Believe me when I say that anyone can go deep in a poker tournament. I once showed someone how to play Texas Hold’em and this person then came 5th the following week in a 75 man tournament. Basically all I did was teach him the rules of the game and how to play and in no way showed him anything technical. Remember that you can go very deep in tournaments and even win them by using strategies that you tend to find in SNG’s. This is to play very tightly during the early levels when the blinds are very low and then to slowly but surely expand your aggression levels.
This style of play has several advantages. Firstly it prevents you from having to play much poker during the crazy opening stages and it takes you to the middle stages with your life intact most of the time. What you shouldn’t be doing is feeling pressured to try and catch the leading stacks. What you cannot control is what is happening on the other tables. I have known and heard of countless players who have barely amassed any chips during the first few levels and then gone on to not only cash but actually win the event.
So the lesson here is clear, as long as you have a playable stack of ten big blinds as an absolute minimum then you have a chance of cashing and even making the final table. The key here is not to feel pressured into making moves simply because other players have far bigger stacks. Luck decides who amasses chips in poker tournaments and not skill.
