Poker Tournament Tips – Tips for Winning Poker Tournaments

If you follow some basic tips when playing in a poker tournament, you can increase your chances of winning dramatically.

The popularity of poker tournaments has been rising steadily since the first major tournament – the 1970 World Series of Poker that attracted seven players. With multi million dollar poker tournaments on television and the increased popularity and accessibility of the Internet, poker tournaments, both online and land-based are growing in number.

Playing ring games and playing tournaments are very different and they require different strategies for success. Here are some useful tips for when playing in poker tournaments.

Focus on your own Table

In multi table poker tournaments there can be tens, if not hundreds of poker tables, all full of poker players. Try not to worry about what is happening at any of these other tables. Focus on your game and your direct opponents as this will give you the greatest chance of winning.

Don't be Afraid to Read your Opponents

An important part of learning poker tournament skills is learning to read your opponents. You can then use this information to help you decide how to play your hand.

Make use of Bluffing

As long as you are able to, do not be afraid to bluff. Especially if you have an aggressive opponent, you can use it against him by making him think that you have a weak hand when you actually have a strong one.

You need to get through to the Final Table

In order to have a shot at winning, you have to get through to the final table of the tournament. In order to do that, you need to survive all the preceding rounds. You must have patience when you play at a multi table poker tournament. Trying to rush will not speed up the tournament – it is more likely to result in you being eliminated in an early round. Rather, in a multi table tournament, you will do better by playing a tight conservative game during the early rounds and only being aggressive in the later rounds or when you have a very good hand.

Practice your Strategy in Single Table Tournaments

Single table tournaments are essentially the same as the final table of a multi table tournament. Before you enter multi table tournaments, you can practice your final table strategy by playing at single table events and imagining that they are the final table of a multi table event. In this way, you can practice aggressive play without getting yourself eliminated in an early round of a multi table tournament. To practice for the early rounds of multi table tournaments, you can play real money games as these won't have the pressure from blinds.

Work out a Tournament Strategy before you Begin to Play

Your tournament strategy will depend on the type of tournament you are playing. Make sure to work out a game plan for the tournament before you begin so that you can start to play a strategy right from the first rounds. Don’t wait until you are under pressure to try to work out how you should continue to play or you are unlikely to choose the most effective strategy.