If you come to play in a tournament for the first time, you will probably experience the whole range of different emotions. It is natural if you are feeling a little intimidated in a room with thousands of other players each of them hoping to throw you out as soon as possible. A roar of various sounds will be mixed in your head and may impede you to stay cool.

Many people in the tourney take the game so serious, that you can hardly find them smiling at least for a moment. It is curious that this is the only kind of a poker game where you can find professionals and amateurs sitting hip to hip, playing with and against each other.

A large tournament is really unlike anything else you can experience. You may feel tension in the air, and it is so high that some people can’t overcome their nervousness and just crack.

Despite all these distracting circumstances you must always remember why you are there and try to remain calm and relaxed. In essence, the tourney does not differ so much from any home games you’ve played with your friends.

The core of the game is just the same, so you should keep playing like you always do. Play with the same joy and freedom you use to beat your best friends.

In tournament protection of your chips matters more than in other poker game. Spare no efforts in protecting chips because our game life is in there. In most tourney situations you cannot afford to be limping with poor hands or running inventing bluffs. You have to conserve, and only play in the pots in which you have a serious opportunity to win.

Keep in mind if you suggest that any player has you beat, he probably does. It is better to learn this lesson from the theory, than in practice. All experienced poker players know this.

Don’t forget also to pay attention to who is stealing blinds at your table. Protecting your blinds is just as important as the other chips in your stack in case if the button is stealing your blinds every orbit.

Sometimes a player may be only stealing. If you suspect that it is so, you should re-steal. That would be wise not only because you will protect you blinds and take his/her bet, this way you will show that you are not a player to mess with.

The next important advice is to watch your stack size . If you do this you may avoid getting yourself down. It’s always better to take a risk to keep a healthy-sized stack.

When your chips begin to get low compared to the blinds, you need to turn on your aggression. This doesn’t refer to calling other raises, unless you have the nuts.

Raise with any valuable hand with hope to steal but still having a good chance to win if you get a call. Raising and folding are good actions, but if you are extremely low, you may push or fold.

It is very important to know your real goal in the tournament. Many players are afraid of asking themselves honestly why they play in poker tournament. What their real target is? One of the keys to success depends on the answer to this question. Most of professionals will tell you that they play to become winners, while many beginners and inexperienced players hope to make the money. These two goals have opposite ways to reach them

Occasionally players leave themselves in conditions that have no future at the final tables, just because they prefer to limp into the money. Others are ready to risk and earn nothing only for a real shot at taking down the final table.

Don’t forget that each tournament, just like a casino room, may have their own rules you need to get acquainted with beforehand. For example, one of the most “popular” mistakes made by most amateurs in tournaments is the so-called “oversized chip rule”.

Thrown oversized chip (meaning the bet to you being $25 and you throw in one chip worth $100) is always considered as a call unless you vocalize your action naming it “raise” before that.

It is also essential to know the blind structure of the tournament. If it is really aggressive, you should better make stronger moves much earlier than you would do in a looser game.

If you are not sure about either a tourney’s rule, or just anything regarding the tournament, don’t be ashamed of asking tournament officials. It is their job to provide you with the information you need.

Don’t think that you are the only person who feels worried playing in tournaments. Most of the players there are like you, being first-time or casual players.

If you know how to play the game, you should be confident. Play as best you can and have a good time!