Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid in Poker Tournaments

The popularity of cash games in poker cannot be understated, but the vast majority of players these days make their way into the game playing tournaments. With MTTs being so popular among recreational players, it is common to see them make fundamental mistakes at tournament tables.

Of course, you want to avoid making mistakes that could cost you a lot of money but are fairly easy to rectify.

Therefore, we created this short guide to highlight the most common poker tournament mistakes and what you should do to avoid them.

We will cover everything from the preparation phase to the way you actually play your cards and mention all the most frequent mistakes we see at the poker tables every day.

MTT Poker Mistake #1 - Playing Too Many Hands

One of the most common MTT poker mistakes you will see players make is playing too many hands, especially in the early stage of the tournament.

With blinds set very low compared to the average stack, it can easily seem like a good idea to enter pots with dubious holdings. However, playing bad cards will cost you a lot more than the price you pay to enter the pot before the flop, as the reversed implied odds of such hands can be truly devastating.

Instead of playing every hand you are dealt, you should focus on playing strong cards and good speculative hands and playing them quite aggressively.

Being the aggressor always gives you that extra chance to win the pot without having to show your cards, while playing cards that can make very strong hands on flop and turn will allow you to stack players who are making the exact mistake we are talking about.

If you are in the first level of an MTT and you and your opponent both flop top pair, you want to be the one holding the better kicker and dominating the other guy.

MTT Poker Mistake #2 - Being Too Passive

Being very passive in MTT poker will not get you very far. While it’s a strategy that can work somewhat in the early levels of tournaments with many recreational players, it will not work once the blinds start to go up and your opposition gets tougher.

The problem with the passive play is that other players will quickly catch on to you and stop giving you action when you have a made hand and start to play aggressively. Passive players rarely use their image to pull off big bluffs and usually keep playing very straightforwardly, no matter the situation, and that can easily be exploited.

Instead of always taking the passive line, you should strive to play a balanced game that always keeps your opponents guessing.

Like being too passive, playing too aggressively will usually not work either, as people will start to call you down wider and not give you credit for a hand the next time you bluff. That being said, if you need to pick one, being overly aggressive is still a better option.

Moderation in everything is the key to being a successful MTT poker player, so try to balance out your plays, and you will get far in tournament poker.

MTT Poker Mistake #3 - Exercising Poor Bankroll Management

Bankroll management is an important skill in every format of the game, but it's even more important in tournament poker, where variance can be ruthless. Because many people enter every MTT, you will go through long losing stretches even if you have a big edge over your opponents.

You must exercise good bankroll management to stand any chance against competent opposition, even if you are playing against mostly recreational players.

The more players play in your average MTT and the faster the blinds structure, the more buyins you will need to cover your potential losing runs.

Players who take on MTTs without enough money in their bankrolls end up going bust more often than not, and they rarely manage to spin up a large poker balance.

MTT Poker Mistake #4 - Moving Up Too Fast

Tournament poker is different from cash games in the fact that a single good run can quickly win you hundreds of buyins. Winning a large field MTT can make players think they are invincible and take anyone, anywhere, at any level.

This is why so many people advance through levels and make one of the key tournament poker mistakes by playing games they should not be playing.

Winning a $10 tournament can easily net you thousands of dollars, but that does not mean you should fire up a $215 buyin the next day.

Just because you won a big tournament does not mean you have the skills to compete with players who have been playing and studying much longer than you.

Regardless of your results, always remember to keep your progress steady, don’t skip levels, and make sure to feel the difference between playing at different buyin levels as you move up.

MTT Poker Mistake #5 - Losing Control

Tilt is a big problem that poker players face across all game types, formats, and levels. For many players, tilt is actually the biggest stumbling stone on the path to success. That being said, even some of the best poker players in the world occasionally tilt, although most players who tilt hard and too often can’t make it in tournament poker.

To avoid tilting, you should always exercise proper bankroll management and keep a level head. You can't impact the cards that are dealt, but you can try to make the best of them at all times.

By avoiding making other common tournament poker mistakes, you can potentially avoid an emotional rollercoaster, but you should still train yourself to avoid tilt regardless of what’s happening around you.

Make sure to always think about the game in terms of the long run, and don't worry too much about a single bad beat you have received, no matter how severe. Even if you string many bad beats together, don't attribute it to anything other than variance, and don't worry about it. Your time will come, and the cards will surely break even.

The best you can do is to concentrate on making the best possible decision in every hand you play and detach yourself from short-term expectations since variance can be much bigger than you probably think.

MTT Poker Mistake #6 - Wanting to Min Cash Too Much

Making the money may easily seem like the first goal you have in every poker tournament you play, but it really should not be much of a concern at all. In fact, professional poker players don’t care about reaching the money too much and are rather interested in making the final table and winning the tournament outright.

If you play MTT poker the right way, you will cash about 15-20% of the time, and you should do so without much care.

The thing you should care about, instead, is the reluctance of other players to bust out when you are in the bubble phase, nearing the money. If you are the one being hyper-aggressive just before the money, you will be able to steal pots that don’t belong to you and grow your stack, giving you a significant edge in the later stages.

A min-cash is only worth a couple of buyins, while winning the tournament could win you hundreds of buyins at once.

Of course, there are situations where trying to min-cash also makes sense, but always look at making a deep run first, and don't deviate too much from your strategy just because you are close to the money.

MTT Poker Mistake #7 - Not Switching Gears

Tournament poker is much different from cash games in that the blinds constantly escalate, and players must adjust to that.

As the blinds go up and time passes, the optimal game approach will also change. Certain hands will go from playable to easy folds, while others will go from easy folds to all-in shoves.

As an MTT poker player, you should learn to know the difference and adjust to the level you are playing, switching gears as you go.

Late-game tournament poker forces you to play a lot more aggressively than the early game does, which is something that many recreational players don't fully understand.

Certain stages of the MTT, such as the money bubble and the final table bubble, also warrant increased aggression levels, which the top pros always find ways to exploit.

Avoid making this tournament poker mistake by always keeping track of your current stack in big blinds, the average stack in the tournament, and adjusting your strategy based on that.

MTT Poker Mistake #8 - Getting Left Behind

Poker is a game that’s constantly evolving and changing, and players who fail to evolve with it get left behind and stop being able to compete. The only way to stay current with the game is by always studying poker and making sure to get a handle on the latest trends in the game.

You can even take those trends and try to pick them apart, looking for new ways to exploit players and their current tendencies.

One thing you should never do, however, is to think that the poker knowledge you currently have is enough to win at the game forever.

Sooner or later, you will come across players who will be your match or will play the game at levels you have never even experienced if you don’t keep improving.

Always remember to dedicate time to studying poker if you want to be a successful player, and never underestimate new ideas and concepts, even if they don't seem intuitively right to you at first sight.

MTT Poker Mistake #9 - Ignoring ICM

One of the biggest tournament poker mistakes you can make is to ignore the ICM effect or not understand ICM in the first place.

Payouts in poker tournaments are not flat, and winning all the chips in the game won't actually win you all the money.

For this reason, you should learn how ICM works and its implications, even if you can’t make an actual ICM calculation on the spot.

Understanding common ICM spots and training with ICM simulators will allow you to make the correct calls and laydowns in the late game and put pressure on other players by exploiting this very concept.

If you don't understand ICM, you will never be a great tournament player, as you are missing one of the key concepts of the MTT poker game from your arsenal.

MTT Poker Mistake #10 - Playing the Wrong Games

Finally, we must mention game selection and the ability to find the right poker tournaments. This is a common tournament poker mistake that even many high-level pros often make.

If you choose between playing a tournament full of regs and one filled up by recreational players, you should always opt for the latter.

However, many players will play any poker MTT that’s on offer or will even consciously decide to play in the tougher field.

Playing against good players has some merit in terms of learning more about the game, but you should always strive to spend most of your time playing in soft games you can crush.

Furthermore, if tournaments with overlay are available, you should try to play in them, and if you are an online tournament player, you should look to play on sites where general population tendencies are weaker.

Play in the best games available to you, and you will maximize your ROI, minimize your variance, and skyrocket your bankroll.

Be Mindful of Your Poker Tournament Mistakes

The most important thing in poker is to always be mindful of what you may be doing wrong and do your best to rectify any mistakes.

These ten poker tournament mistakes we have listed here are just some of the most common ones, but there are also many other things you should look out for.

Always review your sessions with a clear head, constantly improve, find new things you could be doing better, and fix your mistakes in future sessions.

You will eventually become a complete tournament player by eliminating one small mistake from your game at a time, which will show clearly in your bottom line.

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