There are many different strategies to play in live tournaments. There are numerous factors that come into play during any tournament. As you develop as a poker player it is important to remember the following strategic concepts; tight play, aggressive play, random play and taking advantage of your opponents’ mistakes. Yes, any poker player can use these concepts, but it’s about how you use them! Websites such as, pokerstation.co.uk are great to help you keep up with the latest news from the biggest tournaments, as well as give you some useful tips to help you improve your game.

This article will give you some basic things to consider before you take the plunge into the world of poker, whether that is online or with your friends at a home game. First of all, a poker tournament isn’t won in minutes or in one hand. It takes both time and effort. Make sure you’re patient. Your table image is perhaps the most important thing. It’s the thing that will allow players to fold when they have the best hand, or to call you down when you have the best hand.

Don't make the mistake of expecting to win every time you play poker. Even the world’s best poker players have losing sessions. Your goal before every session should be to play to the best of your ability. If you do this you will improve and the cards and winnings will take care of themselves. Don’t make the mistake of judging your poker playing ability on the results of each session. You should aim to play the best you can, your results will only improve.

Poker is a game of incomplete information, a game of maths! In simple terms, you will win more than your opponents do if you enter the pot with the best hand more often than your opponents do.

Another skill that should be part of a winning poker player’s strategy is to avoid finding yourself ‘on tilt’. This is a common term that is used to describe a state of mental confusion or frustration which occurs when players have not won in a long time or have lost a vital hand.  If you let them, your opponents will use your emotions against you. Emotional play results in poor decisions and lost money.