Chip Leader Strategy: Dominating Your Table

## Chip Leader Strategy Being the chip leader at a tournament table is a position of immense power. Your stack allows you to apply pressure to every other player, force difficult decisions, and accumulate chips with relatively low risk. As chip leader, identify which players are playing scared and target them relentlessly. Raise their blinds, put them to the test with bets and raises, and make their tournament experience uncomfortable. Most medium stacks will fold rather than risk a confrontation with the big stack. Avoid unnecessary clashes with other big stacks. There is no benefit to gambling with another large stack when you can exploit the medium and short stacks with much less risk. Choose your battles wisely and maintain your chip lead through controlled aggression. ## Tournament Rakeback Reminder Tournament buy-in fees count toward your rakeback tier at most rooms. When evaluating tournaments, factor in the effective discount from your rakeback percentage. A $10+$1 tournament at 40% rakeback effectively costs $10.60 after rakeback — a meaningful savings over thousands of entries.