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PokerStars is launching a new tournament format today called Time Tourneys. A Time Tourney lasts for a set amount of time, and when the time is up, finishing positions and prizes are awarded based on the sizes of the remaining players' stacks. So the guy with the most chips gets 1st place money, the guy with the next most chips gets 2nd place money, etc.
I tend to believe that a new format, at least one that has a significant influence on strategic decision-making, automatically benefits players with the most poker knowledge. No one has ever played a Time Tourney before, let alone watched a video or read a book about the strategy, so the players who can best finish out the correct strategic adjustments on the fly have the biggest advantage. Hopefully you'll also pick up an advantage by reading a few of my thoughts on the effects that this new format will have on tournament strategy:
Continuous Bubble: In a traditional tournament, correct strategy can deviate dramatically from cash game play because of the value of your survival. This is particularly true when you are near payout jumps, especially the "bubble" that separates players who will win something from those who will not and the final table, where every player eliminated means a significant pay increase for every other player still in the tournament.
In a Time Tourney, such "bubble" situations will arise depending on your stack size and those of other players, not the stage of the tournament. You must constantly keep an eye on the chip positions to determine your risk and reward in any given hand you play. Will winning this pot catapult you into a top 3 position and dramatically increase your prize? Will losing it knock you out of the money entirely? The closer you get to the end of the tournament, the more this will matter, as there will be fewer opportunities to change your position.
Risk Aversion: Just like at a final table, you can make money in a Time Tourney simply because of what other players are doing. When you have a large stack, you should keep an eye on how the other large stacks are playing. If any of them seem to be taking a lot of risks, then it would behoove you play conservatively and hope that the more reckless players lose big pots and move you up the pay scale.
Desperation: As the end of the tournament approaches, players who are not in the money have little to lose and a lot of incentive to gamble. Expect the action to get crazy, and be prepared to gamble it up if you yourself are short. If your stack on the last hand of the tournament does not put you in the money, it will generally be incorrect for you to fold regardless of your holding. Be aware of this when you are short but also when you have chips, because it should affect how your short-stacked opponents will play.
You won't be able to autopilot a Time Tourney, especially not at first. This can make it a lot of fun and a great learning experience, because you will constantly find yourself thinking through new situations, which is what poker is all about!
Here's more about how Time Tourneys work:
Tournaments last for a set amount of time (min: 15 minutes, max: 180 minutes)
When the running time expires, finishing positions and prizes are awarded based on stack size
Available around the clock across a huge range of buy-ins, starting from only $1.

You can find Time Tourneys in the PokerStars software by going to the 'Tourney' tab and looking for tournaments marked with a stopwatch icon. You can also search for them by entering 'Time' into the Tourney Filter.





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