10 Tips to Better Poker
This was published 12-05-2008Some times simple steps will have incredible impact on your poker game, one way or the other. These tips will help both your offline and online poker game. Included are some of the most popular and yet simple improvements to anyone’s game. This is based on the experience of active players who experience success on a regular basis.
Top 10 Poker Tips
1) Stay Focused – allowing yourself to become unfocused by trying to play to many hands at once, will prevent you from watching the hands you’ve got to play. Keep an eye on every hand take notes as needed. Focus on your opponent’s weak points and betting patterns. By staying focused on the game, you will be able to stay involved with the game, regardless if you are vested in the pot at that moment or not.
2) Learn through Watching – The concept may seem fruitless, however rail birding could be one of the most valuable assets a poker player can have. With any sport, research is vital, watching a player, their patterns, and learning from their mistakes and successes will provide you with the information needed to compete at any table. Remember that when you are out of the game, you will be able to see plays and moves that may not be noticed while you are competing, so if it is at all possible, watch the high stakes tables.
3) Do NOT Drink and Play – Friends don’t let friends loose their bankroll drunk. It is easier to tilt in that state, poor judgment will always result in bankroll loss, so just don’t open yourself to such a poorly played poker game. What a hang over it would be to wake up after a night of drinking and playing poker, to find out you owe the bank money you didn’t have to lose the night before.
4) Don’t Play a game You can’t Afford – If you are searching for your poker game, look for one you have the bankroll for. By using quality Bankroll Management you will avoid playing in a game you can’t afford to lose, or play comfortably. It isn’t a good feeling to bust out, and be broke. Bottom line, don’t play more than you are comfortably able to.
5) Take Active Notes – Even chess players keep a note pad with them to record mistakes, and advantages, and player patterns. If a poker player keeps the notes specific to an opponent, seeing betting patterns, and other points of view will be advantageous, both for learning to better your game, and how to approach a player in the future.
6) The Button – Remember the most powerful position at the table is the button. Maximize your hands when you have it. Relax your typical standards for betting, and be very aggressive. Basically, steal blinds when you have it, or if you have a strong hand drive home your point, and bring in the pot. The button moves to give the advantage to every player, so do not let this go to waste. Let other players believe you are stealing from the button.
7) Play Strategically to avoid trouble – Do not get incredibly involved in the early stages of tournament play in particular, even in Sit n Go’s. The loose players tend to make big moves early on, or attempt to steal blinds with nothing. Let them do it, in the end, the fewer players for you to compete against the better your odds. Obviously if you have a strong hand to start, don’t put it down, just don’t play ones that are not strong. It is not worth leaving the game early.
8) Invest very small amounts in small pairs – Don’t make big pre-flop moves on pairs under 9. Leave the hand if the flop doesn’t bring you 3 of a kind. Constantly playing smaller pocket pairs will eat through your chips quickly. They are only really effective when you play them sparingly and with a lot of callers in the pot, to better your odds. This will help you manage risk in your online poker game.
9) Don’t play favorite hands – This is a game of skill, not luck. As such lucky hands do not exist, so don’t put a stake in them. Favorite hands are nice, but remember there are odds in everything you do, keep them in your favor, not staking your entire bankroll on a 7c 3d because the last time you had it, you were able to run it. If you can catch a lucky break in football, you can get lucky in cards too.
10) Do not play out AK often – This hand, suited or not, is a powerful draw, however against a pair of two’s it won’t stand. Watch your opponents carefully and know when to put it down.
With such simple strategy integrated into your play, you will find your bankroll increase, your tournament play improve, and you will cash more often. Once these adjustments are made, the results will be visible at the first table.
