Getting really good poker to the point where you can play in high level tournaments such as the WPT (World Poker Tour) takes many years. Practicing online is a great way to get started if you're a beginner to poker and then working your way to live poker competitions. In fact many of the players that make it to tournaments such at WPT do so by winning themselves a seat in a satellite game via Party Poker or other popular online poker rooms. Below are some helpful tips to help you along the way.

• Whenever you're playing poker make sure you don't play to many hands. To experienced poker players it's a pretty good sign that you're a beginner and it'll give more advanced players that you're playing against the opportunity to figure out what type of hands you play. It's good advice to fold if you have a bad hand regardless of how bad you want to play if you're new to poker.
  
  
• It's a good idea to take a break once in a while should you feel as though you're having a bad streak. Go do something like if you're playing online get up and stretch or go for a walk and come back later and play.
  
  
• Change up your style of playing. By doing this you can really throw other players off guard and prevent them from building a profile on you and how you play. This will give you a real advantage as other players will not know when you're bluffing and when you have a real hand.
  
  
• This tip is more applicable to land based casino gambling. Create a profile on your opponents by watching them carefully and studying their betting habits, how much they bet, when they bet, when they fold, when they bet and why. By analyzing a players actions both by the way they play and by characteristics and observations of how they act when they do these things you'll be able to make a better assessment of their betting style and might even be able to call their bluffs at times.
  
  
• Bluffing is a very effective means for winning pots if the stakes aren't too height and there's minimal risk of being called. Using bluffing as a tool at the right times can be key to winning. Being able to bluff successfully takes time and practice so start out playing with your friends and practicing on them before you start doing so in large games with larger steaks.
  
  
• The foundation of a good poker player is intelligent betting. Betting smart is also a good means and tool for defensive moves and developing a strong profile of your opponents. Watching player reactions to your betting tactics can prove to be invaluable as you'll gain critical information that can be used against your opponents.