We have not discussed poker tips for some time and now is a good time to reflect on much of the information we have learned these past few months. You could print these out and keep them next to your computer whilst you play poker online. The tips below will help keep you focused and playing your best game. Riches will surely follow…

Keep it Cool early in a Tournament

With a good blind structure in poker tournaments you have the opportunity to wait for good hands. When you get those good hands, raise and be happy to take the blinds. Slowly building your stack and not busting is the aim of the opening few levels of play. Phil Ivey often says these early parts of a tournament are really boring for him, but he still plays the way he should.

Use the time to learn about your opponents, talk to them if you are playing live and try to learn how they play certain hands a certain way. This information will be critical later on.

Cash game Chips are not Money

Professional poker players use cash game chips as chips and not money. If you are at the table thinking “it is $200 to call” you are thinking about the game incorrectly, it is better to say “it is 200 chips to call”. The consideration on how much it costs to buy-in should be made before you sit down to play. If the level is too high for you sit at a cheaper buy-in table. Always exercise good bankroll management and do not play above your comfort zone. It is not easy to forget you are playing with real money especially when the pot gets bigger, but it is something you must try and learn.

If you watch High Stakes Poker you will see that some players cannot do this, which means they are playing too high for their bankroll and their own comfort levels.

Analyse Those Stats Everyday

On a recent 2+2 pokercast show the announcers told a tale that Phil Hellmuth was sitting with Scotty Nguyen and Phil was really excited. He had found out about this programme called Pokertracker and he was telling Scotty how amazing it was. The young online poker professionals at the table rolled their eyes and you may be rolling your eyes too. If not, get a program like this because it really is as useful as Phil says (even if he is a little bit late in discovering it).

You can set it up to import all of your hand histories automatically so you can filter exact hole cards, opponents, sessions and individual hands to check you are playing right. It is not good to know the strategy and not use it (I must remember that!) so you need to look over your stats in hand review sessions to manage your performances. If you notice a leak or a strategy problem you can either post your query to a poker forum for answers or seek advice from a coach.

These three tips are just some of many things you should be doing. Continue to read articles like this for a thorough explanation of poker concepts and ideas. Comment below if you have any other tips and check back here for more advice in the future. Playing poker is about remembering lots of things you should be doing, and then doing them when the situation arises!

Join me at bwin.com and practise all of these ideas at a poker site with superb usability and software.

By Malcolm Clarke

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