Poker players always bet the best hands, if you get a caller it's great business. And sometimes you should bet the worst too, bluff in the hope of taking a pot before the flop. But don't bet your medium hands! the chances of getting called by a weaker hand are just too slim to justify betting. Check it down and hope for the best.   more »

DON'T GET GREEDY.

Successful poker players all have one thing in common:

They understand the PSYCHOLOGY of greed, and how powerful it really is.

Let me share a story with you how *I* fell victim to greed the other night at my local $1-2 no-limit game...    more »

Q. I have a question about AK (suited or not). All the books treat AK as a big hand and advise raising preflop with it. I do this as advised, usually raising 4 or 5 times the BB.

However, the maths being what they are, most of the time I miss the flop and I'm looking at absolutely nothing. Shoud I carry on betting big as if I've hit something, and if so do I bet the flop and turn, or just bail out after gettting one call? It doesn't feel good betting when you know a pair of twos has you beat!

Great question...

A. The way to play Big Slick (AK) depends largely on your positioning, how many players are in the hand, your read on on the situation, and so on.

Remember this mantra:

PLAY THE PLAYER, NOT THE CARDS.

Is Big Slick a monster hand?

Yes, ...   more »

You can win big money playing in online poker tournaments for relatively small stakes, but to be successful you will need to follow a few simple tips.

Tournament poker can differ dramatically from a normal poker cash game. So I've tracked down some of the best tournament tips from leading professional players to give you an advantage.

Early Stage Play:

Your play should be extremely tight – the blinds are small but you should be very picky about the hands you decide to play.

Only playing the following hands in early stages – JJ, QQ, KK, AA or AK suited.

If you fold you lose nothing. To call you must have a hand that you expect to earn money.

Don't bluff in the early stages – blinds are cheap and you'll get called often.

To build your chips early in the tournament just playing tight, winnable hands.

Middle Stage Play:

Try to play your regular game at this stage of the tournament.

Try and bluff a few blinds – you’ve played tight along the way so your opponents will be less likely to call you.

Your going to have to gamble a little at this stage, otherwise you could run the risk of being blinded out.

If your stack diminishes don’t assume you’re beat. Count how many blinds you can survive and make your move while keeping enough for later blinds.

Late Stage Play:

Use any chip power you have to lean on the small stacks, they won't risk chips on anything other than a big hand.

Be bold and take more risks.

Put pressure those with small stacks to go all-in if you have a decent hand.

Don’t get tied up in multi-way pots – you might have a good hand, but sometimes it’s better to let two others battle it out!

Admit it, you don't know it all! No shame in that, great poker players are always learning. So why not learn from some of the best in the game, my collection of poker tips is gleaned from the legends of poker.

The best way to learn poker is to play, play, play and when you sick of playing poker, play some more! There is no substitute from playing hours, no simple system to make you a better player over night. To be a good player you need to put in the hours, days and years. However, that doesn't mean you can't benefit from someone else's experience.

Many of the tips listed here are common sense, some seem plain crazy but you can learn from them all - have a read and try them out in your next game.