Poker can be a tough game to play, losing sessions cost you money. There really is a few things you need to know and do every time you play the game of poker…Read my 5 tips to better poker to get you back into those winning sessions.
Patience
The hardest part of poker is not playing when you have chips in front of you. When you have chips and dealt cards we feel we should be playing but we need to learn that we can’t play every hand simply because it is not winning strategy. Even tho any two cards dealt can win, we need to be patient and look for the right opportunities. If you look at my stats from most of the games I play you can see how patient I am and how it rewards me.
Bankroll Management
I’ve seen and heard a number of times, a player cashes out in a big tournament so they move up to a higher buyin level and blow their bankroll in a short time. Some of these players are skilled enough to play at that level, but could not afford to take downswings when they don’t catch any decent hands or a break “ONE TIME”. Stick to the levels you can afford to lose at and you will over time, playing winning poker will eventually move up and enjoy sessions at the bigger buyins.
Don’t Over Play a Hand
It is nice to get good cards and bet with them but sometimes the flop is not what you really wanted to see to fire out a bigger bet to increase and take down a monster pot. There should be times where you will fold the best hand, the game would be to easy if we didn’t. We should be looking for the right opportunities at every street (flop / turn / river) where we can get rewarded, and at times we need to let go of a hand because it becomes risky. Over playing ace king is a hand that comes to mind when I talk about over playing a hand.
Image
Many players at the low levels don’t know it or use it. Everyone at the higher levels abuse it. A poker players image is a screen shot of their playing style at the moment. If a player is playing tight you should pick up on that. Think of the places and opportunities where you can take advantage, the stealing of blinds, check raising and turn betting comes to mind.
Play Poker
Most poker players are not what they say they are…. they are mostly holdem players. To be a poker player you really should be playing more then just one game type considering how many their are. I often do a weekly session of Omaha where I will only play that poker variant that day. It is good for the mind and spirit to be a poker player, but you can’t just play holdem to be one so go learn another game. Knowing the other variants will help you understand and better your holdem game.
You’ve touched on some really important parts of poker which may not be obvious to people just learning.
I had a really hard time with the patience part of it all, and admittedly I still do at times.It’s really hard to throw away those high cards sometimes, but i’m getting better.
There is so much to learn about poker and when I think back to my days of play money, when I thought I knew how to play, it makes me giggle.
I have learned so much here and am on my way to becoming a poker player.
I appreciate the time and hard work you put into this site, to help us all to learn and improve our game
Patience is a virtue that I have mastered in life and am on my way to improving as well as in poker.. I am getting better at it.. Thank you for the reminder..
Playing @ bigger buy-ins when I personally wasn’t ready cost me dearly a few months ago.. Lesson learned there and I have a 4 game win streak going!! It goes with the patience lesson as well and if i can keep it going I know i am on the right track to bump up my game..
Repeat after the poker god.. “FOLDING IS GOOD” lol
I am definitely learning the image lesson re tight play.. whether its me or another player. I change my game up based on that at times.. I have a long way to go but I get this part of your lesson…
I haven’t really tried to play anything else but Omaha and a lil 5 card seven card but the site played so fast I was a little lost.But I can think of it as a poker vacation to a new poker resort.. Ps.. I like the donkey pic !!nice touch!! self portrait?? hehehehehe lol…
5 tip top tips AJ
Can I add a 6th tip one that I am guilty of not following myself.
6. Read AJ’s 5 tips – note – follow lol
Extremely simply stated rules .. but ohhhh so important! Overlooking just one of the above is the difference between playing solid strong games and being content w/ the bubble or worse.
Learning to watch the play of others was probably the toughest one for me — but I’ve found over time that I now am paying much closer attention to detail and don’t even realize I’m doing so until I’m faced with a serious call / raise or fold situation. I don’t always make the right decision in those cases – but overall, it’s made a tremendous improvement in my game!
I’d like to add a bonus tip that you told me right at the beginning, something so small yet oh so important.
Keep your hand off the mouse till its your turn!!
Not Bad but add Two more (a) Commitment to excellence (b)What you dont spend you dont have to earn.
QQ is even money in raised pots.JJ-22 a dog.
Patience-It is amazing how many players know what to do BUT dont do it.