Tight Play Quotes

Look, I never enjoy risking my tournament life with a marginal hand, but if you want to be a poker champion, that's exactly what needs to be done. Just don't do it too often!

Very few players want to go home wondering if they've folded the best hand. They feel humiliated when they're bluffed out of a pot. As a result, these players make calls with marginal hands that put their entire tournament at risk.

If you want to make money playing poker, find a game with a few suckers, fish, donkeys, live ones, or whatever you choose to call a bad player. Just don't let that sucker be you.

My primary game is to put my chips into the pot only when I'm super-strong. I tend to fold a lot of hands while waiting around for those strong hands to come.

Tournaments are won by aggressively going after smaller pots with a range of starting hands. The trick is learning how to do that without becoming reckless.

I normally raise pre-flop with K-K or A-A but occasionally I'll limp in, especially if it appears that the others at the table are playing tight. I don't want anyone to fold too soon when I've got such a big hand.

Common wisdom in Texas Hold'em suggests that you should raise before the flop if you're planning to play a hand. The saying goes, 'Raise or fold,' but is that correct? Well, it's not the worst advice, but limiting yourself to one of these two options would be a mistake.

In tournaments, you want to steal the blinds as cheaply as possible without risking a high percentage of your chips.

In tournaments, players typically raise when they enter the pot. In cash games, though, players are more likely to limp in before the flop. That's because cash games are usually deeper-stacked, meaning that players will have a higher ratio of chips in relation to the blinds than they would in a tournament.

There's no doubt that position is a very important aspect of the game. But some players take this concept to the extreme and consequently miss opportunities when they refuse to play hands out of position.

The world's most successful tournament competitors - like me, Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Phil Hellmuth, and countless others - like to play small ball poker. It's a style that we use to steadily increase our stacks in no limit hold'em tournaments without having to assume significant risk.

By folding often, I give other players the false impression that I'm a weak player - a player who can be easily bluffed. Trust me; I'm not a weak player.

To be sure, playing it safe isn't a flashy style of poker. Some even claim that it's too weak and passive. That being said, playing safe poker is still a proven recipe for success in the world's biggest poker tournaments.

'Beauty Queen' will always be a favourite because I think it's a really tight play, and when it's done right, there is a sadness to it that I love.

Moving all-in with a small pair from early position only makes sense when you are severely short-stacked and desperately need to pick up the blinds.

In No Limit hold'em tournaments, size your bets based on your opponent's skill level. You can cut corners by betting wisely - save a little here and make a little extra there.

When you play No Limit Hold'em, the ideal strategy is to take minimal risk, do little bluffing, and hope that weaker players call you when you have a strong hand. But that's the perfect world. Sometimes you'll face opponents that play very conservatively and will rarely pay you off when you have the goods.

A common mistake made by amateurs is that they fail to take advantage of players who bluff excessively. Instead of playing possum and letting their aggressive opponents continue to bet, beginners raise too early with monster hands, allowing their opponents to fold.

It used to be considered an art form to win a tournament without having to shove all your chips in the middle.

Rarely is it correct to play a hyper-aggressive style of poker. But there are certain situations where a seemingly reckless approach will actually be the most profitable strategy to employ, like at the Main Event at the World Series of Poker.

It's imperative to save a few chips whenever possible when playing small-ball poker. You never want to risk a high percentage of your chips unless you're dealt a monster hand.

Playing only when you have a strong hand, also known as being a slave to the cards, is simply not the way to win tournaments.

In cash games, you're apt to see more players staying in to see the flop. If you have a hand worth playing, your best options are to either limp in or make a slightly larger pre-flop raise to build the pot and narrow the competition. A raise of four times the big blind should do the trick.

As a general rule, the more precious the chips you'd consider betting, the more you should lean toward playing it safe. Check it down; cautious play is usually the recipe for long-term success in poker.

I used to make it deep in poker tournaments without ever moving all-in because other players knew that when I raised it up, I had the goods.