Satellite Strategy

There are a number of ways to qualify for the WSOP main event across all the major sites. The most direct and best option is through the big buy- in ($500+) tournaments that most of the bigger sites offer. These high-value satellites with a large number of seats on offer are more profitable than those with a smaller number of seats.

Tournaments that only pay one seat are particularly tough, as loose-aggressive players and calling stations tend to play more correctly as the field dwindles (though I think they do this accidentally rather than as a deliberate strategy). Double shootouts and other sit&go-style satellites are also less profitable, as they tend to filter good players to the top.

When choosing a satellite, it’s crucial to look at the structures and field sizes, as these factors will determine how you play. The PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker satellites tend to have large fields with 300+ players and slower structures, while the PartyPoker satellites tend to have smaller fields with 80+ players and a slightly faster structure.

In terms of strategy, the main thing that differs from normal MTT play is the need to maintain your stack at certain points instead of trying to accumulate chips. Certain spots that would be +EV in regular tournaments aren’t worth the risk in a satellite. The main thing you need to keep in mind is that you don’t need to win the whole tournament, but just need enough chips to win your seat.

EARLY PLAY

Early satellite play is very similar to a standard tournament, as there is still a long time before the bubble and the main need is to accumulate chips. The PokerStars satellites have great structures, so you can speculate early on (seeing flops with suited connectors and small pairs) and try to get some of the chips from the donkeys and stations.

I find the standard of play in the big online satellites very poor, as there are a lot of super-satellite players. As such, observing the early hands and player tendencies is very important, as later on when stacks are much shallower one mistake can spell disaster.

Understanding your table dynamics and adjusting appropriately is vital. If the table is very passive it is easier to speculate and limp a lot of hands that may flop big. If, however, the table is aggressive, a tighter strategy is required and you should narrow your pre-flop calling standards.

I wouldn’t place a big emphasis on trying to generate a big stack early on. As a general rule it is best to play tight and not put your chips in half-heartedly with weak Aces or mid pairs. You should also be careful of falling in love with overpairs after the flop.

However, there are exceptions to this ‘tight is right’ rule, for example when a player is ridiculously bad and you hold top pair. In this situation you should never be folding. Once again, this is where good observation of your table is hugely valuable. Failing to notice hugely +EV opportunities by failing to spot the bad players is a big mistake.

MID GAME

Mid-game strategy is dependent both on the size of your stack and of the other stacks at your table. If you find yourself short at this stage then you’re probably going to have to gamble and find a +EV situation that gives you the chance of a double-up. It is possible to grind a short stack (10-15 big blinds) to a seat but I wouldn’t recommend waiting for Aces.

There are easy spots in which to steal in satellites when you are a short stack, provided you shove with fold equity (that is, you have enough chips where people won’t automatically be priced into calling you). But it’s important to shove into stack sizes that won’t want to gamble with you. In general this means stacks in the 25-30 big blind range, whose calling range will be much tighter than the shorter stacks (who need to double up) and the bigger stacks, who can call lighter than normally.

Obviously shoving with good hands helps a lot, but there are some spots where any-two-card shoves are profitable if your opponent is playing correctly. But, and this is a key point, this only works with players who are aware of correct strategy. Be aware of players not playing correctly and making loose calls.

MEDIUM AND BIG STACKS

Medium-sized stacks (20-30 big blinds) are probably the hardest stacks to play, as you can be put to a lot of testing decisions. I think a tight-aggressive approach is best in this situation. You don’t want to put in a raise only to fold to a re-raise very often, as you will make yourself a target for re-steals.

Your stack dictates that you should not take too many gambles at this point, but you don’t want to get blinded down to a short stack either. Try to raise the other weak medium stacks at the table from positions of strength such as early position (though don’t do this too often).

The best strategy with this stack is to pick on the 40+ big blind stacks that are raising a lot of pots. You will want to re-steal from these players with hands that have a lot of equity against their range, by re-raising their pre-flop raises. These stacks will be reluctant to commit half their stack without a premium hand.

With a bigger stack (35+ big blinds), you should focus on maintaining your stack relative to the others. The basic strategy with this stack is to sit back, as there really isn’t any need to get involved. Focus on stealing the blinds from weaker medium stacks, but don’t get involved in big pots without a big hand. If you raise a weaker player to steal his blind but get called by another player, you should exercise extreme caution on the flop.

If the flop texture isn’t very good or the caller is someone you think might play back at you, check-folding is perfectly valid. Although this strategy can be exploitable, most people won’t pick up on it in a big-field tournament.

END GAME

The end-game of a satellite is where sound strategic play becomes most important. As the end nears you’ll need to correctly assess a number of factors, and it’s critical that you have all the available information.

As the end of the satellite approaches, you must be aware of the stack sizes, blind positions and tendencies of every player at all times. Obviously this can be hard to keep track of in some of the bigger satellites, but if possible I would recommend having all the tables open when approaching the bubble so that you can make informed and correct decisions.

Another thing to be aware of is the mean chipstack that will be needed to secure a seat. So, for example, if there are 100 players left and 30 seats available with an average stack of 20,000, then the mean stack required will be 66k. If you take into account that there will be several big stacks then around 40k will be needed to secure a seat. This is important to know when you are just trying to maintain your stack.

SMALL-STACK PLAY

Having a small stack requires you to gamble in certain spots, and it’s important not to lose your all-in fold equity against the big blind. Once again you need to shove into players that don’t need to gamble with you. When really close to the bubble a lot of players tend to just fold when they think they have enough chips. So shoving against 25+ big blind stacks is a good way of surviving and trying to build up your stack.

There will probably be a point where you have to make a big decision and try to double-up in order to win your seat. It’s important in these situations to have all the information available. When facing a call for all your chips close to the bubble, you need to think about how many people are left, where the short stacks are compared to the blinds, what your stack size is relative to the average stack and your equity versus the opposing player’s range.

Take the following hand from a satellite I played recently on PartyPoker to win a seat. There were nine players left with five seats paid out, and I faced an early- position shove from a player with ten big blinds. In this hand I felt that he was shoving a tight range of 9-9+, A-K and A-Q, so with A?-K? I had to call.

I’d probably only have called here with J-J+ and A-K, as tens are nearly always heavily dominated by this guy’s shoving range. With A-K though, I felt I was likely to be up against A-Q and several underpairs, so I felt this was the right call. If I had more chips however (15+ big blinds), I would probably fold and wait for a better spot.

MEDIUM AND BIG STACKS

As a medium stack, bubble play is relatively simple and involves playing only premium hands. As your stack is average you don’t need to take any risks and should just be trying to survive and maintain. Your raising range (for opening and shoving all-in) should be limited to 10-10+ and A-K. As for calling off a large proportion of your stack, a very tight range should be applied (K-K+). There are many situations where it isn’t even worth gambling with A-A.

Large-stack play is pretty simple on the bubble, as you can simply fold your way to a seat. In some satellites though, you can take advantage of all the shorter stacks that are playing tight by putting pressure on them and raising a lot of pots.

This may also speed up the bubble period. However, I tend just to fold my way into the payouts when I reach a certain chip position, as there’s no reason to get involved when there are 35 seats, 40 left and you’re in the top ten positions.