WSOP Tournament Play
Playing poker in a live tournament setting can be a bit daunting for those who haven’t experienced it, but not matter how many times you’ve played poker tournaments in a land-based poker room, it simply doesn’t compare to WSOP tournament play.
The granddaddy of all major poker events is the World Series of Poker, held each summer under the bright, glimmering lights of Las Vegas, Nevada. For poker enthusiasts, WSOP tournament play is the dream to which all aspire. We’re going to give you some very important tips on how to control your emotions and apply a winning strategy during WSOP tournament play.
WSOP Tournament Play – Emotional Control
If you’re all caught up in the awe-inspiring prestige of the atmosphere, your game could suffer terribly. The very first thing you’ll need to do is calm yourself. Realize that you are not the only person to feel this way. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other poker players around you who have never taken a seat at a WSOP event. Get to the casino and give yourself time to warm up to the environment, talk to a the other players and find exactly where you’ll be seated when the tournament begins. This will help to calm your nerves and be more relaxed when it comes time to play.
WSOP Tournament Play – Shuffle up and Deal!
Most tournaments are loaded up with very loose competition at the start. Preliminary events of the WSOP may have a number of these as well, but if you’re playing in the WSOP Main Event, you won’t likely find too many.
Start out by folding the first few hands just to get a feel for the opposition at your table. Take note of the tight players, the loose players (if any), the passive and aggressive bettors. Look for poker tells and behavioral patterns. Once you can peg a few player types, then start using your best judgment when it comes to strong late position moves and starting hand selection. In general, you want to play a very tight poker game, and bluffing to steal blinds isn’t worth too much since the blinds are so low.
WSOP Tournament Play – Early Stages
Once the first thousand players have been eliminated, you’re still fairly early in the WSOP tournament. It’s going to be a few days of poker play. By now, there shouldn’t be any loose players left to speak of, aside from the larger stacks who are getting too cocky. Try to take advantage of these guys when your starting hand is strong enough to do so. Your main goal at this point is to keep your stack at or above average, without becoming the low stack at the table. That’s a very dangerous position to be in, especially in WOSP tournament play.
If, at any time, you do find yourself the low stack, take the first solid opportunity to double up. A higher stack is going to be willing to call your push with marginal holdings simply because he knows you’re in a bad position. Take your first good starting hand and push it. If you falter, at least you made a smart move. Chances are, though, you’ll double up and be right back in the action.
WSOP Tournament Play – Middle Stages
If you’ve made it this far, you should be getting somewhat close to the money bubble. Simply cashing in the WSOP is an incredible feat. Your goal at this point is to hit that bubble mark – the very last position that gets paid is the position you’re aiming to finish in.
Maintain a tight game and take advantage of position when the chance arises. Since everyone else is playing tight, you should be able to steal some blinds from late position. The blinds should be increasing enough to be worth the risk if you have enough outs to go to the flop, should you get called. Otherwise, stay conservative with your chip stack to ensure you make the bubble.
WSOP Tournament Play – In the Bubble
Once you’re in the bubble, be proud, but don’t loosen up your game just yet. Your new goal is to make the final table, and that’s still some ways off. Keep playing tight and building your stack on great starting hands. Only play a lesser hand if you know your opponent well enough to take the pot, either by psyching him out or putting him on second best.
WSOP Tournament Play – Final Table
If you’ve made it this far, you have done an incredibly good job. If you’re the low stack at the table, take the first premium starting hand and push all-in. If you’re sure you want get the call, only bet half your stack out of the gate. This may cause another to put you all-in. If not, just getting the call will be enough of an investment that your opponent should call when you push the other half.
Once you’re middle to high stack (or if you start out that way), it’s time to loosen up. All of your opponents having been playing tight so long that they are now eying nothing but the 1st place prize. You can take advantage of this by becoming very aggressive. So long as you have some outs to work with pre-flop, make strong moves and you should be able to steal a lot of pots this way. Only a premium hand is going to take you on, and even then your outs give you enough chances of hitting a good flop to be worth the risk.
One final tip about WSOP tournament play – being seated at the final table of the WSOP Main Event means you’ll be under the lights of the cameras, to be televised shortly after. Don’t let your nerves come back to haunt you. You’ve spent too many hours of too many days to let that effect your poker strategy. If you don’t take 1st place, you’re still going to walk away incredibly richer than you arrived. If you do take the top prize… try not to faint. The world is watching! 
