After spending years as a winning cash game player in clubs across America, Howard Lederer made the leap to tournaments. He altered his style of play and found a lot of success. Here he offers some tips that can help you make the final table.

Kill the weak
‘Figure out who the weakest couple of guys are and attack them. There’s a lot of money to be made by going after those opponents. But you have to constantly and quickly profile the people at your table, since the line-up in tournaments keeps changing.’

Know when to retreat
‘You have to make the great lay-downs that are not necessarily profitable in cash games. Do the same thing in cash games and players will notice it and start bluffing you. But you have to realise that, in certain situations, tournament players are not bluffing. But – and this sounds contradictory – aggression pays off more in tournaments than it does in cash games.’

Hit the snooze button
‘You need lots of stamina for tournaments, so I prepare by sleeping late. If the tournament starts at noon, I wake up no earlier than 11am and roll in a little groggy at noon or even 12.30pm. I want to ease into the game. And then, when it matters most, toward the end of the night, I want to be razor sharp. I peak at 10pm, while everyone else is yawning.’