why do i need a svn client like Tortoisesvn?
If you don't know how it works under the hood, you can't identify, diagnose and describe problem smartly. It's just more reliable way to have knowledge about processes at the lower level, than "black-boxed" VS+Ankhsvn ("project","press button","select in menu"), i.e about Subversion-specific aspects (working copy, properties, basic operations). In order to have this possibilities, you have to have any standalone SVN-client, TortoiseSVN is just good choice for it's power and GUI for CLI-powerless Windows users
Do i have to change that strategy to accommodate for better svn management?
If you know, how these references reflected at ordinary file-level, you can have own answer (I have not any VS experience and can't predict it)