WSOP 2024: 9 Strategy Tips for Freezeout Tournaments

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Jun 12, 2024 5 min read Last updated Dec 17, 2024

Freezeout tournaments represent the pinnacle of traditional tournament poker, where once you're out, you're out.

Unlike their re-entry counterparts, freezeouts maintain the purity of the game by restricting players to a single buy-in. While they may lack the colossal prize pools of re-entry events, freezeouts offer a level playing field, where every participant has one shot at glory.

However, the allure of massive guarantees in re-entry tournaments has somewhat overshadowed freezeouts in recent years. Yet, freezeouts possess a charm that resonates with many players. They eliminate the advantage of deep pockets, ensuring that skill and strategy reign supreme over sheer financial firepower.

Strategy: The Three Stages of Freezeout Tournament Poker

In a freezeout, a recreational player knocking out a seasoned pro holds equal weight to any other elimination, as there are no second chances. This dynamic fosters an environment where patience, discipline, and calculated aggression are paramount from the tournament's inception.

If you're looking to master the art of freezeout tournaments, check out our article containing top tips tailored specifically for freezeout poker strategies.

Early Stage

If you register for a freezeout tournament at the start of the event, you'll find that you have a lot of big blinds to play with. Now, just because you have a load of chips to play with, it does not mean you need to put them to use from the get-go.

It has often been theorized that conserving chips should be the game plan in the early stages of freezeout poker tournaments. Of course, you should be going for as much value as possible with your made hands; however, there's no need to jeopardize yourself with marginal hands. There will be future spots to get someone's stack, so remember that patience is key in the first few levels.

There is the argument that you should play more with more aggression in the early stages of this format, as you may be able to capitalize on the mistakes of weaker players and punish them. However, if a read in a tricky spot is incorrect, you could find yourself in survival mode early on or even eliminated.

Early Stage Top Tips

• Don't commit chips with marginal hands
• Patience and discipline will help you avoid difficult situations
• Go for maximum value with your strong made hands

Middle Stage

How you play the middle stages of freezeouts is entirely dependent on the size of your chip stack. The main idea remains the same in that survival should be priority number one but you need to be more proactive in this part of the tournament.

Now, unless if you are monster stacked, you'll often find yourself having a 30-50 big blind stack at this stage of the event. If you find yourself with a middling number of chips at this stage, you'll want to start stealing blinds more often. The best way to do this is to put pressure on the blinds in unopened pots when you're in the late positions on the table. You can raise pre-flop with a wider percentage of hands, and your bets will find less resistance as you only need a couple of players to fold for you to pick up the blinds and antes.

You want to do this more here than in the early stages as the chips have greater value at this point in the game, and picking up around two or more big blinds when you have a thirty-something stack is a significant increase.

On the flip side, you should also try to avoid pots with opponents who cover you. These players can put you in some awful situations where you may find yourself at risk of elimination. If you have a really strong hand, of course, you should get your chips in the middle, but like the early stages, you should be more weary with your middling strength hands.

Another factor to consider when in the middle levels is bubble play. It is very likely in large field freezeouts that the money bubble will take place at this point. This is another spot where you can apply pressure on shorter stacks to steal pots, as those with just a few big blinds will want to fold their way to the money.

Middle Stage Top Tips

• Put small stacks under pressure near the money bubble
• Avoid confrontations with bigger stacks
• Be more aggressive in late positions to steal blinds

End Stage

At this point, hopefully, you have made the money and guaranteed some profit for the day. Like the above section, how you play the later stages of these tournaments is dictated by how many chips you have managed to accumulate throughout the previous levels.

Here is where you should have a winning game plan, you've made it this far so you should be aiming to be walking away with the first place spoils, especially if you have a big stack.

As one of the chip leaders, continuing to put pressure on smaller stacks will chip you up whilst simultaneously grinding your opponents down. You also have the benefit of not hurting your stack too much if you need to fold preflop if someone moves all-in or three-bets your open. You can play a bit riskier to really put other players in uncomfortable situations.

If you find yourself around the 10-15 big blind mark, you're going to want to play in a matter that is shove or fold. Stealing the blinds here is where chips are at their most valuable, so again, picking up those couple of blinds is so important. In later positions, getting your chips in the middle with any ace, strong Broadway cards, pairs and some suited connectors are all fine moves to make, however, you should memorise push/fold charts from all positions at the table to ensure your play is the correct one.

You should take the time to grasp the basics of ICM and end gameplay for when you’re close to or at the final table. Sometimes, what looks like a call should be a fold based on the stacks around you and the prizes on offer.

End Stage Top Tips

• With a big stack, continue to put pressure on shorter stacks
• Pay attention to ICM
• Learn push/fold charts

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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