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
During every hand of poker you play for the rest of your life,
During every hand of poker you play for the rest of your life, work on putting each player on a range of hands and narrowing it as the hand progresses to the showdown. Usually you will not see a showdown, but the practice is still good. Every time you see a showdown though, you need to compare your final range of hands to what your opponent shows up with and see if you were right. Remember that ranges vary by player. Loose players will start with a much larger range than tight players. Players raising from late position will also have a much wider range. Don’t fall into a lull where you are not thinking about hands. You need to actively think about every player’s hand range all the time. You should not be watching TV or reading a magazine at the poker table. If you focus on every player and determine his range throughout every hand, you will be well on your way to becoming a great poker player.
Never put your opponent squarely on one hand. When he raises,
Never put your opponent squarely on one hand. When he raises, start with his entire raising range and eliminate hands as the hand progresses. This may be difficult at first, but as you get more experience, it will become second nature.