ONLINE POKER TOURNAMENTS
Poker tournament strategy is quite different from ring game strategy. The main reason for this is that in a ring game, you can always put more money on the table, but in a tournament you must be very protective of your chips. This makes calling with draws (even if you have the odds) less profitable, and aggressive play much more important.
The format of a tournament forces your strategy to change depending on your stack size and the size of the blinds. As the blinds increase throughout the tourney, so must your chip stack, or else you will soon be "blinded out". If your chips fall to less than 10x the size of the big blind, you must be prepared to make aggressive plays with less than premium hands. If you have a large stack, you have the luxury of pushing around your opponents with raises and reraises - putting them to decisions which may cost them the tourney. The payout structure also determines your strategy - very often, at some point you will have to decide whether you are playing to just make it "in the money", or playing to win.
In our Recommended Reading, there are many books that would be good investments for an aspiring tournament player. In particular, David Sklansky's Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, and Doyle Brunson's Super System are must-have books for background on "how to think" during tournament play.
Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet, and Poker Stars all have tournaments running 24hrs/day for buy-ins as low as $10. Playing in these tournaments gives you a lot of low-cost practice, and I assure you, when you win one you feel on top of the world.
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