Most online poker sites now have the programming to show you what the average chip stack is, but if they dont, you can use this easy calculation:

Average = Total number of chips in play, Divided By, Number of players remaining

While this shouldnt affect your game completely, it does help you in understanding how fast or aggressively you should play and more importantly, how fast your opponents are likely to play.

“When a player enters a pot before the flop and has more than half of his chips in action, I consider him 100% pot committed.  Given the opportunity, he’ll put in the rest of his chips before the flop.  if he doesn’t get that chance, he’ll likely use them all to chase the pot after the flop.” – Phil Gordon

And the online poker secret is: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MAKE A BLUFF AT THIS POKER PLAYER!!!!!!

“What discourages opponents from coming is the prospect of harm” – Sun Tzu

Poker is not a gentlemens game anymore, it has become a war between opponents.  This doesnt mean you have to insult or deface your opponents, but it does mean that you are in battle for their chips!  Show that you are there for battle and you will see them begin to fall.  Opponents will either choose to attack at the wrong times, or will back off from any confrontation with you.

You open up your cards and see that you have pocket aces.  Its a definite instinct to grab your chips and go.  Just like in live poker, your online poker game is being observed by your opponents.  Take time in your decisions, do not make any impulse acts.  Leave your opponents wondering what you are going to do next.

There is a lot of talk in poker among players whether or not pot odds are good enough in tournament poker to risk a lot or all of your chips. I think that the more experienced tournament players would tell you that pot odds should not be the sole reason to call most or all of your chips in a tournament. Many have said that your chips are too valuable in a tournament to risk them by just the calculation of pot odds.

The online poker secret is:  Dont rely ONLY on Pot Odds, use it as a mere calculation in addition to all of your skills.