This is no complicated game. The basic rules of poker can be studied within minutes. Well, that is the easy part!
Enhancing the way you play poker and turning it into a way to earn reliable money will still take a lifetime.
New players must balance the fun and excitement of playing poker with the possibility of big losses.
Oftentimes, only a few minor strategic modifications will take your game from average to exceptional.
As the next major poker star, what’s your way?
In this post, I will present six subtle but highly reliable poker tips to carry your game to another level.
1. Ranges, Not Hands
One of several best ways to understand the gap between average and elite poker players is through the way they think about their opponents’ range.
Average poker players tend to place someone on a specific hand while advanced pro poker players think about ranges.
A range is the whole array of hands that someone may have in a particular situation.
Player X, for example, can have a flush, and/or top, middle, bottom pairs. The player may have a draw, ace-high or a complete ball bluff.
An expert poker player expects that player X will turn up with this whole set of hands of different frequencies.
They try to identify these frequencies and then create the best play.
2. Dump Your Favorite Hand
Most poker players have a favorite hand. I know that my face lights up and I want to play it so badly each time I receive {9}{7}!
But, I know in fact that {9} {7} is a mediocre hand to match.
It gives the sense to play it in some situations, but in an early role, it should be folded.
If you’ve got a favorite hand right now, that’s all right. But don’t treat them preferentially and play poorly with them.
Winning poker involves mathematics and hard logic rather than superstitions.
3. Be More Aggressive
Most new players are too careful. They’ll take time testing when they should bet and call.
Betting is the only way to win poker – and betting a lot is the only way to earn a lot. Poker is a controlled, targeted aggression game.
So when you master the basic concepts of the game, you will learn how to increase your aggression while playing.
You should play more aggressively on strong opening hands, like high pairs or a hand consisting of A-K or A-Q. These are great cards you can start with!
In a full table game, you want to make sure you drive or compel players to cope with the weaker holdings or to cough them up.
Nothing’s worse than play a pair of Kings to be beaten by someone who tested with 8-4 before the flop and caught the straight miraculously. Force them to pay to see all those cards and drive as many people out of the pot as soon as possible.
Your base chance of a win is just 17% when six people are in a pot, but with just two, chances are much higher at 50 %.
Know that aggressive game builds large pots. When you have a winning hand, it’s best to manipulate the table for everything you can get. This is what makes poker the most enjoyable and exciting game.
4. But Still, Practice Patience
Being aggressive is not just about throwing money away and going all in. Patiently wait for a situation in which the odds are in your favor, and use your aggression to execute and win the pot.
Another of the essential tips of smart poker is to fold more hands than you are playing.
This sounds like a very dull way to spend the afternoon for several players, only waiting at a table while the others are in the game.
Keep in mind that dealing with numerous hands may give you bigger chances of losing, this is just based on the law of averages. When your hand is not strong, you can fold right away.
Take the time to watch and understand how the other players are doing at the table. You can concentrate more deeply on everything else if you don’t have to think about your hand.
5. Be Consistent
The successful execution of a winning strategy is another big key to being a great poker player.
Poker is a game that is long term. You have to find the perfect plan to develop your bankroll and use the most applicable strategies.
It’s not okay to change things abruptly – only because you are bored or tilted (for example, opening from early position with {9-}{7-}).
You have trained, seen, and practiced all over the years, and have learned to play this game profitably.
However, it matters only if you apply this to the poker tables. All hands count and all sessions count.
Exceptional poker players consistently adopt the same winning technique irrespective of their emotions or recent results.
6. Play for the Long Term
As an inexperienced player, you’ll lose sometimes. Don’t ever get easily disappointed by certain kinds of defeats, called “bad beats”. The circumstances are not always in your favor.
Winning poker is a long-term project that involves thousands of hands to be played. Understand even the basics of poker and practice to become an expert in the long run.
With this poker strategy guide, take into account your skill and follow the tips by heart: Play with patience, be aggressive if necessary and observe the table. It regulates your play and resists the temptation to go “on tilt”.
Don’t try to make a stupid bet. Set up and adhere to your bankroll always.
