This is the first lesson in a series of poker technique articles designed to improve online poker players. This article focuses on time as it relates to online poker tournament play. It also explains why taking appropriate actions based on time, is the key for long term success, and increased online poker tournament winnings.

The phenomenon of online poker continues to baffle media experts who continue to expect poker play in general to be a passing fad. For those millions of people worldwide who have played poker or discovered poker within the last decade, it comes as no surprise that this game continues to build explosive and long term stable growth. The reasons are actually quite simple. The game of poker is fun, exciting, challenging and the basic concepts are easy for anyone to learn. These fundamental concepts build the basis for growth, but it’s the extremely lucrative aspect of tournament poker that continues to fuel poker’s explosive growth. With online poker sites offering tournaments ranging in size from $100 to One Million Dollar Guarantees, anyone anywhere can earn a life changing amount of money from a strong finish in only a single tournament. A first place finish in some of the largest online tournaments today can pay upwards of Six Hundred Thousand Dollars or more. While people who place in tenth, twentieth, or thirtieth place, for example can still earn $5,000 to $50,000 for their success. Buy ins for these tournaments can start from as little as $2 for some satellites. It’s the access to this income, and the knowledge that anyone can master this game, that draws millions of people worldwide to online poker. For more information on the Full Tilt Poker One Million Dollar Guaranteed Tournament, or $600 Free Full Tilt Poker Bonus Cash, visit FullTiltGlobal.com.

In order to have the greatest success in terms of wins, and winnings, players need to commit to learning the concepts of tournament play. Reading poker articles like these can improve your poker skills over time, as you master and utilize one concept at a time.

Lesson One: Understanding Time During Tournament Play & Acting Accordingly

Online poker tournaments transpire very similarly to life in general. When we are born, it is very important to protect a newborn child to it’s surroundings. Many times babies are kept at the hospital for several days before being allowed to go home with their families. Over the first few years of life, the routine is quite simple. Focus on the basics. Proper nutrition, sleeping, and protection. After a few years of protection, the newborn has grown into a child who must begin to learn routines. Parents begin to give up control and protection, allowing the child to go to school, camps, church – generally the child begins to participate in activities designed to build equity in the child – helping it to grow. Parents still preach protection – “Don’t talk to strangers,” “Look both ways before you cross the street”. The idea is to allow the child to begin to take small risks, as inevitably life is full of risks. But parents continue to protect, and preach use of good judgement. By the time several more years pass, the child has grown into an adult capable of making decisions, and taking larger risks in life. Those larger decisions could be when to get married, what career to follow, and others. Eventually as adulthood years continue, income increases, and ideally, an adult creates equity in themselves, building a substancial and healthy life for their retiring age. During the earning years it is important to take intelligent risks, where income is the result. Whether through education, investing, or through business startups, it is the sum of these risk taking decisions that determine our financial health in life. Additionally, timing of these decisions can be the key to everything. Once a sufficient sum can be counted on for retirement, it is safe to move this sum to less risky investments long term. Taking risks are avoided early in life, and late in life, while encouraged and necessary, in the middle.