Middle Stage MTT Tournament Strategy

The middle stages of an MTT begin roughly when the big blind is equal to 100 chips or more. At this point in the tournament most of the craziest players will have been eliminated and you’ll see somewhat more sane poker play.

This is the stage in which you should start increasing the aggression and stealing some blinds. Every pot will begin with quite a few chips in the middle so pots are now worth stealing.

You have to be very selective when stealing pots because everyone in the tournament is going to be feeling the pressure of increasing blinds. The best time to steal the blinds is when it has folded around to you and there is a tight player in the big blind.

Medium stacked players are the best ones to steal from because they know they still have a chance to make it to the money and they aren’t yet desperate enough to call with trashy hands. Big stacks and small stacks should be avoided because both of these players will be more likely to call your steals.

The way in which you go about building your stack depends on how large your stack is at this point.

Small Stack Play

If your stack size is equal to 10 big blinds or fewer, you need to get active quickly. A single increase in the blinds can cripple you so there’s no hope in waiting for a strong hand. You need to make something happen soon.

Your starting hands won’t matter much at this point. Just look for a good spot before the flop, push all-in and pray for folds. If you are in middle or late position and it folds around to you, you should be just about willing to go all in with anything.

You’ll want to be especially careful when big stacks have yet to act behind you. These players will be likely to call you in order to knock you out of the tournament. They can afford a loss but you can’t.

The best opportunity to steal is when there is a tight, medium-stacked player sitting in the big blind, you have are in middle or late position and everyone in front of you has folded. Just go all-in here.

You’ll want to err on the side of acting too early rather than waiting to long to make a move. The one thing you have left is folding equity but if the blinds get too big or your stack gets too small, people will be much more likely to call you.

There’s no point in tricky play at this point in the tournament. Your stack isn’t big enough to trap players or make any bets that aren’t all-in. If you get dealt a pair of aces, you should play them just like you would any other hand: by pushing all-in. Your opponents will know something fishy is up if you suddenly limp in with only 9 big blinds left in your stack.

Average Stack Play

An average stack will usually have somewhere between 15 and 30 big blinds worth of chips. You still have a good shot at a strong finish but you’ll need to keep your eyes open for opportunities. One increase in the blinds can quickly take you from average territory down to short stack territory.

You’re not in a desperate situation by any means but you’ll still need to take every opportunity you can to pick up the blinds. You don’t have to make a move with any two cards but any time you see a tight player in the blinds and it’s been folded around to you, you should go for the steal.

If your stack is on the smaller side of average, you probably won’t have enough chips to make raises anything less than all-in. There’s no point in making a 3-times-the-blind raise if that only leaves you with a pot sized bet left over.

Think about it this way: if you raise preflop and have only a pot sized bet left over after the flop, you’re going to have to go all-in no matter what comes on the flop. There’s no way you can check and give up on the pot. You might as well push all-in before the flop so that your opponent has to make an all-in decision without seeing a flop.

When you make an all-in bet with an average stack, you have quite a bit of folding equity because you can do a lot of damage to most opponents. Your push also tells them there is no way they can win the flop unless they have the best hand at the showdown. Unless you get unlucky, your tight opponents will have a hard time putting up a fight.

Big Stack Play

This is obviously the best position to be in but it doesn’t mean you get to sit around on your haunches and let the money come pouring in. You should still stay alert and look for opportunities to take orphan pots. Put your big, intimidating stack to good use by stealing pots from tight players.

If you’re stuck at a loose, fishy table, you have the luxury of waiting for strong hands and playing a more straightforward game. Any chance you get, however, you should be in there stealing pots.

Remember this: if you want to win the tournament, you’re going to have to win every single chip in the entire tournament. You will never want to sit back and wait for good things to happen. You need to stay alert and take good opportunities when they present themselves.

A note about selective aggression

If you haven’t noticed, aggression is a central theme in this MTT strategy guide. Remember that I’m talking about selective aggression, not all out maniacal aggression. There’s a big difference between smart, well-timed aggression and playing like a maniac.

You should pick your spots very carefully but when you do find a good spot, you need to hit it hard and fast. Don’t just go raising every single hand you get. If you’ve won a couple of pots in a row without a showdown, you might want to consider slowing down for a while. Otherwise people will start calling you with many more hands.

Continue to Late Stage MTT Strategy