Players can enter a poker tournament by two ways. They can gain entry by winning a seat through a satellite tournament or they can play by just paying the entry fee. To play well in a tournament, players should be very familiar with the rules of tournament playing. They should also play with aim of winning the first prize. Players should also realise that they are playing ‘short chip’ in the case of their chip stack being less than 30 times the big wager.

The steps to follow in order to play in a poker tournament have been explained below:

1. In the case of putting all your chips together right from the start, keep in mind that once the chips are gathered the money value reduces.

2. Try and take out the maximum number of short-chip participants possible. However, do not chance a lot of your money on dodgy moves. Analyse the moves of your opponents before deciding which one to eliminate.

3. Try and psych out the other participants if you have a humungous pile of chips to play with. This is a very useful tactic in tournament playing.

4. When you do have a decent hand, do not play passively. Be aggressive.

5. The last blind and call should not be fought for by an exceptional extent by you. Opponents and participants constantly change. Defending the way you play is not required.

6. If you have a terrible hand, throw in your cards at the first chance possible.

7. Tournament playing should be carried out with a large amount of bluffing. This is due to the fact that participant’s plays are much tighter in tournaments than they are in real games.

8. Do not bluff just for the sake of bluffing. Keep in mind that there is a way to bluff and that there are certain participants against whom bluffing works.