As a tournament approaches its final stages in and around the bubble period, raising in late position is very much a part of my game plan, because the blinds and antes hold so much value compared to stack sizes and are always worth stealing. If you can apply pressure to the smaller and medium-sized stacks all the better, as some of them will be hanging on for dear life just to scrape into the money. My plan, on the other hand, is to finish first or nothing, as I’m playing to maximise the return on my investment. I see it as being more profitable to win one MTT and miss the cash nine other times than scrape into the money ten times. If you can spot the players who are aiming to cash rather than playing to win you can bully them even more.
Bossing the final table
On the final table, I find the key is well-timed aggression. There are certain stacks who are looking to double up and then to go on for the win, while others have one eye on the money jumps and are willing to sit tight and pass hands. The latter must be identified and brutalised! Hand selection is not so important at this stage, as there is not a huge amount of flop, turn or river play, especially in smaller stakes tournaments where it is generally shove/fold for most players by this point. By being aggressive you are continually raking in blinds and picking up pots, which increases your stack and should help to build an aura of fear around you that may freeze your opponents. The fewer players at a table the more you should stretch your range of playable hands.
Heads-up and three-handed play involve a different kind of skill from normal poker. Second and third pair are often good and any pair and or Ace are normally ahead preflop, so feel free to open up with them. You’ll have to get involved in a lot of pots with hands you wouldn’t dream of playing full-ring, so adjust accordingly because aggression is more necessary. You’ll have to read when your opponent is being aggressive because of his hand and when he’s just reacting to your continued aggression.
I hope this helps you in your tournament endeavours – it has helped me just to remind myself of these points while writing it!
Read part I
Read part II