Becoming the Chip Leader

In tournament poker, the impact that random chance has on your game is often directly proportional to the amount of chips you have in front of you. If you have a large stack relative to the blinds and antes, you are less likely to be eliminated by a single "bad beat." Furthermore, if you have more chips than anyone else at your table, it becomes literally impossible for you to be eliminated in a single hand. So, I say, make it your goal to become the chip leader right from the get-go. It's not easy, but there are several strategies that can help you achieve an early lead and hold on to it right through to the final table.

One of the tournament questions that I often hear is, "Should I play loose or tight at the beginning of a tournament?" Assuming that you're playing in a good structure - at least a 100-big-blind starting stack - the answer to that question is, "Yes." What I mean is, you have to do both. Sometimes you play tight and sometimes you play loose. More specifically, you should be looking for opportunities to accumulate chips and opportunities to conserve chips. The main factor used to distinguish whether you should be accumulating or conserving is your opponent.

The Dead Money
When you arrive at your table, you need to immediately start sizing up your opponents. First, look for the dead money. These are players who are out of their comfort zone. In live tournaments, these players are usually easy to spot. They just look uncomfortable and out of place. Online, you can use various tools and websites to examine your opponents' stats, and particularly their average buy-in. Look for players who are "taking a shot," players who are mortified of going broke in the first few levels. They are often a good source of easy money.

Once you've identified the dead money, your job is to put them in very difficult situations; reraise them in position preflop. If you flop a strong draw, hammer the pot and make them feel like their tournament is on the line almost every time they play with you. Beat on them mercilessly, but bear in mind that if they come back over the top of you, you need to release your hand. Typically, the dead money will not make a stand with a less than stellar hand; they are just too afraid. So, against dead money, hammer, hammer, hammer, and if they play back, exit stage left.

The Calling Stations
The next archetype you need to look for is the calling station. These are players who like to make a lot of thin calls. You'll recognize them once play begins, because they'll be in almost every pot and will seldom raise.

The calling stations represent another opportunity for chip accumulation. As long as they have a healthy stack, you should try to see as many flops with them as possible, with almost any two cards. If you flop two pair or better, press the action. If you miss, or hit only a weak pair, fold quickly; conserve your chips. In essence, play very loose against them preflop and very tight against them on the flop. And I can't stress this enough: Never, ever, ever bluff a calling station.

The Bully
Hyperaggressive players can be particularly troublesome. They are easy enough to spot; they just raise and reraise constantly. Against these players, you need to find spots where you can play back at them and spots where you can call them down.

Typically, a bully will fold to a three-bet unless he really has a hand. So look for situations in which he may be raising weak, and just come back over the top. A good example is when you raise from the button and a bully reraises from the big blind. You should consider three-betting in that spot with a weaker than normal hand - something like A-9 or even K-Q suited.

Another strategy, early on when there are a lot of chips in play and the pots are relatively small, is to call the bully down all the way to the river with a hand like second pair, or in extreme cases, even ace high. The idea is that if the bully thinks you are going to call him down, he'll have a harder time bluffing you.

The Pro
The most dangerous player at your table by far will be the pro. She is comfortable and focused. She is sizing up the players, too, and you may recognize her from television or a magazine.

It goes without saying that the pro at your table is not a source of easy money. Against a pro, you want to avoid any complicated situations. Loose preflop calls lose all of their value, because the pro will not stack off light. Bullying pros won't work, because they will make a stand. So, as long as there are other sources of chips at the table, try to avoid the pro.

If the pro starts picking on you, though, you need to treat her like a bully. Don't let her see you as dead money.

When you do pick up a legitimate hand against a pro, just play it as straightforwardly as possible. Bet your hand and don't get fancy. Pros are always looking for deception, so disguise your hand by playing it in a very obvious way. If they have been watching you play against the other opponents, chances are that they won't give you as much credit as they should.

Multiway Pots
When you get into a pot with two or more opponents, you need to avoid big bluffs or fancy moves. Just bet your hand.
I'm the Chip Leader, Now What?

Once you've actually got the chip lead, you need to hold on to it. Keep pressure on everyone at the table by opening pots or coming in with reraises in position. Stay active, but avoid calling or playing too passively. Try to take down a lot of smaller pots, and avoid big pots unless you have a big hand. Make everyone at the table feel like any hand with you could very well be their last, and if they seem willing to go for it, get out of their way.

Also avoid picking on very short stacks; the dreaded "courtesy double-up" scenario, in which your opponent moves all in for too little to justify a fold on your part, should be avoided at all costs. Pick on the medium stacks; make sure that they have enough chips to fold when you bet.

Conclusion
Becoming the chip leader is all about making the right plays against the right opponents under the right circumstances. If you follow the strategies I've outlined for you here, you'll be the chip leader in no time.

Marc "Myst" Karam is a Canadian poker pro who has won millions of dollars competing in major poker tournaments all around the world. Despite his tournament success, he makes his living primarily by playing online cash games on Eurolinx Poker at some of the highest stakes available.