We liked a couple of Annie Duke’s tips to players participating in major tournaments so we got permission to republish them. Here you go:

Decide what you’re going to play – tournaments or side games, and exactly which events within the schedule. Don’t go from tournaments to side games – it divides your focus and energy so you can’t do justice to either. If you bust out of a tournament, go to a movie or to dinner. Relax and prepare for the next event.

Play the hell out of satellites. They’re so valuable for new players – they’re equity in themselves. You’re getting into tourneys quicker and saving money. Also, the more you know about other players, the better you’re going to do against them. The first three years I players the World Series of Poker, I played satellites all day – no cash games. I learned so much about players and short-handed play, and I made money doing it.

When you sit down and see Phil Ivey, don’t panic! There are still eight other people at the table with you. It’s not like you have to play every hand against Phil Ivey – just stay out of his way!

A lot of people treat big name pros like they have a bounty of their heads. They want a cool story. They want to tangle with the name just to have something to talk about later. But your job at a tournament is to make money, and you should play the ultimate strategy no matter what it is. At the table, big names are not celebrities – they’re opponents. Is one story about Phil Ivey knocking you out worth losing hundreds of thousands of dollars?

It’s not about cashing. It’s about winning. The biggest mistake I see new players make is when they get close to the money, they’ll regularly tighten up. It’s only if you have a very short stack that it’s correct to do that. But, in general, the objective is to get first place, not just to get your money back. You should not be playing to get 50^th place – play to win!

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