How to beat Multi-Table Tournaments in 2024?

In our latest poker strategy article, poker coach and online tournament crusher John “WhatA298” Bradley explains how to beat Multi-Table Tournaments in 2024.

Multi-Table Tournaments give players the chance to win huge sums of money in a very short period of time.

For this reason, and others, they are extremely popular with regular players and recreational players alike.

In this article, you will discover the most important factors to bear in mind in 2024, to help you beat this exciting format.

Sometimes it is just your time to bust

In a multi-table tournament, every player in the tournament will get knocked out at some stage, except for the eventual winner.

This means that you should expect this, and not fight too hard to avoid it.

There is value in protecting your tournament life, but this must always be balanced with the opportunity cost of gaining chips.

This is particularly true at the bubble stage of the tournament, where players will often attempt to cash, at all costs, and will make massive folds so as to avoid busting.

You should avoid more marginal spots on the bubble, however, if your 99 runs into AA blind vs blind for 10bb, it was just your time to die.

The benefits of folding and guaranteeing a cash, will be dwarfed by the cost of not taking, what is on average, an extremely profitable spot.

Never underestimate variance in Multi-Table Tournaments

Variance in poker is large. Variance in multi-table tournaments is enormous.

It is very easy, as a winning player, to have downswings which last 1000s of tournaments and where you lose 200 buyins or more.

This means that you must stay vigilant with regards to bankroll management, and to not focus too hard on short-term results.

If you win a poker tournament, it is very easy to overestimate your skill level, and conversely, it is very easy to downplay your abilities while in a particularly tough downswing.

Multi-table tournaments play with your mind more than any other poker variant and you should always seek to be aware of this. For your results sake, as well as your own sanity, try to accept and make peace with variance.

Don’t be afraid to bluff

I have been a professional poker player for over 15 years, and have seen the game change in many ways. There have been trends in one direction, followed by a trend in the opposite direction, and on and on.

Some trends within the player pool remain relatively constant however.

Players are generally scared to bluff and get called. Additionally, players are scared to make big calls and look foolish.

Both trends relate to wanting to ‘save face’ and to not look stupid.

Therefore, your strategy should revolve around a lot of bluffing. If you have a hand which cannot win at showdown, it is rarely a mistake to use it as a bluffing hand.

In the hand above, which I played recently, I limp the small blind, bet the flop, the turn and the river.

On the flop this is a good candidate to bluff, in part, because it is T-high and so has little showdown value.

The same is true on the turn, and, on the river, T-high will win the pot close to 0% of the time at showdown. This means, that it is very difficult for betting to be a worse option than checking.

Nevertheless, it is still fairly common to see a lot of players check here due to the fear of looking stupid when they get called.

The bluff only needs to work 40% of the time to be profitable, so, this play can be very profitable, even if your opponent calls half the time and you feel stupid.

Multi-Table Tournaments Strategy Summary

Multi-table tournaments are a booming format in 2024, and their popularity is unlikely to wane any time soon.

Mastering the evergreen skills in this article will help you to maximize your chances of success.

Be wary of protecting your tournament life too much, do not be afraid of bluffing and always be aware of the power that variance has over your short-term results.

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