Ten Ways To Improve Your Poker Game

Take A Hand Off

“I’ve never seen a hand I didn’t like,” sure, but beginning poker players make the mistake of playing too many hands more often than any other mistake. When you’re just starting out playing poker, you want to play poker, and that means staying in hands that aren’t very good just to be part of the action. But playing more doesn’t mean winning more, it usually means losing more. If you find you’re staying in half or more the hands you’re dealt, you need to upgrade your starting hand requirements.

No Drinking Games

Getting drunk while playing poker — or gambling in any way, really — is the easiest way to lose everything. And we do mean everything. Too many poker players throw away their entire stack of chips — and sometimes the deeds to their houses — as a result of sloppy drunk-playing. I’ve been that person too – and there are nights where you’re just playing with friends for low stakes and it’s more about the fun than the poker – but if you’re in a casino, watch the alcohol. The truth is, while you may be more relaxed after 2 drinks, it may lead to you playing looser and less sharply, even if one’s not ‘drunk.’

Bluff U

Beginner’s understand that bluffing is a part of poker. But many beginners don’t exactly how it affects the game. There is NO rule that you have to bluff, and there certainly is no rule about how much, but too many players see bluffing as the only way to win. Bluffs only work in certain situations and against certain people, and if you know a player always calls to the showdown, it is literally impossible to bluff that player. It’s better never to bluff than to bluff just to bluff.

Pot Committed, Pot Schcommitted

One very common mistake poker newbies make is to think that they’re “pot committed.” Even veteran players say this dreadful phrase all the time. It’s just not true. Poker is a card game. That means luck no matter how you look at it. If you don’t have the nuts and your Spidey senses tell you your opponent does, bail! You can’t win a pot just by throwing money at it. There may be cases when pot odds warrant a call, but if you’re sure you’re beaten, and there’s no way your hand can improve to be the best hand, you should fold right away. The money you’ve already put in the pot isn’t yours anymore, and you can’t get it back just by playing a hand all the way to the end.

Don’t Call it Honesty

Too many times, a player will look at an opponent’s player’s final bet, look at the hand and say “I know you’ve got me, but I have to keep you honest,” as they throw in a final call. It may be worth it to see if a player really has the hand if you’re not sure and you’re gaining information that will help you later on, but if you really feel a player has the hand he’s representing and you’re beat, why give him another pile of your money? Those bets will add up over an evening.

Feelings Have No Place at the Table

Don’t play poker or gamble to escape depression or sadness or anger or to make up for a bad day. Playing card games and gambling in general can be a bad idea for someone in a bad mood. You start out on tilt — playing emotionally, not rationally — and you won’t play your best. Likewise, if during a poker game, you lose a big hand or get sucked out on and feel yourself going on tilt, stand up and take a break until you feel calm later on. Fellow players will sense your mood and take advantage of it.

Know What You’re Looking At

Newbies just have to focus on remembering the rules, the order of the poker cards and hands, how to play and how to pay attention to your own hand. As you season, it’s important to look at what’s going on at the table. In Texas Hold’em, figure out what the best possible hand would be to fit the flop. Make sure you notice flush and straight possibilities. In 7-card stud, pay attention to what’s showing and what people have folded when you consider calling opponents.

Know What Your Opponents are Thinking

Always observe, even if you’re sitting out a hand. If you know if one player always raises in a certain position, and another has a poker tell when he bluffs, and a 3rd folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them. Once you know that player 3 always folds to a re-raise on a river, that’s when you can bluff and steal a pot.

How High Can You Go?

There are good reasons for you to move up to higher limit games and there are really bad reason for you to move to higher limit games. A good reason is that you’ve been winning consistently at lower level games. A bad reason is the line is shorter. Another reason is you want to impress someone or keep up with a friend who plays or thinks he can play at a higher level. Don’t play at stakes that make you think about the actual money in terms of day-to-day life or with money you can’t lose.

Oh-No! Limit Poker

One key reason you shouldn’t move into a higher level game after winning a big chunk of money at a lower game is that as the stakes rise, so does the average skill level of the players sitting there. You want to be one of the best at the table. If you’re making a lot of money at a lower level game, why move? You’re making a lot of money. The swings up and down at higher limits are much bigger, and one big night’s win won’t last long at a high-stakes game.