primrose
Visionary
Bronze Level
nabmom
Community Guide
Community Guide
I play poker for the social aspect and the fun. Very few of us will ever make great money from playing. But that doesn't mean we don't dream about doing so!
If you want tips about playing tournaments, try the Tournament Poker forum and give us some more details about what type of games you are talking about.
If you want tips about playing tournaments, try the Tournament Poker forum and give us some more details about what type of games you are talking about.
G
GrannySmit77
Rock Star
Platinum Level
I think like anything else you cannot play poker long term if you don't enjoy playing the game. Money is just secondary. After 10-20 years of playing you might win a tournament. Daniel Negreanu has been playing for 20 years ans the last 2 wsop series he's quite a bit down. People who have been playing for 2-3 years have such high expectations and get easily disappointed. Focus on improving your game.
ScoobyEdu
How about some fun games?
Platinum Level
At first, I played just for the money, but after I discovered that the path is harder than it seems, I started playing for fun, trying to do what needs to be done, without worrying about the results, because they are the fruit of study and self-improvement...
And also, because spending 10/14 hours grinding... thinking only about money eventually starts to make the wrong decisions.
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GuusG
Enthusiast
Silver Level
For me online.
Academico
Rock Star
Bronze Level
I play poker mostly for the love of the game, the challenge, and the strategy involved. The thrill of reading opponents, making decisions under pressure, and improving my skills is what keeps me coming back. I do play for money occasionally, but I try to approach it responsibly and not let it control me.
As for tournament tips, some key things I’ve learned are:
As for tournament tips, some key things I’ve learned are:
- Patience is crucial – don’t force hands; wait for good opportunities.
- Observe your opponents – understanding their tendencies gives you an edge.
- Adapt your strategy – shift between tight and aggressive play depending on the situation.
- Bankroll management – only play stakes you’re comfortable with, to avoid unnecessary stress.
- Mental focus – stay calm and composed, especially under pressure, because poker is as much a mental game as a strategic one.
primrose
Visionary
Bronze Level
In that case it's really not that different from Cash. You mostly should just be trying to get better at poker. The biggest difference is that in Cash you can play ~95% deep-stacked, wheres in Tournaments you routinely play different effective stack sizes. So learning how to adjust to shallow-stacked play is very important, this will matter all the time. Don't open 7s6s from the LJ if you're only 30BB deep.
ICM also matters and you should get a rudimentary understanding, although people tend to exaggerate how much it matters.
I guess one thing to note is that the variance (i.e., how much luck will screw you over) scales with the size of the tournaments. If you play 9 person sit&go's, you have essentially the same variance as in cash. If you play 10000 people MTT's, your variance will be gigantic. If this is something you worry about, choose smaller tournaments.
Everything else depends on your goals & skill level.
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martDdart
Visionary
Platinum Level
I play for fun for fun with real money and playmoney.If I dont enjoy playing whats the point. My tips on how to win a tournament is to go with your gut feeling when making decisions.Observe the other players and gather information to use when you play a hand with them.Patience,courage and disipline are key and dont play when you are tired.
UngureanuDan
Rock Star
Bronze Level
I usually play poker for fun, enjoying the thrill of strategy and mind games, but when playing for money, patience, discipline, position awareness, and adapting to opponents are key. In tournaments, survival often matters more than chasing every pot.
