Learn Texas Holdem

If you're a poker player, you're probably familiar with the term changing gears. If you're not, you should be. Changing gears essentially means moving to a different speed, playing faster or more loose and aggressive, if you've been pretty tight, and slower, or more selective about the hands you play and the chips you put in, if you have attacked lots of pots without necessarily holding big cards.

Typically, changing gears is a strategy for amassing chips by misleading opponents as to the meaning of your actions. If you have played tight, switching gears should enable you to pick up some chips through convincing bluffs. If you've been making many moves, your opponents will probably pay you off if you wait patiently for big hands and bet them strongly.

In a poker tournament, the landscape is constantly changing, due to changing table lineups, shrinking of the number of players, the approaching money spots and rising blinds. For this reason, the ability to change gears may be even more important in tournament play than in cash play. Here are the times you need to consider changing gears in a poker tournament.

When You've Got a Steady Table

If you've been playing at the same table for a while, and it doesn't seem likely to break soon, it can be a good idea to shift gears after a few rounds. The first few rounds are where players tend to try to feel each other out, and by this time, many of your opponents may have you pegged as a certain type of player. Shifting gears at this point can really help you pull in some chips, and with any luck, by the time they catch on, you'll have moved on to another table with large portions of their stacks.

When the Tournament Moves to a Different Stage

Different spots in the tournament require you to use different gears. In the very beginning of the tournament, you usually want to play tight, saving your chips for when they can really help you and sizing up your opposition. When you are close to the money, you may want to shift into high gear, to take advantage of players not wanting to get "bubbled," if you are a big stack, and to double up before the blinds kill you if you are a short stack.

When Your Stack Size Changes

If you've been playing slow and steady and suddenly find yourself with a big stack, you may want to start hammering your opponents with it. The fact that you have a tight image combined with the threat that you may eliminate them can help you build an enormous stack to get you to the final table.

When Your Opponents Have You Pegged

If you're not getting action on your big hands, you're probably playing too tight, although winning uncontested pots, especially early in a tournament, is no tragedy. If your bluffs are getting called down consistently, you're making too many moves, and it's time to slow down.