Prepare Yourself To Tighten Up Your Poker Game

At the WSOP Main Event, the chip leader after the first day has NEVER won the event. Now who knows how they played or if they all suffered tremendous bad beats, but often times while playing poker you'll wonder how someone can lose a huge chip lead or perhaps you're guilty of such a crime.

It happens, sometimes undeservedly or sometimes because someone was playing plain dumb.   Tightening up is a safe way to make it through tournaments. There is no need to turn right into a stone, however when you have the big chip stack, it's always smart to start playing a little tighter.

On the flip side if you're the low stack, it's probably a good idea to tighten up as well, and prevent playing your low connecting cards or cards that will not give you a monster. You're usually pretty much in "All-in or fold mode" if you're the low stack.

Tightening up usually relates to tournament games but when you have lost a big portion of your bankroll in cash games then it might probably be a good time to tighten and get some for sure victories. Waiting on the "Nuts" can be extremely boring and tiring but sometimes it's the most sensible thing to do. On the other hand, if you've won a lot of money in cash games already it would probably be a great time to play as many hands as possible in an attempt to win some big pots.  

Don't misquote the pro's once they say "I come to win and take first, not to play for second, " no player ever won a big tournament with hundreds of players in the field without a little bit of tightening up. A good rule for your self is to promise yourself you will avoid venturing out on top pair at all costs.

More players head out thinking they have the best hand domino qiu qiu (a knockout post) with top pair than anything else. All sorts of things, if you feel any doubt you don't have the best hand, then you should fold before you get yourself into a very bad situation.   There is really no point to playing high-risk hands when you yourself have the chip lead. It might help you sure, but it could hurt you a lot worse.

When your playing tight you actually do not want to be playing cards like King/Nine or Queen/Eight and definitely not Ace/five or any such thing worse than Ace/Ten. You're usually dominated if you have cards like this and playing these cards put you at a very high risk of losing a lot of your chip stack.   You have all the time in the world. Just settle-back, relax and enjoy the poker ride.

When you are tightening up, you ought to really only play in hands where you have good position too. Being on the button or close to last to act is always the best thing and playing low connecting cards is always a very important thing when you are on the button, even if you are tightening up, just as long as you don't have to pay to high of a price to participate.