Online poker has created some new action that we would never see in a regular casino. Because the hands can be dealt faster, the online environment has created numerous ways to speed up the tournament process. Turbo tournaments are the latest craze in the online poker world, and action for these events is growing every day.

What sets these tournaments apart from other online events is the speed at which the blinds are elevated. Turbo tournaments can have the blinds going up every five or ten minutes, making for a fast-paced and action-filled tournament that takes a fraction of the time to complete. Not all of us have the time to spend playing four to seven hours in a poker tournament, so these events fit into the busy lifestyle of your average online tournament player.

Basic turbo tournament strategy dictates that you play aggressively with good cards. Blinds are not small for very long, so playing tight is only a consideration for the first half hour of the event. You want to practice most of the usual aggressive tactics, like raising when you have good position and defending your big blind from late-position raisers. You’ll also want to bet into situations where it seems like no one is interested in the hand.

Premium hands should be played with aggression in late position because it’s likely that you will get action on them. Premium hands can be slow-played pre-flop from an early position because it’s likely that a late position will raise it up, giving you the opportunity to make a big re-raise when the pot has grown. Once again you should get action on the re-raise because many players will think you’re just trying to steal the pot.

As the tournament progresses, you’ll need to maintain your aggression. It will be more of a battle to stay ahead of the blinds than against the other players, and you’ll have to take chances with medium-strength cards when your stack falls below the tournament average. Even if you’re in a coin flip with your opponent, this level of aggression is necessary for turbo success.

Some turbo tournaments are re-buy events. These will have an even more aggressive tone early on because players can just re-buy if they get knocked out. Everyone wants to build a stack to play with, and players will often gamble all-in pre-flop with hands like Q-J or A-10. Waiting for premium cards in early positions, and medium-strength hands in late positions will help you, but luck plays a big role in any turbo event which is why they’re so popular with new players.

So if you like to gamble when you play poker, and you get a rush from pushing all your chips into the middle with K-Q off-suit, these tournaments will be for you. Keep the aggression level up, even with a big chip stack, and you’ll at least have your turn at getting lucky and winning one of these events. Pounce on weakness when you sense it, and keep note of where the trapping-style players are sitting. You’ll have to get in there and battle numerous times throughout the event, so tight players may want to stay away from these types of tournaments. These ones are for the gamblers, to play with both barrels blazing; until it’s time to hold back a bit, when you think someone else has the goods.

So now you know that you can play tournaments without losing half your night’s sleep. Try out a turbo event; you might be surprised how you do, and how much fun you’ll have.