Being able to play small pot poker is an essential part of any good tournament poker player’s game. Small pots are particularly important when playing in deep stacked online tournaments. Personally, I like to keep the pots as small as possible when playing within structures that allow for lots of chips and long blind levels. The reason for this is that you almost always have good odds to take the draw you need to make your hand. The other reason is that small pots almost always allow you to get away from your hand when you are beat. Being able to get away from a hand with minimal loss is a skill which can be acquired and utilized with good fundamental play. I also like small pots because I can disguise the strength of my hand even better by not over raising the pot as is typical of smaller faster structures.

On the other hand there are times when playing small pots is almost impossible. This usually happens in fast tournament structures with levels of 15 minutes or less and small starting stacks like $1500 or less in chips. These kinds of structures are typical of online low buy-in poker rooms and live casinos. The play is extremely fast and over exaggerated. Very little poker strategy is used at times. Raises can be anywhere from all-in from the very first hand of the tournament to ten times the big blind. You need to be aware of your environment when you are playing and know how to play based on the tournament structure and player types. In other words – pay attention. Know the structure as well as the people you are playing with and you can adjust your game accordingly.

Good luck at the tables!