around (only when you’re holding a solid starting hand). Smart players will pick their spots and work to win many uncontested pots on the flop and try to take advantage of the smaller stacks. While you don’t want to commit a large portion of your chips unless you’re holding a powerful hand, you also have to decide if you’re playing to win or you’re just happy to cash at this point. This is an important decision that can have an impact on how adjust your play so put some thought into this before playing too deep.

Short Stack Play During The Final Table

It’s time to double up or go home with a smile! That’s essentially the attitude that you must have coming into the final table as the short stack. You’re wearing a bullseye on your forehead and you can be rest assured that a few players at the table with larger stacks are going to gun for you. Your advantage here? You’re not threatening to the other players so they’re more likely now to make a mistake against you. Those mistakes are most likely going to occur in the form of playing a weak hand against your bigger hand. If you’re able to sit and wait for a premium hand (all depends on the blinds) then by all means, please do so. Otherwise, most any face card like a Queen, King, or Ace is going to be your all-in hand. You can play the aggressor against the larger stacks or simply defend your blind against steal attempts with this type of hand. With the latter scenario you’re more likely to have the best hand than pushing all in early with more players to act behind you.

In summary, it’s important to rely on what got you here to the final table. Those tactics will still work to a large degree but you must also make the adjustments we discuss above based on your chip stack. Work in incorporating these skills into your game and hopefully you’ll find yourself at the final table soon.