Author: Sean Moronse
You are one of the serious online poker players, then you probably have thought about taking part in the numerous online poker tournaments offered by many poker sites. Or if you are new to playing poker, I am pretty sure that one of your goals is to compete in the exciting online poker tournaments in order to test your skill and luck. In other words, all poker players and poker player wannabes all dream of playing the ultimate tournament for a number of different reasons. Most of those who take part in any tournament, the money and the prestige rank as the tops factors for joining. Of course, who wouldnt want to win big money and who wouldnt want to be known for being good at something you enjoy?

Some poker players, however, join online poker tournaments as preparations for the next or bigger competitions nor for real life poker games. Whatever the reason, these tournaments contribute to the poker players rich experience. As we all know, first hand experience is the best way in learning the tricks and the best moves for any poker game set. Learning from the big names in poker history, we have gathered the most useful tips and strategies in preparing for actual online poker tournaments. These tips are from the experiences of actual players themselves so these are developed with credibility. Of course, the best moves on online poker tournaments would be based on the poker players actual study of the actual games but it would not hurt to know about the useful, right?

Tip 1: Position is necessary in playing a no limits Texas Holdem. It is advisable to play tight early in the position or play aggressive from late position but also trying to steal blinds.

Tip 2: In online poker tournament, you have to collect the maximum number of chips possible at a certain timeframe. This means that you must win more chips than what you normally have to win at ring poker online games. It is also important to increase blinds as you play while increasing your chips.

Tip 3: Remember that when you CALL a bet, you need a stronger hand but when you MAKE the bet, it is easier for you. So always remember that you must have a better and stronger hand if another player opened the bet.

Tip 4: In online poker tournaments, it is also important to have focus. If you have multi table arrangement, then focus on your own table and try to gain as many chips as you can before thinking of other tables.

Tip 5: Be flexible yet on guard. As a poker player, whether online or offline, it is important to know when you should take on a certain attitude. You must know when to play tight and when to be aggressive. You should be able to read other players moves (and so psychology matters!), position and tournament structure.

Tip 6: Study offline and online poker tournament moves made by opponents or other players. This is one trick many poker champions get. The more you watch and the more you play, the more you learn at poker. After getting a few lessons, try them out and test which one works best in different situations

Author: Claire Bullerwell
Online poker has recently been gathering a lot of interest lately. When you come and visit the online world you will be able to notice that there are more and more poker sites offering online poker tournaments that anyone can join into anytime. If you want to get better at playing this cards game, practicing online may give you just the edge in honing your poker skills.

There are many types of poker games that online poker tournaments can offer you. There are poker games that allow you to compete with the computer or with other people online. There are different types of poker games that you can join into.Playing poker games with machines are only good for practice and getting better at playing the game. But if you want to do some betting and play for the winnings, then there are other online venues available that will help you compete with other people on the poker table.

When it comes to online poker tournaments, seasoned poker players and even poker greenhorns have a chance to go head to head with one another in one of the online poker tournaments available on the Net.They have different types of tournaments to choose from. There are tournaments available that require an entry fee from the players. This will be added up to become part of the prize money being offered. There are also other poker tournaments online that has no need for entry fees in order to join in. The players compete for player points, entry to other tournaments and even prize money.Most of the most played online poker tournaments are of the multi-table type where players start with a fixed number of chips and players try to eliminate one another at the table by winning the most hands. As tables get vacant seats and get broken, players are reassigned to keep the remaining tables full.

This will go on until the last few surviving players end up at the final table. There is also a specialized form of a multi-table tournament called the shootout where players remain playing at their tables until only one player is left standing. The winner is then to compete with other winners on the other tables.There are a lot of things for you to expect when playing poker tournaments online. First of all, if you are playing to win, you should be always at the top of your game. Many of your opponents online would be professional online poker players.They are there to earn a living. You should be careful on what types of poker tournaments you are joining into. For beginners, there are several beginner tournaments available that one can join in order to sharpen ones poker skills. An aspiring online poker player like you should take the tournaments from the ground up.

You should first try to join in the smaller tournaments and slowly go up the ranks by joining into the next level of poker tournaments available. Pretty soon, with your experience and winning ways, you will be able to make it playing with the big shot poker players at the big-time tournaments. Playing online poker tournaments, you should also expect to get addicted into the game as you go along. Playing online is such an engaging game that you would sometimes find yourself playing for hours on end. Also expect being able to meet new friends and poker buddies from all over the world who also enjoy playing the game.You should also expect of becoming a part of an emerging online pastime that has been getting more and more fans day after day. Online poker games still have a long way to go. But by the way the game has been gaining more and more popularity, it has nowhere else to go but up.

Author: Jay Scott
Most poker tournaments are played along the same lines -- players begins with a uniform amount of chips, the blinds gradually increase as the tourney moves on and players are eliminated along the way until only one person ends up with all of the tournament chips.

A large part of the cash prize pool in these casino poker tournaments goes to the top finishers but, typically, the top 10% of entrants finish in the money. Hence, if the tournament you are joining has 500 participants, you are likely to place in the money if you finish among the top 50.As a rule, most tournaments are freezeouts, which means that any player who loses all his chips cannot return to the tournament.There are many tournament variants as well and the type of variant will alter the basic strategy of the tournament. Some tournaments junk the freezeout structure, escalate the blinds more quickly, introduce re-buys or have a winner-take-all structure.The larger tournaments that have 500 or more players are usually turbo tournaments, steps tournaments or shootouts. The following are the strategies for each.

Turbo Tournaments
The turbo tournament is very fast and the blinds escalate quickly, usually after every five minutes. There have even been some turbo tourneys where the blinds rise every two minutes. Luck tends to play a larger role in this tournament than in others.There will be minimal post-flop play since players tend to be forced to go all-in pre-flop or fold. It is important to be aggressive in this type of tournament. If you are passive, the blinds will quickly use up your stack. The best strategy is to try to steal a lot of blinds and hope that Lady Luck is on your side.

Steps Tournaments
The steps tournament usually involves five steps. Winners of the early steps advance to the later rounds while losers move back a step or have to pay a new entry fee. Prizes are only awarded at the final step.For these tournaments, it’s important to note the prize structure because some online poker rooms try to extract a lot of entry fees from participants in these steps tournaments. Look for a steps tournament that rewards players by advancing them to the next step or penalizes players by eliminating them altogether without further buy-ins. Otherwise, assume the strategy of a single-table tourney. When about 30% of players advance to the next level, you should play a selectively aggressive game. Try to steal blinds and keep your stack above average. Remember, it’s not the guy with the most chips that advances.But you do have to retain a large chip stack to discourage others from trying to knock you out. If you succeed in stealing blinds, you will have an above-average stack and, as a result, fewer confrontations. When you reach the final step, revert back to you normal single-table tournament strategy.

Shootouts
In shootouts, which are similar to steps tournaments except that shootouts are a single event unlike steps tourneys where players that advance can decide to play the next step at a later date. The strategy in shootouts depends on the tournament structure.If only a single player advances to the next round, you must be very aggressive in your play and take plenty of risks. If several players advance, adopt a selective aggressive approach. Try to maintain a decent-size stack to discourage attacks from opponents and try to steal as many blinds as possible.

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