By following these 10 Poker Lessons you should be able to enhance your game and win more money at the tables. These tips are aimed at beginners, but even good players should remind themselves of the following basic principles:
1) Play fewer hands:
Many beginning players often seem to find themselves in far too many hands. The reality is that even though a face card can look appealing if you are a new player, and it is tempting to play them, they often are not worth a call. If you are staying in in over half the hands dealt, you are probably staying in too many, and should consider only playing higher cards.
2) Don’t play whilst drunk:
This is quite simply a nonsensical way to play. You need to concentrate and be alert whilst playing poker – clearly if you are drunk you are going to be at a big disadvantage. Even if you are not fully drunk, having alcohol in your system will mean that you do not play as sharply and carefully as you would otherwise.
3) Don’t bluff simply for bluffing’s sake:
Many beginners Poker Players look upon bluffing as an exciting and advanced technique, and want to try it to attempt to squeeze more chips from their opponents. The reality is that if you bluff at the wrong times, or against the wrong players, you will quickly end up losing a large amount of chips. Bluffing is not a necessary part of the game; it is entirely possibly to win a large amount of chips without bluffing.
4) Don’t become ‘pot committed’:
This is another way of saying that you should not stay in a hand simply because you have already put money into it. Once chips have left your stack and joined the pot, they are no longer yours. You have no claim to them unless you win the pot. For this reason, you should scrap the mentality of “I have already put 500 chips into the pot, so I may as well put more in.” If you know you are beaten, don’t let them take more money from you. It’s as simple as that.
5) Don’t call to “Keep someone honest”:
If your opponent bets on the river card and you are almost certain he has you beat, why on earth would you call it? That is simply giving him another pile of your chips for free. Don’t fall into the trap of calling simply to “keep someone honest”; this will result in a large loss of chips over the course of an evening.
6) Play only when you are in a good mood:
Playing when you are feeling sad or when you are in a generally foul mood is not a good thing. You will, instead of playing with your head, let emotions take hold – and as a result you will find it very difficult to play to the best of your ability. Another bankroll thief is boredom. If you find you are getting bored, stop playing. Also, note that your mood can change during the course of an evening. If you experience some bad beats, instead of trying to play to become level again, instead simply leave the table and take a break.
7) Pay attention to the cards on the table:
Initially when you begin to play poker, you will need to concentrate only on your own hand. What do you require on the turn and river to improve what you got on the flop? What are the odds of getting these cards? As you improve, you need to consider also what other players might have gained from the flop, turn and river cards. Pay special attention to flush and straight possibilities. When playing 7-card stud poker, try to remember what has been folded already.
Pay attention to other players:
Even when you are not actively participating in a hand, you should observe the other players. From doing this you may be able to deduce important tells that can help you in the way you play against certain players. For example, if a particular player gives off a tell every time he bluffs, you can clean this player of his chips whenever he does it. By paying attention you will win considerably more.
9) Do not play at limits higher than your bankroll can support:
You may want to play at a higher limit for a variety of reasons. Firstly, you may be succeeding consistently at a low limit table. This is a good indicator of when you should move up to a higher level. A bad reason to move up is that you simply want to show off, or that the queue is shorter. If you had one good night with a $2/4 table, stay at it for several more nights, and see if you can consistently win before moving up.
10) Pick the correct game for your skill level and bankroll:
The problem with moving up after one good night’s work is that you can easily lose all or most of it on the higher tables due to the players having more skill. Even if you still make a small profit at a $5/10 table – say $40 in four hours, this does not mean you should necessarily play at this table. If you can instead make $60 in four hours playing at a $2/4 table, obviously you should stick to this one. Play sensibly and according to how your bankroll can support you.
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February 10, 2009
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