I am by no means a professional poker player; in my business life I run a web promotion company and I also help people who offer bargain holiday deals. As a side line to these main business interests I am also involved in the DVD authoring sector.

I used to be a very poor “heads up” player as I would often get bullied out of the majority of the hands. I realised that I had to learn a new way of playing in the final stage of a poker tournament as what I was currently doing was not working.

I soon learned that I needed to be the aggressor, the poker bully if you like. Instead of folding the majority of hands I now play, on average, ninety-five percent of them. I raise the pot with any ace, king, queen or Jack and raise all in with any two picture cards or when I am dealt an ace with a picture card.

By doing this I win a lot of the pots by default and if the other player chooses to call I believe I have a great chance of winning the hand. Just limping in can lead to all sorts of problems/decisions. It is a prudent idea to start in a very decisive way; be strong but also wary of your opponents. It has be said that we all lose from time to time; this is fairly obvious but these methods have enabled me to gain a seventy percent success rate at heads up during the last three months. I hope these tips work as well for you as they have for me.

So what are some actions that you can do to increase your chances of poker success?

Reading

Whether it’s on the internet or a book from the library, there is masses of information available which can offer you new techniques and strategies that you can incorporate into your game. From the very basics of playing, to advanced lines of attack, if self-learning is your thing it’s possible to find a lot of information about the game.

Get A Mentor

Like many other industries,  poker  coaches and mentors are becoming increasingly popular in the online world. Most of the time coaches are experts at a specific strategy or are people that have reached the top of their game and will usually help show you how you can incorporate these techniques into your own game. Unfortunately, mentors can be pricey and they need to make it worth their while since they could be earning thousands playing online poker. On the upside of using a coach, you can frequently make back the fees rather quickly by implementing the new techniques that you learn.

Ask. Ask. Ask.

Join a forum or online club, and ask others what works for them. Although they probably won’t tell you everything, just a few strategies could help you improve your overall poker play.  

Shawn has been a SNG Poker Coach and mentor for several years now. Find out more about  being a winning SNG Poker player by visiting his website and signing up for his FREE SNG Poker Training Course entitled “From Fish to SNG Poker Shark in only 17 Days” at http://www.sngtrainer.com