90 Player MTT Strategy

90 Man MTT Strategy

90 Man MTTs are my favourite type of game because they allow me to use my tournament skills whilst making regular ITM finishes in a small field.  Another thing I like about 90 man MTTs is that they quicker than large MTT events – your average 90 man MTT lasts just  2 hours.  With the top 18 places getting paid you should aim for no less than a 20% ITM  before you move up a level.

Best Site for 90 Man MTTs: PokerStars $600 Bonus

PokerStars is the best site for regular 90 Man MTTs.  These fill up and register quickly, and are  available in a wide range of stakes including:  25c, $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, $20, $30 up to $100.  All games are available in Turbo structure too.

90 Man MTT Early Stage Strategy

Begin the tournament tight with the blinds at 10/20 and 3,000 in chips.  Depending on your buy-in level, nits in these type of games will be over-valuing their pocket cards and be set mining a lot.  Bad players who happen to have doubled up early will also be calling very loosely.  You best bet at this stage is to focus on premium hands, and be value betting when you hit a good hand.  With 9 players at your table and the blinds worth less than 1% of your stack, you shouldn’t worry about blind stealing or protecting for the first couple of levels.

A lot of players in the lower buy-in 90 man MTTs ($30 and less) will go out in the first few blind levels – this will be around 20% of players.  By playing very tight in the early stages and building chips gradually, you’ll be in a better position relative to others.

90 Man MTT Middle Stage

As the blind get to 120/240 you should see around 40 – 50 players left.  With the blinds worth a big amount you should be playing more aggressively and stealing blinds as often as you can from late and mid-position on tight tables.  Be aware at lower buy-in levels your 3bets and value shoves won’t be affective against bad opponents, and you may still end up being called by 10J or QK. 

When you do play, make sure you raise the pot and lead out as early as possible.  This is always true when jamming, as you want to get as much fold equity as possible without players already deep in the pot.  There’ll also be many small stacks with less than 10BBs going all-in, so keep calling these players when you have a good hand or pockets, and put them under pressure when they’re on the blinds.  Overall, limp from late position with suited connectors and pockets, and if you’re going to make a play from early position, focus only on premium hands and raise 3-4 Blinds.

90 Man MTT Final Stages

With two tables remaining, and most players eager to make the final table, the game will become extremely tight (due to ICM concept and CEV).  Although it’s true you should also be playing tight here, a general principle in poker is to play LAG on a dry table, and TAG on a loose table.  You should take advantage of your table if players are very tight or low on chips. Blind stealing is extremely profitable on a dry table, and don’t underestimate the advantages of getting to the final table as big stack.  With 50% of the prizepool going to 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd, it’s well worth taking risks in the bubble to give yourself a good shot on the final table. 

Lastly, as the game opens up and becomes short-handed you’re going to have to be getting your chips into far more points and even get a little lucky with your all-ins and value shoves.  Most players on the final table will be folding or shoving with a specific percentage of hands pre-flop, so taking notes on players’ starting hand/shoving ranges is very important.  For more information on the type of hands different player will shove and the strength of hands you’ll need to call them for +EV, you can read the article calling shoves in tournaments.

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