Poker Tournaments Tips

Here, at www.poker777.com, we want to introduce you to three things that can happen when entering a poker tournament.

When entering a poker tournament, three things can happen:

• You swiftly lose all your cash and find yourself out of the tournament.
• You hang in for awhile, but eventually let the pressure get to you and make bad bets until you run out of money and end up a sullen bystander.
• You play brilliantly, adjusting your strategy to the different stages of tournament play and win big.

Although these are broad generalizations, they do cover the majority of poker tournament play. As with everything having to do with poker, strategy in tournament play is critical and must be tailored to the type of tournament and game variation. Starting with the basics, it's important to identify if the tournament is a 'freezeout' and only costs the initial playing fee, or if it allows add-on's and re-buys. In addition, blinds will usually increase in cost as the tournament progresses, requiring players to be extremely careful with their money management. The next important factor in developing tournament strategy is being aware of your tendencies as a poker player and the different stages of tournament play. For example, if you are an aggressive player, learn at what stage to be aggressive and when to hold back and play conservatively.

Tournament play is a matter of survival. If you've managed to make it to the final round, the question will be can you handle the pressure and continue to think clearly, or will you make a silly error and see the game slip from your fingers. Many experts have written books to help develop tournament strategy and explain the details surrounding tournament play. Check out our section on Poker Tournament Tips and on Poker Books for more information, or develop your poker skills by playing in an online poker room.