Take a look at these tactics courses from the "Lessons". Note how many different kinds of tactics there are. Now notice that there are several courses dedicated to the combinations of great players where they combine tactics to form combinations. Every combination includes tactics, but not every tactic is part of a combination.
https://www.chess.com/lessons/courses/tactics
They sound like the same thing as he conveyed them but a series of moves leading to your advantage is not necessary tactics, although tactics are necessarily a series of moves; a series of moves often with a surprising idea, usually a temporary sacrifice of material leading to checkmate or a material advantage.
Ok so here's what I get from your responses . Tactics is when you position your pieces to carry out your combination. Tactics are the threat and combinations are the physical moves you make to carry out the tactic. Sorry if I seam as if I'm splitting hairs, thank thank you all for your explanations.
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Years ago when my Dad taught me this game ,he used the term combinations to describe a series of moves that would result in your favor. Now the term Tactics is used very often. My question is are they the similar or is there a difference between the two ?
A combination is a series of moves.
A tactic is a fork, pin, skewer, etc.
Combinations, a series of moves, generally use tactics, either overt or implied but tactics, in themselves, aren't moves but rather elements.
Now the concepts of "combinational" and "tactical" seem fairly similar, as a combinational player is usually a tactical player.
Now that the question has been answered, and the nit picking continues. Time to untrack.
That is like saying chopping a tree with an axe is a tactic as opposed to a saw. That would be a method, not a tactic.
Not anything like that.
A tactic generally refers to a one or two move shot (forking the K and Q, skewer, etc.), and combinations generally are a series of tactical moves. Hope this helps.
I think I remember a thread like this a couple of yrs back........What's the difference between a plan and a strategy.
A tactic generally refers to a one or two move shot (forking the K and Q, skewer, etc.), and combinations generally are a series of tactical moves. Hope this helps.
You nailed it!!!! Good job.
Yeah... you closed your first account then made one with 2 and switched the red duck around... 
Note that in Seirwan's Winning... series of books, one is called Winning Chess Tactics and one is called Winning Chess Combinations.
In ...Tactics, he writes:
"Tactics are maneuvers that take advantage of short-term opportunities."
Curiously, both Botvinnik and Seirawan tie combinations to sacrifices, Seirawan writing:
"A combination is a sacrifice combined with a forced sequence of moves, which exploits specific peculiarities of the position in the hope of attaining a certain goal."
A less user-friendly wording, but more accurate, in my opinion, is Lasker's Combinations definition:
"In the rare instances in which the player can detect a variation, or set of variations. which leads to a desirable issue by force, the totality of these variations and their logical connections. their structure. are called a combination."
When you work Tactics Trainer problems here or elsewhere, after you work the problem you are usually provided with a set of "TAGs" - these are the tactics used to execute the combination that wins, and there is seldom just one!
Years ago when my Dad taught me this game ,he used the term combinations to describe a series of moves that would result in your favor. Now the term Tactics is used very often. My question is are they the similar or is there a difference between the two ?