Bounty tournaments are unique poker tournaments where a portion of each players buy-in goes to the tournament prize pool and the remaining amount becomes a bounty on the players head. Each player’s bounty is then won by the player who busts them from the tournament. The details of bounty tournaments vary slightly from room to room. For example, at PKR you only win a portion of each player’s bounty when you eliminate them with a small percentage being added to your own bounty. This makes bounty cashes larger as the tournament increases. No matter how the bounty tournament is set up the unique structure requires certain adjustments to your game to achieve the maximum value.
Tip #1 – Isolate short stacked players with big hands
If you get lucky enough to wake up with a big hand when a short stacked player is either all-in or in the big blind for a good portion of their chips you should try to isolate them so that you are the only player who has a chance at their bounty. Other players will want to play the pot to try to get luck and win the free cash. You will have to discourage this by making a big raise. Remember, the value of the bounty must also be included when you are considering the pot odds. This means in order to force your opponents to either fold or make a negative value call you must raise more than you would if no bounty was looming. Don’t let your opponents see free cards when a bounty is up for grabs. Isolate the short stack and take them out yourself.
Tip #2 – Play hands with short stacks
This tip builds on tip #1, except this time you are the player who wants to get a cheap flop. If you see a short stack player in a hand you should try to see a flop for as little as possible. If you manage to hit a big hand, not only will you win the short stacks bounty, you will also likely win a good portion of chips from any other player who thinks they could possibly have the best hand. If someone raises pre-flop you should include the bounty in the pot odds when deciding if you should make the call. This doesn’t mean call anything with junk, but if you have a decent hand it is advantageous to see a flop in this situation.
Tip #3 – Get it all in with the nuts when short stacked
The great thing about bounty tournaments is you will often get callers when you push all-in with a short stack. Other players will want to take a stab at winning your bounty so they will be calling your short stack push with less than they would in a regular tournament. You can use this fact to your advantage by only pushing with very strong hands. You can also start pushing earlier than you would in a regular tournament. Once you have about 15 big blinds you should consider yourself in push or fold mode. Get it all in with the best of it, hold up and double up!
Tip #4 – Don’t become obsessed with bounties
This is probably the most important tip of all. You see it all the time. Players get obsessed with eliminating opponents and they forget that a tournament prize pool even exists. It’s important to remember that at least half of the entire tournament cash is in the tourney prize pool and you can take a good cut of that without even eliminating a single opponent. Don’t take your eyes off the main prize. The first place cash is a lot more than any bounty you will earn in the tournament.
Four Bounty Tournament Tips was submitted by Niko, a professional poker player who runs Bookmaker Bonus Code
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