To win a poker tournament you have to have a strtegy and clearly define priorites. In a poker tournamenta your main strategy should be as follows:
1. Surviving to actually get to the final table. It seems obvious however, many poker players need that to be told over and over again.
2. Building up a large amount of chips. This will allow you to survive large blinds and tougher competition at latter tables. This must be accomplished without risking the entire tournament.
3. Keep your focus. Concentration is always important when playing in a tournament. This is not easy as tournaments might last several hours.
4. Don't drink alcohol while playing because it can impair your judgement.
5. Play the player. One of the most common ways to win at poker is to get others to make mistakes. To do this you have to know the people you are playing against and how they like to play.
Now to the more advanced strategy
Short-stacked? As a rough guide, if you’ve got less than six- times the big blind, you’re short- stacked. Now you are looking to double up. No point getting blinded out waiting for your pocket rockets. Keep an eye on the blinds and estimate how many hands you’re likely to see before you’re blinded so low that an all-in raise before the flop would be likely to get more than one caller. Wait for the best possible hand, then employ a little strategy.
Big stack? Here’s your opportunity to get a bit more aggressive, but remember, nobody ever won a tournament at the 'half way' point. Avoid the temptation to call a lot of flops with marginal hands in the hopes that one will hit. Instead, use your extra chips to apply pressure to weaker players (remember the gap). If you’re going into a pot with marginal cards you’re better off going in with a raise. Go bluffing too often though and short stacks will start to target you for doubling up opportunities.
6. Make sure you're bluffing against players smart enough to fold. With some guys, you couldn’t get them out of a pot with a cannon so there’s no point in trying.
7. Make your bet the same size whether you’re bluffing or you have a real hand. Eventually, you’ll have them leaning the wrong way and they will call when they should fold and fold when they should call. 10. Consider your chips to be the cost of doing business, nothing more and nothing less. You’ll free yourself from the fear of losing them, and then you can go win more.
Good Luck!
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