Poker can be described as a game of information.  You are constantly making decisions based on, in part, information you have accumulated during the tournament to that point.

When you have reached the final table or if it is a single table tourney and you are down to 3 players you should have a good idea on the character of your opponents.  That is you should have accumulated enough information on these players throughout the match to kind of size up their game.

Are they a tight player or have they been playing a lot of hands ?  Do they always raise when entering a pot or do they just limp ?  Have they sucked out a few times to reach the final table or have they just been winning with the best hands ?

These are just some of the questions you should be getting the answers to throughout a tournament.  Whether you are involved in a hand or not there is always information available for you to use at a later date.

I was involved in a single table tournament recently where I noticed a particular player raising pots early and not just raising but raising big.  He was also involved in alot of pots.  To me this speaks to a player who is unsure about his game.

Why? because in the few pots where he had to show his hand, it was a marginal hand at best and he had hit the flop.  So he was raising big early in the match and started pushing when we got down to 5 players.  There was one player between us and he was to my right.  That player was eliminated and for the next 4 hands when I was the big blind he push all in.

I let him have it but I know he couldnt have premium hands every time I am in the bb.  I had enough chips to wait him out and on the 5^th go around he pushed and I called with A 10.  He had Q 7 and hit a Q and I was out.  That stung a little but I made a note  on him for the next time we meet.

The point was that I had collected enough information to wait and make the correct call.  He NEEDED the luck to win.

I highly recommend using the players notes available to you online to give you a little edge against any player you come up against.  In a quick one table tournament they can be valuable in helping you make correct decisions.

Poker is a game of information.  The more you collect the bigger your edge !