by mrgrind101

Created on: April 19, 2010

           How to Play Tournament Poker

            If someone were to go around asking poker pro’s the question: “How do you play tournament poker?” that person would probably get a variety of different answers.  Aggressive players would probably say to play many starting hands in the beginning while the blinds are cheap so you can see as many flops as possible.  The conservative player would probably tell you to only play the top ranked starting hands at first since most people are loose at the start of a tournament.  There is no way for anyone to say which approach is more successful.  We have seen both types at many tournament final tables in the past.  So which style of play is better for you?  This can be a tough question and might take some analysis to answer.  Since all I can do is describe the type of player I am, I will have to use my journey as a poker player as an example. 

            I am considered a conservative poker player.  I have come to this conclusion based on my performance in tournament play when I am playing a more conservative style of play.  This probably has a lot to do with my personality characteristics.  I am probably looked at as more of an introvert.  I am naturally not a very “aggressive” person outside of the poker rooms.  Because of the nature of my everyday personality is more introvert I think that the conservative poker player is more likely to give me better results. 

            Since I am a conservative player I do believe that playing only the top ranked starting hands is necessary in the beginning of the tournament.  The reason for this is that most of your opponents are going to play pretty loose in the beginning of the tournament since the blinds are still low.  A player that looks down at a Jack-nine suited might limp in or call a raise to see a flop.  If you are holding a Q-Q and the opponent calls your raise and the flop comes J-6-9, then you are drawing pretty thin on outs, and how can you put him on a J-9?  This situation can be avoided by leading out with a bet about five times the big blind.  Now I know what you might be thinking, “I thought you said you were

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