We've been playing poker for years (both online and off, starting with those "midnight to sunshine" back room games). Over the years many things may have changed, but one constant is that people not only want to play the game, they want to play winning poker.

So, we've put together some information here at Multi Player Poker to help you bring your game up to par at the online tables, and also to answer some common questions about home games and tournaments.

The first place to start improving a poker game is in hand selection. Everyone knows that Aces in the hole is a wonderful thing to find. Most people also know that it rarely happens (once in 220 hands on average). It is also common knowledge that 72 off suit is a horrible find. In between those two hands, come the important decisions.

To sure up your game, find out what starting cards can grow into what hands. And how often they'll turn into hands that may be the best at the table come showdown time.

Simply understanding starting hands can make a noticeable difference in your game.

If you already have some solid poker skills, you may have noticed that the most popular poker format these days is tournament poker. It seems the days of "dealer's choice" have passed us by. That may be just as well.

Tournament poker has many things going for it, including the fact that home tournaments are a friendly way to pass time among friends. Since a tournament has a fixed entry fee (unless it allows rebuys), players are not in danger of losing more than they ought to at the tables. Which makes for friendlier games.

Tournaments also bring their own set of questions. How do you handle things like side pots, or split pots? What happens when the person who should be paying the big blind just got knocked out? We've answered some of these questions on our home tournaments page.