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Advanced Poker Strategy for Tournaments - How To Move Beyond Playing Only Your Cards

The beauty of poker is that it is easy to learn but almost impossible to fully master. A player who has learned the basics of poker strategy including starting hand selection, the various kinds of odds and table position looking at advanced poker strategy tips and information needs to cover many areas. This article suggests 5 advanced poker strategy areas that can improve any player's poker skills.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #1 - Game Theory

Game theory is actually a branch of mathematics which looks at situations where 2 or more people have conflicting interests. It can be applied to poker in many ways. The most common example is 'Optimal Bluffing Strategy' in which you aim to randomize your bluffs in a way that is 'unexploitable' by opponents. This advanced poker strategy involves making your bluff frequency exactly the same as the odds your opponent receives to call the final bet.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #2 - The Independent Chip Model (ICM)

ICM is a model which gives a tournament player's chip stack a dollar value based on prize pool distribution and the stacks of remaining players. It is then used to calculate your true risk - in terms of dollars not chips - when making a decision during play. This advanced poker strategy is commonly used in Sit and Go tournaments but can be equally useful in multi-table poker tournaments.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #3 - Heads-Up Poker Play

There are actually 2 advanced poker strategies designed for heads-up play. Both are used at the end of tournaments and rely on math to ensure that an opponent has no numerical way to exploit you. The first is known as the SAGE system and the second 'Nash-Equilibrium'. Becoming an expert in these systems will help you reach that number one spot - where the big payout is.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #4 - Stack Size Flexibility and Inflection Points

Made famous by Dan Harrington the concept of 'M', zones and inflection points is a must for players learning advanced poker strategy for tournaments. You can calculate your 'M' score at any point during a tournament by dividing your chips by the blinds and antes. This score is then used to assign a 'zone' which dictates your strategy as you travel through inflection points (changes between zones).

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #5 - Rail-Birding The Online Pros

Watching the professional online tournament players at work is a great way to pick up advanced poker strategy tips. Effective rail-birding involves analyzing the hand as a whole rather than just the cards in play. Stack-sizes and reads are just two of the many things to watch out for.

Mark R Holland is an online poker pro, blogger and writer for high-quality poker sites. For great poker strategy articles and tips covering SNGs, Poker Tournaments and Satellite Qualifiers visit Online Poker Tournament Strategy Tips today.

Author: Ezine Articles - Mark R Holland

Advanced Poker Strategy for Tournaments - How To Move Beyond Playing Only Your Cards

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