The Opening ends around the first break or a little after. After the first break when the players start to come under Blind preasure. If three players have less than 10 times the big blind, the Opening as ended. In a Re-buy & Add-on poker tournament, the opening will end sometime after Re-buys have been discontinued. It may last a little longer because the add-on gives short stacks a chance to prolong their participation with additional chips.

This period in a poker tournament most closely resembles a poker ring game. Good solid poker play, even with some marginal cards, can build your stack. If you are going to play marginal hands, do I from late position and don't get involved in large pots. Playing only the good starting hands is probably the best tactic. During this period you have a great opportunity to build a chip stack, but it also has the additional risk involved. There is only one way to manage your risk, fold.

After the flop, Don't slow play anything except a flopped flush or a set for your pocket pair. If there is a flush draw or straight draw, consider betting your set immediately. Slow playing is a slow death, and we'll have to listen to another poker bad beat story.

To sum-up the Poker tournament opening: Play a solid poker game. Don't get confrontational. Expect the other players to play quite loosely, (especially in free rolls and R&A Hold'em tournaments). Don't get anxious as your stack shrinks. Sit patiently and wait for good hands. Don't push.