So how do these things translate into reality?
Already we have seen that you need stronger starting hands if you are in early positions compared to weaker ones if in later position but here are a couple of examples.
If you are first to act after the blinds, many people will not consider playing anything other than a pair of Tens or better or any AK/AQ/AJ or a KQ or QJs (suited). These would generally be considered the minimum requirements for even playing a hand from an early position and there are others that wouldn't play the AJ, QJs or the KQ (unless suited), or even the pair of Tens. This alone should indicate to you that many believe that the disadvantage of position means they really do need a very premium hand. Another problem with playing weaker hands from early position is that because this is big bet poker you want to avoid playing hands that will often make you second best hand when you are involved in a pot.
Because people tend to play a little tighter in tournaments (you cannot reach into your pocket for more chips like you can reach for more cash in a cash game) you will find that when you enter a pot, others coming in behind you tend to have stronger than usual hands. Hence if you play things like AJ from early position you tend to find that a bigger hand like AQ will be calling behind you. If subsequently you hit an Ace on the flop or board you will find yourself in a very dangerous position - thinking you have the best hand but actually having a far worse one. Similarly when you play things like KJ, others behind you often have a better hand even when you get action after a Jack falls on the flop.
Of course it is possible to play weaker hands from earlier positions but you should mainly refrain from doing so except in exceptional circumstances. Firstly, you need to worry about raises behind you because then you will be forced to throw away your hand and not even get to see a flop. Even so, there is nothing wrong with coming in from time to time, especially if your opponents are playing tamely (ie with few if any raises pre-flop). Ideally you still only want to really play these weaker starting hands like suited connectors and small to medium pairs in late position but at least you will get to see the odd flop and if you hit perfectly or a monster draw you may get the chance to win a big pot.
The key point here, however, is that you are still going to have flop nigh on perfectly as hitting a 7 holding an 87s with one or two over cards on board is nothing more than a recipe for disaster and losing lots of chips as invariably someone holds a better hand.
If you do insist on playing weaker starting hands out of position you should also note that the preferred type of hand that you should play is something like an Ax suited. The beauty of this kind of hand is that if you flop an Ace it may be good (although you should still proceed with extreme caution) but you may flop the nut flush or a draw to the best possible flush.
It is important to remember at this point that because there is a lot of money at stake, drawing to nut flushes is infinitely preferable to trying to make the second or third best flush. It is surprisingly frequent for more than one person to be drawing to a flush (particularly in multi way pots) and so to be trying to get the best one is a distinct advantage.
In the same way, playing those small and mid pairs is done in the hope that you flop a set (also known as trips or three of a kind) rather than playing them as though they are the best hand - invariably over cards come on the flop and board which make them difficult to play on subsequent betting rounds.
As previously pointed out, a number of criteria need to be met before you can even consider playing weaker starting hands. One thing you must consider is your opponent's chip stack size. Before you play the suited connectors or small to medium pairs from any position you need to know that it is worth your while to play them.
If, for example, your opponent has 2000 in chips and makes it 150 from early position when the blinds are 25/50, and you only have 600 in chips, it is simply not worth your while playing a pair of 2s. Put simply - you will flop a 2 around 1 in 7 or 1 in 8 times but you will only be able to win four times your initial calling bet so you should throw your pair of 2s away!
Similarly, when playing suited connectors and someone has already entered the pot ahead of you, never really want to call unless you can win around 20 times the amount you have to bet (ie with drawing hands like suited connectors you never really want to put more than 5% of your or your opponents stack into the pot). Remember - you can only win as much as you have in front of you against each opponent and as much as each opponent has in front of them so it is pointless playing for a 100 pre flop bet unless both you and your opponent have 2000 in chips. The reason for this is that you will have to fold your hand on the overwhelming majority of flops and as such it simply isn't worth your while playing these weak hands as they are simply too costly to play in the long term.
Of course it is fantastic when you do hit a great flop and go on to win a monster pot and possibly break/bust someone but this happens all too infrequently. Often many players will not even call with the smaller pairs even though they are around a 7/1 shot to make trips unless they are again getting 20/1 for their original bet as it is always possible that you will find an opponent with a bigger flopped set.