Oftentimes, in tournament play you will be unsure of how to proceed. Perhaps a puzzling hand has been dealt, or maybe an opponent is acting in a quizzical manner. If you have to stop and think of the correct way to play your hand, do not be afraid to do so. Not every hand is going to be easy to play, nor will every move you should make come instantly to you. If you need time, take it.
With that said, in tournament play, there are some general rules of thought to be aware of when it comes to hands that you are uncertain about. If the blinds are relatively low and you are unsure of how to proceed, you should fold the hand. If the blinds are high, you should play the hand more aggressively by betting or raising.
The thought process for this is as follows: if you’re unsure and the blinds are low, you probably have a marginal hand. At this stage in the game, you do not want to press your luck unless you are certain that you are going to stand a good chance of winning. Because you need to put so much thought into it, the odds are that your hand is not a premium one and you will be needlessly throwing money away. Fold the hand—blinds are small and you do not stand to win as much as you do to lose.
If the blinds are high however, the story changes drastically. Because more people will be playing tightly, it becomes correct to play marginal hands since you are much more likely to steal the blinds right out from under your opponents.