3 Tips To Run Deep in Small Stakes MTTs

11 Aug 2025

Intermediate

This material is for medium-skilled players

Want to start crushing small stakes poker tournaments? In this topic, I’ll share 3 proven tips to help you run deep and increase your chances of making the final table. Whether you play online MTTs or low buy-in live events, these strategies will help you build your chip stack, avoid costly mistakes, and outplay the competition.

Hey there, and welcome to MyPokerCoaching. I’m your coach, Tristan Wade, and today we’re going to talk about three tips to run deep in small stakes tournaments. Let’s get right into it. Do you struggle in small stakes MTTs? Think for a moment — what are your biggest challenges?

From my experience coaching players, the most common issues are:

• Not knowing how to adjust to different types of opponents;
• Playing against people who call every raise and never fold;
• Running into bad luck along the way (which, in MTTs, is inevitable).

Now, take a second and think about the dynamic at your tables. Chances are, you often face:

• Players who limp into pots constantly;
• Opponents who see the flop with any two cards;
• People who refuse to fold to preflop raises.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this — it’s part of small stakes poker. The question is: how can you adjust and exploit these opponents? No-Limit Hold’em is such a pure form of poker because it combines deep strategy with the unpredictability of human behavior. Understanding who you’re playing against is the foundation for making adjustments to your baseline strategy — the one we aim to perfect as poker players and coaches.

With that in mind, here are three tips to make your life easier and your results better in small stakes tournaments.

This one sounds simple, but it’s crucial: stick to solid opening ranges. It may feel basic, but your range selection is the foundation for every decision you’ll make later in the hand. Without a solid starting point, your postflop game becomes unstable, and mistakes multiply.

If you’re entering pots with hands outside your recommended range, you’re likely playing too many hands — and that’s a problem. In these situations, the best advice really is: fold preflop. I know it’s frustrating when someone tells you “fold pre” without further explanation, but it’s real, practical advice. If you start with the wrong hands, you put yourself in difficult situations and end up paying for it.

A key principle: adjust your range based on position. In early position, keep your range tight — you’re acting first against more opponents. As you move toward late position, where there are fewer players left to act and you have a positional advantage, you can widen your range.

Don’t get impatient. These ranges exist for a reason. They set clear boundaries for what you should and shouldn’t play in each spot. Of course, there are times when you can step outside the chart — perhaps to exploit a specific weakness or to balance your play — but the majority of the time, stick to the structure.

Let’s look at an example: Under the Gun (8-handed), 100 big blind, Raise First In (RFI) range. Hands that make the cut include:

•  ;
•   or  suited;
•   offsuit or   offsuit;
• Certain suited connectors.

Against weak opponents who rarely 3-bet and simply want to see flops, these hands can perform well, especially in multi-way pots. However, if you’re surrounded by tough players or opponents who never fold, it’s often better to tighten up. That means avoiding hands like:

•   suited;
•   suited;
•   suited;
•   offsuit;
•   offsuit;
•   offsuit.

In small stakes tournaments, especially against calling stations, play solid ranges first, and only loosen up selectively.  By sticking to stronger starting hands, you’ll win more often in the “battle of ranges” from the outset. From there, you can gradually open up in the right spots.

Take a 50 big blind, Under the Gun (8-handed) Raise First In range as an example. Here, you’re looking at:

• All suited aces;
•   suited and better;
•   suited and better;
• Pocket fives and up.

This is a solid, disciplined 50 BB opening range. Now, move to the hijack and you can expand:

• Almost any pocket pair;
• Suited connectors from 4-5 up to 6-7;
•   suited,   suited,   suited;
•   suited and better.

Why? Because with fewer players behind you, and fewer opponents with position, you have more flexibility. In the hijack, you’re only worried about the cutoff, button, and blinds. That allows you to open more hands, while still keeping them strong enough to perform well postflop.

Hands like   suited or   offsuit might seem marginal, but they have decent playability: they’re high card hands, suited or with straight potential, and can make the nuts in multiple ways.

This one sounds obvious, but it’s a huge edge — play more hands when you have position. Position is one of the most powerful factors in NLHE poker. Acting last means you see what your opponents do before making your own decision, giving you more information and control over the pot.

When you’re in position, you can:

• Play more speculative hands preflop;
• Extract extra value from weak opponents postflop;
• Control the pot size more effectively.

Knowing which hands are worth taking to the flop, whether by calling a raise or 3-betting, is a key part of this strategy. You should have a clear idea of where your range cuts off preflop in different spots. It’s much easier to play more hands when:

• You’re deeper stacked;
• You’re on or near the button;
• The players around you also have chips to play for;
• The closer you are to the button, the more hands you can profitably call or play in position.

That said, be careful not to overplay from the big blind. Yes, you’re often getting the best pot odds, but you’re also:

• Out of position;
• Facing generally stronger opening ranges.

This makes postflop play trickier, so proceed with caution.

Let’s look at a 50 BB Button vs. Under the Gun (8-handed) open scenario. At this stack depth, your 3-betting range is fairly tight:

• Value hands: Queens+, Ace-King;
• Bluff/value hybrids: Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack, King-Queen, King-Jack, Ace-Ten (good blockers, but not as strong multi-way).

In position, you’ll also call a lot more hands, including:

• Suited connectors;
• Small pairs;
• Suited ;
• Even suited .

These hands play well when you have position, allowing you to control pot size, realize equity, and extract value from weaker holdings.

This is one of the most important principles for tournament success. MTTs are dynamic — your approach should change as the tournament progresses:

• Early Stages. Everyone is deep-stacked, so you can open up your range and take more flops. This is the time to focus on chip EV and look for opportunities to expand your playable hands.
• Approaching the Money: Your chips now have real monetary value, so tighten up. Short stacks will be shoving, 3-bets will be more common, and postflop maneuvering becomes harder with shallower stacks. This is not the time for marginal calls or speculative plays.
• Near the Bubble: Defend your big blind less aggressively. Survival has more value than thin edges here, as your stack preservation directly impacts your cashing chances.
• In the Money: Shift gears. Start building your stack again to give yourself the best chance of reaching (and winning) the final table.
• Final Table. This stage changes everything. Your chips are worth the most here, and each decision has the largest real-money impact. Adjust your raising and calling ranges significantly, factoring in ICM (Independent Chip Model) pressure and payout jumps.

Understanding these stage-by-stage adjustments is crucial for making optimal, profitable decisions throughout a tournament.

Final table play is vastly different from standard chip EV strategy. Under ICM (Independent Chip Model), the monetary value of each decision is amplified, and survival often takes priority over chip accumulation.

At this stage:

• 3-betting ranges tighten;
• Many marginal spots become folds;
• Passive play increases to avoid high-variance confrontations.

Let’s look at a 40 BB Chip EV defense range versus an Under the Gun (8-handed) 2.2x open. In chip EV terms, this range is wide: calling almost any suited hand, many offsuit Aces (A4o+), King-eight offsuit, Queen-nine offsuit, Jack-nine offsuit, and even hands like Ten-eight offsuit or Nine-seven offsuit.

Now, imagine the same situation 200 players left in a 1,000-player field, with 150 places paid. You have 40 BB and are near the bubble. Here’s how your range changes:

• Drop weak offsuit Aces like A4o, A5o, A7o — keep only stronger ones (A8o+);
• Fold marginal Kings like K8o and K9o;
• Remove very weak suited hands (e.g., 9-2 suited) that have poor postflop playability.

Focus on holding high cards and suited hands with nut potential (Kx suited, Qx suited, Ax suited)
The reason? Your chips are now worth more in real money terms, and losing a big pot near the bubble is far costlier than passing up a marginal spot.

Near the money, your big blind defense range can shrink by 20–40% compared to a pure chip EV approach. While you still have playability with 40 big blinds — keeping hands like suited connectors and some suited broadway cards — many weaker offsuit holdings should be dropped entirely.

Your goal here is survival without completely giving up your ability to accumulate chips. Maintaining discipline in these spots prevents you from bleeding away your stack in marginal situations.

Running deep in small stakes MTTs isn’t about memorizing a single “perfect” strategy—it’s about adapting. Stick to solid ranges, prioritize position, and adjust to the stage of the tournament. The deeper you go, the more valuable each decision becomes.

By playing disciplined preflop ranges, leveraging position, and recognizing how tournament dynamics change, you’ll put yourself in the best position not just to cash — but to make real final table runs and take down events.

So here are the three main tips we’ve covered:

Practice Patience & Stick to Your Ranges

Ranges exist for a reason. They keep you from playing too many weak hands and getting into trouble postflop. Be patient and operate within the ranges you’ve studied.

Play More Hands in the Right Spots

Open up when you’re deep-stacked, in position, or far from the money bubble — especially against weaker opponents. When the incentives shift toward chip accumulation, widen your range.

Adjust to Opponents and Tournament Stages

Play tighter against tough opponents, looser against calling stations, and always account for where you are in the tournament. Early, mid, bubble, and final table play all require different approaches.

Tournament poker is tough. There’s huge variance, and even the best players face constant setbacks. You’ll need to win coin flips, avoid coolers, and run well at key moments. The keys to surviving (and thriving) are:

• Have fun and enjoy the game;
• Work hard and keep studying;
• Adopt a Kaizen mindset — always aim to improve;
• Don’t let failure break you — learn from it, embrace it, and come back stronger.

I’ve experienced countless tournament bust-outs myself, but I always get back up, dust off, and try again the next day. If you commit to the process, keep improving, and stay mentally strong, you’ll eventually reach the success you’re chasing. Thanks for taking the time to go through these three tips to help you run deep in small stakes MTTs. Now get out there and put them into action!