Winning Online Poker Strategy: Improving Your Tournament Play

Online poker tournament play can be a daunting experience for even the most seasoned veteran so when you are ready to get started in tournament play it is best to have a solid strategy and that you have taken the time to get comfortable with tournament play. There is a philosophy used by many musicians that can be applied to preparing for tournament play. Musicians may spend hours in their rehearsal space pretending they are on stage at Madison Square Garden or Carnegie Hall, preparing themselves for the experience by imaging themselves in it. The same philosophy can be used in preparing for tournament play. Start with single table tournaments and pretend you are at the final table at the World Championship. Every chip is precious as is ever move you make, apply this simple philosophy to your early single table tournament play and it will help you develop the skills needed later on when you make the move to multi table tournaments. A smart strategy to use when beginning at single table tournaments is to play only premium hands in the first three rounds. Slowly open up and play more hands and get more aggressive as the tournaments continues and as shorter handed the tournament becomes. By slowly building your bankroll and getting within one or two spots from the money it is easier to rob the more desperate players trying to make their money back. Play aggressive at this stage and jump on the chance at taking more of their chips! As with your standard online poker play, you should always stick to your strategy. Fold often, use you bluff sparingly and always be aware of the habits and tells of the other players involved in your game. Be prepared and aware of what types of players are playing at your table and use their habits against them. Studying the other players early in the game will arm you with valuable information that will help you deep into the game. Playing a few early bluffs may be an effective tool in your strategy as can early folds. Your aggressive play should increase deeper into the game but, at the same time, you should be playing a smart disciplined game. It is easier to get aggressive when you feel in control of the game, so study, study, study! Finally, never get yourself into a tournament you are not prepared for! Build your skills and get comfortable with the experience before jumping in. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: Check our poker room reviews, our Poker.com bonus code, and our Poker Room deposit code. Read more articles by: J Finney Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Avoiding Tilt When Playing Poker

Everybody has suffered from going “on tilt” at some point. Even the best players do and if they think they don’t they are wrong. They just have not noticed because they might only do it slightly. Going on tilt does not have to mean you just lose it all together and blow your stack, it can just mean you start to play worse than normal and not play your best game. The trick is to know when you are going on tilt, why you are going on tilt and what to do about it. If you can do this then you are on your way to taking those poker site bonuses along with other player’s money. Here are a few of the main reasons you might go on tilt. YOU ARE TIRED If you have been playing for a while or late into the night then you are likely to get tired. If you are tired you start to lose concentration and make mistakes. If that’s the case then call it a night and play again tomorrow when you are refreshed and fully alert. YOU HAVE HAD A BAD BEAT This happens to everyone, somebody hangs in with a hand they should have folded and makes their hand with the river card to beat your solid hand that was winning from the off. Get over it, easier said than done but if you lose your cool and let it get to you then you will start to make mistakes. YOU ARE HAVING A LOSING RUN You have been having a run of bad luck and think it has got to turn round sometime. It will if you stick to the strategy but if you think you are due a change in luck and play a poor hand then you only have yourself to blame when you lose again. YOU HAVE NOT HAD A DECENT HAND FOR A WHILE You have not had a decent starting hand for ages and Q 7 unsuited looks like a hand worth having a go with because a Q is the highest card you have had for a while. Its not, you have to be disciplined and wait for the good hands, they will come. But even a good hand can be beaten so you still have to consider what the other players might have when one finally comes along. YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR DEPTH You have built up your bankroll and decided its time to take on the high rollers. You start to feel intimidated by the size of the bets, you start to check when you should be raising or worse still fold winning hands because you are worried about losing your money. You are out of your depth, there’s no shame in it, drop back to a smaller stakes game where you feel comfortable. There are many other reasons why you might go on tilt but as a rule if you feel you are then you should turn off the computer. If you don’t feel you can correct it there and then, switch it off and come back another day. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

To Show or Not to Show that is the Question!

Do you show your cards when you've folded your pocket kings to show what a good lay down you are making? What about when you've forced everyone out of the had, do you show off your daring bluff? For me the answer to this question is a simple no. Poker is a game of decision making and providing your opponents with more information than you have to is a bad idea. However, there are exceptions to almost every tactic in poker. When you show make sure you do it for a specific reason. For example you have nothing and bluff an opponent out of a big pot. You've been watching him and are pretty sure that you can put him on tilt by showing off your bluff. Just make sure when you make the decision to show your cards you have a good reason and that is not based in emotion or to show off what a brilliant play you just made. Never do anything only to gain approval or respect of your opponents. The pride and self respect that only comes in time from being a consistent winner is all the respect you need. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker