While sophisticated plays can work in poker, if attempted by an inexperienced player, they'll usually backfire. Elaborate bluffs and check-raises are best left to experienced players. It's just like golf: don't try to hit a tricky flop shot with that 25-handicap of yours!

In golf, no one learns to hit a draw, a fade, or a cut shot until they've been taught how to hit the ball straight. Similarly, novice poker players need to learn how to 'hit it straight' before taking on more difficult concepts.

I'm terrible at golf, but I love the game with a passion.

In poker, position is power. When you've got position, play more hands and apply more pressure before the flop.

Swallow your pride and be completely objective about your own poker skill level. Only then can you implement an effective betting strategy.

In poker, you've got to start at the bottom level and work your way up. This advice applies to the limits that you play and the sizing of the bets that you make.

In karate, as your skill level increases, your instructor presents you with the next belt. But in poker, only you can decide when it's time to graduate to the next level. That's a tricky proposition for some players because it's difficult to assess your own progress.

In No Limit Hold'em, much like video games and karate lessons, you need to master one level before you can move on to the next.

Limping in - entering a pot by calling rather than raising - is more complicated than raise-or-fold poker because you'll end up playing more hands. Also, it's difficult to put players on a hand when they're in the pot without making a pre-flop raise.

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.

Limit Hold'em is the game for you if you bore easily and crave fast action. Conversely, in No Limit, the game will often slow to a halt when someone is faced with a big decision. That's uncommon in Limit games because all-in bets are rare.

Less control can be exerted in Limit games because it's more difficult to force players out of pots with structured betting. In No Limit, though, hands can be protected from being outdrawn by making large bets that force opponents to fold weak draws.

Playing Limit Hold'em will certainly improve your No Limit game. There are subtleties to the Limit game that will enhance your technique at the No Limit tables. Mastering these uniquely aggressive Limit tactics will enable you to steal more pots when you sit down to play No Limit Hold'em.

Beating a tight game requires focus. You'll need to seek out every opportunity where you can steal a big pot. One way is by representing a hand that your opponents probably can't beat.

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.

Check-raising with a drawing hand on the turn is simply a kamikaze gamble. It might work once in a while, but if you consistently attempt it, too often you'll find yourself watching the rest of the tournament from behind the rail.

Always keep in mind that poker is about limiting your losses and maximizing your gains on every hand you play.

I seldom reraise before the flop no matter what my hand is. By so doing, I'm able to disguise the strength of my hand and can trap unsuspecting opponents who interpret my smooth call as a sign of weakness.

The secret behind playing small ball poker isn't so much in the hands you choose to play. It's more about the amount you choose to bet with the hands you end up playing.

In small ball poker, you'll need to widen your starting hand requirements beyond pocket pairs and A-K.

Premium hands are simply few and far between when large pots are at stake.

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.

Playing middle pairs like 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, and 7-7 can be difficult but only if you overvalue them and mistakenly play them as you would premium hands.

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.