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Climbing the Payout Ladder

Before a tournament begins, you want to know how many places will be paid and what the payout ladder will be. In most tournaments, the more players that enter, the bigger the prize pool and the more places are paid. Generally, most tournaments aim to pay 9 to 10 places for every 100 players. As the tournament nears conclusion, and players know they are close to finishing in the money, chip management becomes incredibly crucial. Your goal is to move up the payout ladder. Here are a few basic tips to keep in mind when you're on the final table, depending on your chip size:

*If you're a big stack on the final table--The bigger your stack, the more room you have to maneuver. If you dominate in chips, take every opportunity to take other players' small stacks. Don't give opponents free cards by checking a betting round. Raise as much as you can to make it expensive for short-stack players to "limp in" to hands and get lucky.

*When you have a medium stack--Look for chances to steal the blinds and antes to build your stack; raise when you're on the button and up against two blinds. With good to premium hands, make raises in early position because players are less likely to call raises unless they, too, have a premium hand.

Finally, try not to play multiway pots. Your best advantage is to go heads up with one other caller. If you're one of the last players to act on your cards and more than one player bets before you, often the best move is to fold, unless you have a monster hand and can make a raise. If all you have to do is outlast a short stack to make it in the money, consider folding until the short stack gets bounced.

*When you're short stacked--If you're low on chips, try not to be forced all-in by the blind bets. If you anticipate you will not have enough chips to pay the blind the next time it comes to you, try to go all-in as soon as you are dealt at least one king or ace. You do not want to be forced all-in on any random two-card hand if you can avoid it. If more than one player is also short stacked, and you are one position from making it into the money, consider folding until one of the other short stacks are eliminated.

If possible, use your remaining stack to raise all-in before the flop, especially if you are late to act. Fewer players will call an all-in bet before the flop unless they are 1) chip dominant and see a chance to call your all-in and potentially eliminate you from the tournament or 2) have a premium hand they fell will most likely beat you hand in heads-up play. Otherwise, players will fold and you stand a good chance of picking up the blind bets.

If you decide to play in your first tournament, remember that it is all about survival and chip accumulation. If you can keep cool, have patience and play your best poker, there's no reason to expect you can't make it the final table and the cash!