Improving Your Chances In Poker Tournaments
It’s very exciting to be a part of a poker tournament, whether you’re there just as a fan or a first-time player. But if it’s the latter, no doubt you’re feeling excited and nervous at the same time. Your stomach’s queasy and you don’t know if you want to laugh or cry. Prior to the day when the poker tournament’s going to be held, you thought you were okay and you were even reasonably confident of your playing skills. But now that the day has come, everything related to poker have flown out of your mind and all you’re left with is just a big blank.
BUT relax and just take a deep breath because panicking shall get you nowhere. If you want to improve your chances of winning in poker tournaments or at least lasting longer than your opponents probably think, long enough not to lose face in the process, here are some tips to follow.
Don’t Let Anything Bother You – In poker tournaments, understand that nothing should come between you…and the cards. Don’t think about anything else. If someone or something is distracting you, do not let your concentration waver. Poker tournaments are not ordinary games of poker in which you always have the ready assurance that you could dig deep in your pockets so you won’t be forced to leave the table. It’s the exact opposite in poker tournaments and you should remind yourself of that always. All players in the poker tournament play with the chips they’re originally given and that’s all, no more and no less. So it’s important not to let anything ruin your concentration and consequently, your game, because you can’t afford to make a mistake since there’s no going back.
Keep Your Priorities Straight – During the early rounds, don’t set your heart at winning every hand you’re dealt with because it’s too early for the number of wins to matter. You still have a long way to go to before you read the all important final round so just worry about surviving the first few rounds and lasting long in the poker tournament. The same goes with your playing strategy against different types of players.
Let yourself be aggressive only when you’re playing against poker players with dwindling stacks of chips or those who have clearly lost their momentum and are getting more and more frustrated round after round. Lastly, when it’s still in the first few rounds of the poker tournament and you’re the one who posted the blind, don’t go after your money the way you’d normally do unless you’ve got a truly good set of poker hand.