Ask anyone who plays with his buddies. A friendly poker game is more than just “a friendly poker game”. Poker games are about cunning competition and sloppy trash-talk. Each one of of those poker cards stands for the right to dog your friends for a whole week about their failed bluffs and dumb calls. “Friendly poker games” are aboutdrinking too much and talking too much.

For all those things, friendly poker games make it easy to make dumb decisions.

But you can fix that. Heres how to scale back your bad decision-making and hone in on the skills you need to make an extra hundred bucks a week off your friends:

Keep Your Opponents Bets In Mind

Knowing how your opponents play is a lot simpler than a lot of people make it sound. To get this, first understand basic poker strategy — when to call, when to raise, when to limp in — and apply it to your opponent. Then take note of his/her bets. Does he/she bet when theyre supposed to? Do they bet high? Bet low? Re-raise?

Keep in mind their position. Are they betting because theyre behind the button? Are they betting only because no one else did? These little details could give you clues into your opponents mindset for each bet.

WAKE UP

We cant state this enough: Know what each of those poker cards means to your hand. Don’t get carried away by a pair or a set — and forget to notice something as simple as an opponents possible straight draw. It seems like a no-brainer but it happens more often than poker players would admit.

Back to your opponents position, always being aware helps you track tell-tale signs that your opponent is bluffing — or if he has the nuts.

Patience, Ace

Patience. Use the blinds to mask what youre holding. Limp in, with average cards, bet slightly over the minimum with strong cards and never overbet unless you are trying to scare people away. menopoz skntlar . Playing it too conservatively will get you called every time. Playing too aggressively can end you in one fell swoop. The trick is to be smooth.

Use your position. Limp in first. Bet last. Think Bond, James Bond. decoracion de salones de fiestas . Not X, Triple X.