Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
The most successful poker players are those
The most successful poker players are those that can get a read on their opponents better than their opponents can get a read on them. Use every means at your disposal to gather information about your opponents. Instead of engaging in idle chit chat, listen to the other players at your table. They will often talk about their hands and their strategies. Encourage them to keep talking. But, always make it a one way conversation. Never give away information, unless it is intentional misleading information.
There are many factors that must be considered
There are many factors that must be considered in the process of reading another player. The best way to get a feel for how a player plays his hands is to observe him play many hands and look for betting patterns. However, there are many things that you can look for, outside of play, that will give you clues as to how they play.