Phil Gordon gives some great online poker secrets in regards to how to play when you are the big stack at the table in a poker tournament:

1. Never limp into a pot
2. If the blinds consist of tight players with average stacks, play almost any hand in position
3. Punish limpers with big raises from position when you think they are weak
4. Call from position more often when an opponent with an average stack enters the pot with a raise
5. Rarely, if ever, confront a short-stacked opponent without a premium poker hand
6. Try to win more hands before the flop

This only works well when you are in position (keep this in mind!).  If you get some early position limpers and you plan to play the hand, raise it!  If players are limping (showing weakness) then you want to make them pay to play weak – or take over their chips as they didnt put the pressure on you.

If you have a hand where you flop a flush draw or an open ended straight draw there are many ways to play your hand.

There is the conventional way of playing them by check calling a bet to see if you hit your card, but sometimes this is too obvious and a half decent poker player isnt going to pay you off when you hit your hand.

Change up the way you play your draws and bet them so that when you hit it doesn’t look like you were on a draw.

The best is to do this in position so that you have other ways to play your hand if you miss your draw. If you don’t hit and you still have the opportunity to take the pot with a bet then that is an option, but if you think that your opponents may call another bet you can always check to see if you hit the river. It is a great way to make money if you hit and a great way to see a free river if you don’t.