Your Full Guide to Building an MTT Poker Strategy

Multi-table tournament (MTT) poker has been growing in popularity in recent years. If you have ever played single table tournament poker, you know its strategy and style of playing are quite different from cash games. Multi-table tournament poker takes this difference to an entirely different level. You will also find that you need a new MTT poker strategy.

If you are switching to multi-table tournament poker from cash games, initially it may seem quite complicated. However, if you spend enough time developing and mastering a poker MTT strategy, it is absolutely possible to play multi-table tournaments successfully.

In this guide, we will discuss different aspects of building a viable MTT poker strategy, see how it differs at every stage of the game, and take a look at key components of a winning MTT poker strategy.

Understanding MTTs and Their Unique Challenges

When you venture into MTT, it doesn’t mean that all your previous poker knowledge will immediately become irrelevant. Basic rules and techniques are still in place. However, it is very important to understand that due to its specific playing style, multi-table poker has its own peculiarities and challenges that you may not have come across in cash or single table tournament games.

Let’s take a look at what makes MTT poker stand out compared to other games.

What is an MTT (Multi-Table Tournament)?

Multi-table tournaments are often played on a large scale, with a very attractive prize pool and an equally large number of players. Games are conducted simultaneously around many tables, with usually 9 or 10 players at one table. Everyone is competing for a place at the final table where the winner gets the big prize.

One big difference that you will notice between cash games and MTT is that each pot in a cash game is independent of the rest and each player can play for as long as their bankroll allows them. Bankroll management for MTT players, while still relevant, is quite different because buy-in fees are the same for everyone and all players get the same size stack which they can’t replenish throughout the game. Unlike cash game players who can join or leave at any stage, MTT players are locked in the game until they have something in the stack.

The fast pace of Sit & Go games influences the aggressive strategies employed by the players. On the other hand, the prize pool in MTT grows progressively, as players leave the game. At the end of the game, it is usually distributed between the top 15-20% of the players.

Why MTTs Require a Unique Strategy

These and other differences in the structure of an MTT game require their own unique strategy for a successful play. Most importantly, you should always keep in mind that your strategy will change as you progress through the game, as each stage will require a different approach.

One of the most important aspects that influences your strategy is the stack size that stays dynamic throughout an MTT game. If in a cash game your stack will usually be at least 100 big blinds, in MTT this number may vary from as little as 0.5 BB to 1000 BB.

This becomes especially true as you approach the bubble. We will discuss the bubble strategy in more detail below but to put it simply, the chips you have are more valuable at this stage than the chips you might win on the bubble, so always be mindful of your stack size when you adjust your strategy.

MTT Strategy by Stage

Every MTT poker game can be divided into four stages: early stage, middle stage, bubble, and final table. The necessity to change your strategy at each stage is what is often deemed to be the most difficult part of playing multi-table tournaments. Understanding the dynamics of each stage and learning to adapt accordingly will make all the difference.

Early Stage Strategy

Above we have mentioned quite a few times that playing MTT poker is very different from playing cash games in many ways. But the fact is that most of these differences come into play at later stages. The playing style and strategy at the early stages of MTT is very similar to how you play a cash game.

What it means is that your early stage MTT poker strategy should be to play tight from early positions but loosen up in late positions. Time to play aggressively will come at later stages, for now take your time to get familiar with your opponents, identify the weak ones.

In the first few levels of the tournament your main focus is not to accumulate chips but to survive until the final table. It is virtually impossible to win the tournament at an early stage, so instead concentrate on staying in it long enough to play for the big win.

Middle Stage Strategy

As you approach the middle stages of the tournament, the big blind rises and your stack goes down significantly. This is the time when your game should become more aggressive.

Positional awareness is a key skill in every game of poker. At the middle stages of an MTT game it defines your strategy.

Most experts recommend defending your big blind more often and with a wider range during this stage. With the raises being very small in modern poker, you are given good odds to call with almost any hand. In reality, you should be playing tighter than that because you might not be able to realize your full equity after the flop, but widening your range at this stage is fully justified.

That being said, players often overlook this aspect and fold way too often from the big blind. If you are in a later position, you should take this chance to steal blinds aggressively. Stealing the blind means raising to force the players in the early positions to fold and take their chips. Use your position to widen the ranges with which you raise. Of course, always assess your opponents before taking action. If they play passively and rarely defend their blinds, use it to your advantage.

Bubble Strategy

In poker, bubble is the stage where the next player to be eliminated is the last one who will not participate in the payout structure. The remaining players are “in the money”, meaning they will receive a portion of the prize pool. Which portion that would be, remains to be seen.

As you approach the bubble, it is time to switch gears again and bring your MTT bubble strategy into the game. How you play the bubble depends on one thing: the size of your stack.

If your stack size is small, tighten your calling ranges. At this point, the chips you have in hand are more valuable than what you can potentially win. Adding more chips to your stack won’t result in a guaranteed win, but if you make a mistake you have all the chances to lose your place in the tournament.

However, if you have a big stack, play aggressively. Your short-stacked opponents will fold a lot of hands in an attempt to play it safe and get their way into the money. This is your chance to exploit their fear of elimination and replenish your stack.

Final Table Strategy

Once the final non-paid player is eliminated, the bubble bursts and the final stage begins. Before you decide on your final table MTT strategy, you need to assess the value of the chips. For this, you need to be familiar with the ICM, or Independent Chip Model.

In a tournament, the winner doesn’t get to take home all the money. This is why the chips will be worth less than in a cash game. Using an ICM strategy will help you calculate whether you should go all in or it is better to fold now and wait for the next pay jump.

Calculating ICM at the table isn’t really possible, so a good practice would be to play simulations and master common ICM scenarios.

But once you get into a heads up game, ICM calculations don’t matter anymore. Heads up games often get overlooked in tournament poker, but you want to be prepared for every situation. This is where all your weaknesses get exposed, so a word of advice would be to practice heads up games as much as you can.

If your stack entering the final stage is shallow, you will need to apply a push-fold strategy to make the best of it. There are special push-fold charts that help you make a decision whether you should go all in or fold. These charts include hole cards, number of blinds, and position and show solved ranges. Many poker players memorize these charts, others use hard copies during the game.

Key Components of a Winning MTT Poker Strategy

Every strategy in poker is built by combining several essential components that influence your game. Let’s take a look at what key components define a successful MTT poker strategy.

Playing by Stack Size

Your stack size is one of, if not the most important, aspect you should take into account when employing a specific poker strategy. Adjusting your MTT poker strategy by stack size is an essential skill you should be always working on. Simply put, your overall strategy should go like this:

• Short stack: play tighter ranges and be aware of your position. When you are trying to decide whether to shove or fold, push-fold charts will come in handy, especially at later stages.
• Medium stack: you can allow yourself some controlled aggression, especially if you are playing against weaker opponents who are prone to making mistakes. Don’t lose positional awareness.
• Big stack: take advantage of your position to steal blinds and force other players to fold. You can loosen your playing range, especially in later positions.

Adjusting to Table Dynamics

Whether you play live or online MTT poker, evaluating your opponents and adjusting your game to the table dynamics is key.

Identify weak players who you can exploit, profile tight and loose, aggressive and passive players. This will largely define your style of playing against them to give you maximum advantage.

Good players will always be mindful of their stack size, so pay attention to the stack distribution at the table as well when making your move.

Maximizing Value with Positional Awareness

Positional awareness is a vital skill in any type of poker game. Knowing how to adjust your strategy not only based on your stack size, but also keeping your position in mind will help you stay longer in the game and save your stack.

• When you are in early positions, play tight ranges and wait for stronger hands. In certain situations folding can be a much better decision than chasing chips with a marginal hand.
• Late positions give you a certain advantage over your opponents, which you shouldn’t waste. You can loosen your range and play more aggressively, if your stack size allows.

Advanced Strategies for MTT Success

Take your time to build and master a solid MTT poker strategy. Once you feel comfortable to move on and play with stronger opponents, it is time to venture into more advanced strategies.

Exploitative vs. Balanced MTT Play

Playing a balanced game is designed to make you unexploitable for other players. The essence of a GTO (Game Theory Optimal) strategy is to play the same strength hand in different ways, or to play different strength hands in the same way, making you more unpredictable for your opponents.

Whether you choose to play a balanced or an exploitative game will largely depend on your opponents and their skills. Tournaments often attract players of all levels, which means you can easily exploit weaker players without worrying too much of becoming exploitable for them.

However, make sure to profile your opponents well because one of them may possess enough skill to turn your exploitative strategy against you. Knowing when to switch between balanced and exploitative strategies is another advanced poker skill that comes with practice.

Bluffing in MTTs

Tournament or cash game, bluffing is an indispensable part of playing poker. A successful bluff depends on several factors: your position, tournament stage, type of player you are bluffing against.

Bluffing works better against fewer players at the table. In this case, it is less likely that one of them has hit a decent hand they will use to call your bluff. Also, if your opponent is “call-happy” in general, you should be very careful with your bluffs.

It is often considered that bluffing at the early stages isn’t very profitable because the pot is too small. Instead, you should be using value bets.

Your table image should add up to your bluffs. If you are known as a tight aggressive player who only plays strong hands, your opponents are more likely to believe your bluff.

All in all, poker bluffs don’t have set in stone rules. Rather, the ability to recognize ideal bluffing spots comes with experience, so keep playing but don’t forget to balance your bluffs with value hands, otherwise you will lose credibility.

Managing Tilt and Emotional Control

No one likes losing, and it is very easy to succumb to your emotions when something goes wrong in the game: your bluff not working as intended, staying card dead for a long time, or just losing patience in a slow game.

Losing your emotional balance and starting to play poorly because of that is known in poker as tilt. Managing your tilt and staying in control of your emotions makes all the difference because you need to be able to make rational decisions fast.

Tilt might start way before the game, so before you sit at the table, make sure your emotions are balanced and you don’t bring your external troubles into the game. Also, tilt doesn’t happen immediately, usually the tension builds up gradually during the game. That’s why it is very important to keep an eye on your emotional state throughout the game.

Watch your own reactions to things that trigger your tilt and if you notice frustrated or agitated behaviour, bring in the strategy that helps you keep the balance. It is much easier to reverse your tilt early on than when it is in full swing.

Everyone has their own ways of calming down, from deep breathing to using affirmations. Use whatever works better for you, and if sometimes that doesn’t help, maybe it is time for you to take a break and get your mind off the game for a while.

Adapting Strategies for Online vs. Live MTTs

Same as cash games, playing MTT poker live and online are two different experiences. Besides the key aspects we discussed above, there are other elements, specific to the nature of a live or online game, that you should be taking into consideration. So instead of blindly copying your strategy from game to game, adapt it to the peculiarities of its essence.

Differences in Opponent Tendencies

Online tournaments tend to be fast paced. You need to be able to make your decision quicker based only on your hand, stack size, and position. Since you can’t see your opponents, you can’t rely on their body language, but do profile their playing style and use it to your advantage.

In live tournaments, physical tells can be very helpful in trying to predict your opponents’ hands and moves. However, avoid acting on insufficient profiling not to make a mistake. Live MTT poker also tends to be much slower. The closer the game gets to the final stages, the more cautious players become in an attempt to prolong their tournament life.

Multi-Tabling Online MTTs

Multi-tabling in online MTTs refers to playing several tournaments at the same time. Some experts say that the optimal number of tournaments you should be playing simultaneously is two, but in reality, this solely depends on you.

Playing poker in general and MTTs in particular requires a lot of focus to stay concentrated on the game and make viable decisions in the moment. Doing it across several tables, you will need to stay extra focused, especially as you reach later stages.

That’s why you should assess your capability before committing to more games. In any case, if you are new to multi-tabling, don’t immediately jump into a large number of parallel games. Start by playing two tournaments and over time build it from there.

Refining Your MTT Poker Strategy

Poker is a combination of skill, strategy, and luck. Every successful poker player has a strategy to make their game more structured. In multi-table tournament poker, it is also very important to know when to switch gears and adapt your strategy to the changing dynamics of the game.

Each stage of an MTT game will require its own approach and your task is to choose that approach correctly. This skill comes with learning and practicing, so keep reading educational material on poker, watch and analyze famous professional players’ games, and play simulations or free games. Track your progress to see how your game improves with time.