Welome to the Final Table
March 9, 2010
The final table is the stepping stone to the main goal, a first place win to a multi-table tournament. The feel of the felt, and the surge of adrenaline is enough to get one hooked for life. You’re already in the money, now it’s time for quality poker in it’s best form. Once there, you should be facing all experienced tournament players. This will require you to take a certain attitude toward the table as well as a certain unique strategy.
Study Your Opponents
In the earlier rounds you should always be aware of what kinds of players you’re dealing with. However you don’t have to be to nit-picky about all the details since players are moved around and bust out so often. At the final table though, all of the players around you are most likely great tournament players. There is a reason why you see the same faces on the final table. Whether it be watching the greats on tv, or private MMT (multi-table tournaments), you’ll most likely notice that certain players are consistently making it to the final table. This just proves that skill plays more of a part than luck. Very rarely will you run into a fish who caught a mad streak of cards and ended up at the final table, although I’ve seen it happen many times before.
For the first ten or so hands, and you have a good stack, try to play extremely tight. Your style of play will depend on what kind of chip stack you have, so let’s go ahead and assume that your stack is comfy. Get a feel for the table and how people are playing. Poker brings out different emotions in different people, depending especially on the degree of player, and you must learn the current state of everyone around you. Players have different ways of playing their stacks, some big stacks like to bully, some like to sit back and wait for others to fight it out. Some small stacks will wait for that perfect hand, even if it means blinding out.
Some small stacks will push with any face card. Have you spotted a player who’s loosened up? Is someone to your left folding almost every hand? One thing that you might notice is that the “smaller” middle stacks will be a little more cautious, so you can steal blinds, or push them around more than the others.
More than likely you’ll notice mostly tight players at the final table. But remember that you’re on the final table, playing with some of the finest players you’ll ever meet. So the tight players might also be tight-aggressive, trying to read you as well. You’ll also run across a few people utilizing the maniac tournament approach. Identify these players and adjust your play accordingly.
In essence, final-table play involves playing the player and not the cards. A lot of times I’ll raise really tight players with next to nothing in the blinds. I’ll also be very careful of my pre-flop starting selection against maniacs.
Wait It Out
Like I said earlier, the final table will bring about some of the best poker you’ll witness. This is simply because most of these players feel grateful to be there, and deserve to be there. They’ll be on their best behavior and play the best hands possible.
If you spot a maniac at the table, let him take a few people out. Sit back and feel your way around the table until a few people are gone. By this time, the blinds and antes will be so high that the short stacks will be in complete survivor mode, and will try to make their moves on the best hands that they see, regardless if it’s a very good hand or not. There will come a time when you make your move, but don’t go out unless you have a good hand. Conversely, if the table is really tight, you may want to take a few risks and rain on the blinds. A good tournament player’s motto for the final table should be “playing the player, not the cards.” Take advantage of your stack, and your position.
Luck and the Final Table
I would be lying if I said you could finish first at the final table without luck. It’s impossible. Most players at the final table are great tournament players, meaning that more than likely it will be a dogfight for each ascending place. And if you’ve never been to a final table, you can really learn a lot by watching them play. Pay attention. Don’t go strutting off because you’re sitting on cushy guaranteed prize money. That’s when those advanced players I’ve been talking about will eat you alive. I could sit here all day and preach to you about starting hands, but by now we all know which hands to play.
So here are the secrets to final-table play: make use of every edge available to you. Use your stack, steal blinds and antes when you can, use your position, know your players. Spot the tight players and maniacs. Adjust your play to each individual player. Although you want to play tight, you’ll need to take some calculated risks. The best way to beat the final table is to look for any edge possible by analyzing each precious detail available to you. Watch how each individual bets and how much he bets each hand. Study each showdown at the table as if your life depended on it. Even if you are not in the hand. The final table is all about feel, not just about cards.
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