Lure of Online Poker Tournaments

How to Approach an Online Poker Satellite

How do I approach an online poker tournament or satellite? Well what I do is, sit back on the early stages. I don't take any chances. I just play strong hands and watch out for players trying to steal a big lead. I keep a not of these players and when I have a decent poker hand I try to lure these over aggressive players into a big pot. Before you know it, I am moving up the field. In a regular poker satellite, If you site back for the first hour and limit your risk taking, have the field will be out by the first hour. If you have doubled your initial stack by taking down a few easy pots, you will be sitting mid position. Many of the players with massive chip stacks are taking massive risks. Don't be worried about them. Many will be out before you know it. Poker satellites are all about staying in the game. Finishing 100th is just as good as finishing 1st; those higher up the field are generally taking more risks. There is no need to do this.

Now here is how you can turn the initial $1 into a chance of a big payout.

Round 1 - $1 - 1100 poker players - make the 1st 100 for $10 & $1 ticket

Round 2 - $1 - 1100 poker players - make the 1st 100 for $100 & $10 ticket

Round 3 - $1 - 1100 poker players - make the 1st 100 for $1000 & $100 ticket

Ok that's you just completed 3 poker satellites. You haven't taken any major chances. You haven't come close to winning any of them by just sneaking in the back of the field. For your $1 you have just worked your way into a mega payout tournament. Let's say 1000 players make the final round. You are playing in a tournament with $1million prize pool. WOW, that's a massive online poker tournament.

I have played in many of these big payout poker satellite finals. The majority of these players have qualified through, just like you. Many are the big risk takers, extremely lucky to be there. You are not, you have played a solid game, taking calculated risks. I highlighted this point because I want you to be aware that you are not out of your depth. If anything, you are the one who has earned their right to be there.

A basic strategy of online poker tournaments is to take down small post and keep ahead of the blinds. Watch out for the big risk takers, there will be several in the $1million final. Focus all your attention on these players. Watch out for others taking down small pots, they are using similar tactics as you. These are the strong players. Don't get too involved in hands with them. They are dangerous. You will find the final a little tighter but just keep your head. As they say, a poker tournament is a marathon, not a sprint. Probably by an hour and a half into the tournament, half of the field has been eliminated. You are still playing as you did to make the final. You are still sitting on easy street. 500 players left fighting over $1million prize pool.

Now the difference between a poker satellite and the actual final is that finishing 1st and finishing 100th makes a massive difference. But 101st to 1000th is still nothing. How does this affect your tournament strategy? Well, again your target is still to stay in but if you chose to go for a big win you need to take slightly more risks. No need to be reckless about it, just keep ahead of the blinds. Keep taking down small pots. It's now time to watch for players who are afraid to lose. These are the players who just fade out of tournament. They are afraid to enter pots. Its not until they are way down that they decide to throw their chips in to avoid being blinded out. They have left it late, often too late. You can pick these players off. You can pick & chose your hands; they do not have this option. As the game progresses the blinds will become a big factor. Your strategy is to watch your player position. Only play around the blinds unless you have a great preflop hand.

As you get nearer to the payout stage, known as the bubble, many of the short stack players in the poker satellite will be holding onto their chips for dear life. You can steal a few blinds of them. The difference from finishing 100th & 101st could be $2000+ and many players will fold hands that have you dominated, just to stay in to a payout position. This is another opportunity for you to boost your chip stack.

Congratulations, you have made the payout. 100 poker players left. For your initial $1, you are now ready to collect anything from $2000 to $200,000. You are sitting in mid position. What is my mindset when I get to this stage in the poker tournament? Yes, I am nervous. Yes I am dreaming of what I am going to spend my $200k on. I look at this stage similar to a 100 player turbo game. Many players will become a little wilder. They have achieved their goal, to make the payout. Probably from 80th to 100th all receive the same prize so many of the short stacks take the double or quits attitude. If they double up a couple of time, they are back in the game. Player elimination rate picks up again until we get nearer 80th. This is when the prize increment increases up $1000 or so. This process will repeat itself a few times until you find yourself at the final table.

At the final table, you will need a little luck. Try to relax. Each position is worth 1000's. Hopefully other people are picking up good hands against each other giving you the option of an easy fold. Let them fight it out and for every elimination you are moving up the pay scale. Down to five players and you are in a shorthanded situation. Players are playing with weaker hands trying to steal blinds which are fairly significant at this time. You will need to do this too. Ok, you make it down to the last 4.

A timeout is called. This is for a deal making situation. This has a strategy in itself. Just for arguments sake the payout is as follows

1st $200k

2nd $100k

3rd $75k

4th $50k

Chip stacks are as follows:

Player 1 - 600,000

Player 2 - 400,000

You - 300,000

Player 4 - 100,000

Now this is getting like the TV show, deal or no Deal. There is $425k in the prize pool to be shared out between you. What is it worth to you? I cannot really make that choice for you. What I would do in this situation is take $60k from the 1st prize & add $20k to each of the other positions.

We now have a payout like this

1st $140,000

2nd $120,000

3rd $95,000

4th $70,000

As you know, when it comes down to the last four is becomes a bit of a crap shoot. The chip leader is guaranteeing $40k better than finishing in second place. 2nd is finishing $45k better than finishing in 3rd place. I am collecting $45k better than finishing in 4th place & 4th place is collecting $5k short of the original 3rd place. I consider this a fair deal for all. If one player decides not to agree to the deal we play on until another timeout is called. This will continue until we get an eventual outright winner or a deal is agreed by all. I will adjust my calculations depending on the chip stack.

OK, I have demonstrated what you can do with a $1 stake. Yes, I have made it sound easy for you to collect $95k for $1 gamble. Of course it's not as simple. You will probably get some shocking bad beats that could crush you at anytime but these poker satellites are fascinating to play. They are a low cost way to bake big bucks. I highly recommend any poker player who dreams of making a killing at poker to play in some of these games. Just remember, people grab major prizes all the time online. Not everyone is a professional player with loads of money to burn. Many housewives and students have walked away with enough money to pay off their home mortgage or pay them through their college years. It only takes one big win to get you there. All for just $1 risk.

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