Tournament poker is quite different from cash games. When playing for cash, the winner may collect his winnings and continue the action right away. You may also purchase extra chips if you find yourself in need of more.
The regulations of a tournament determine the total amount of chips each participant receives, and a player must advance through a specified number of rounds before he may cash in his chips for cash.

Procedures and tactics for winning poker tournaments.
At this early stage, forceful action is not advised. In the early stage, you’ll confront a large number of unskilled players, which means they’ll frequently bluff, call every stake, and behave impulsively. If you want to beat them, you have to play defense.
Medium stage – throughout this stage, your primary aim is to expand your stack as much as possible. Like entering a draw without the raise, taking unnecessary risks should be avoided. If you want to impress at this point, you need to play aggressively and tightly.
Bubble — when everyone is certain that they will soon win and is taking extreme precautions. To capitalize on this, aggressive players might steal blinds and antes.
This is the last round, and you will be up against the greatest players, many of whom will have been at it for quite some time. The greatest advise is not to worry and concentrate on the game itself, rather than on the money you’ll maybe win. Competing against skilled opponents who can and will adjust to your play makes it difficult to settle on a single, foolproof tactic.