How to Win at Online Poker Tournaments

Online poker tournaments success can be yours if you follow this simple plan. There is a secret to winning in the online poker rooms and it can be summed up in one word... patience.

If you want to win online at Texas Holdem or any other poker game for that matter, you need to be patient almost to the point of becoming bored. The players who win money at these tourneys are the ones who are prepared to sit it out and wait for the good hands, whilst letting the rest battle it out amongst themselves and knock each other out of the game.

To be successful in the internet poker world, you should follow this simple strategy:

1. Pick a Poker table where there's lots of action

Poker sites such as Party Poker, Poker Room or Absolute Poker have huge numbers of players at their online poker tournaments at any given time, day or night. You will always find action here and the poker tables fill up very quickly. This is a good thing for you, they can't all be good poker players!

2. Pick a stake level you're comfortable with

Don't go charging straight to the $50 tables if you've never player poker before, you need to start small and work your way up so start at the low end of the scale until you find yourself winning there, then move up. Consider it as your apprenticeship into becoming a fully fledged poker player.

3. Fold almost all of your hands

This is the hardest part especially for new players. They fold a few hands then they'll see a flop of J J 6 when they've just folded the J 6 and the cautious approach goes straight out the window. Remember for every hand that you would have won, there are probably five that you wouldn't so stick to the game plan.

4. When you do get a big hand, bet it aggressively

If you're using this strategy, you need to win the pots when you do land a monster hand so you need to come out betting strongly. Avoid slow play and trying to lay traps unless you really know what you are doing, most of the time these tactics just let your opponent have a cheap look at the next card which could make his hand a winner.

5. Change your tactics as the game goes on

As players are knocked out, hands that you would have been folding in the early stages become more attractive so you should start to consider lesser hands, especially in late position in the dealing. This has the added advantage of unsettling your opponents who have become used to seeing you folding almost every hand.

6. Don't go all-in

Your aim is to get into the final three so that you're in the money. Don't go all-in unless you know that you have the best hand. There's no harm in putting an opponent who's short stacked all-in though, take the opportunity to get rid of any players you can from the game.

Being successful in online poker tournaments is relatively simple, you just need to have a plan and have the patience and strength of character to sick to it.