When you are deep in a poker tournament and are a short stack when do you go for it? Some say that you should when you have 10 big blinds or less. I say that you should do it sooner than this if you want to have a chance to win the tournament. You have to accept that you are not going to have all the luck to win every tournament you play in, so if you have 15 to 20 big blinds you should start pushing with good hands.

I am not saying that you should push under the gun with 79 suited!!! I am saying that any two faces should be considered good enough.

Having Fold Equity is VERY important in tournament poker!

This happens to everyone that hasn’t accepted that AA is just a pair! Everyone seems to over play AA even when they are called pre-flop and the flop is scary. If you have a player call your pre-flop raise you have to imagine what they could have. If the flop comes with high cards, they could have very well flopped two pair or if you don’t feel trouble and are raised on the flop your opponents could also have a set or draws that can easily beat AA. Just remember that AA can be beat and don’t over play them unless you feel you have the best hand.

I have heard so many people say “I had to call, I was pot committed”. If you are in a tournament and you raise, putting in half of your stack and you get raised for the rest; there is no reason that you should feel pot committed if you have a loosing hand! The point in a poker tournament is to make it as far as you can and if call just because you think your committed and not because you have the best hand, then not only have you made a bad call but you are playing bad poker!

If you are at a table that seems to be passive, or not alot of action – be the action man (or woman)!  Either players are going to fold and you will make money off the blinds – OR – you will get some action on the table and you will be seen as being too aggressive/unpredictable.  Then you will get paid off when you need to be!

You will probably see me bring this up over and over and over……….. and if it makes one player realize the importance of Bankroll Management in poker, then I will be a happy girl!

DO NOT PLAY OUTSIDE OF YOUR BANKROLL!  You have an easier way of winning at blackjack if you only have 100 dollars in your pocket, as your return could be much quicker! 

Poker is not a game of big wins every day.  The swings exist, and you cannot predict when they will come – so always make sure that your bankroll is atleast 100xBB or 10x the max buy-in at the table you are sitting at (for cash games).  If you are focussing on tournaments, make sure you have atleast 25x the buy-ins you are playing.