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Learn how to Play Poker
Playing winning poker has so many elements, some of which have little to do with the cards you are dealt.
Before the cards are dealt to you, make sure you are in the right place. If you are a novice wanting to achieve instant success, you should avoid the poker halls where pros play. The best places for easy money are the low-limit games, where tourists are playing just to have a good time rather than poker sharks looking to feast on easy prey.
The next aspect of poker to consider is the mental games. Plays opposite of what other players perceive you to be. That means bluff when they think you are conservative, or vice versa. Never play into their hands by being too predictable.
The best way to set the tone of your poker-playing style is to show your hole cards early and then show them selectively. If you normally only bet when you have premium cards, it will be worth your while to show a bluff early on.
Your opponents will notice that you are capable of such a play. It keeps them guessing.
You should also pay close attention to what you say and your mannerisms. Observant players will listen to what you say and what you do. They form an opinion of you and how you play poker.
Many expert poker players agree that the psychological aspects of poker are as important than learning how to play the game fundamentally. Dealing with bad luck, for example, is essential because you must keep your composure at all times.
An understanding of game fundamentals and math abilities will take you only so far as a poker player. You will fail if you lose your cool or if you are not mentally focused.
Here are some of the fundamental aspects (how to play your actual hand) of poker to remember:
- Avoid playing Q-9 and J-8 against a raise. If you hope to land a straight with a flop of 10-J-K when you are holding a Q-9, the opponent might have a premium pair of A-Q. If you have a J-8 and the flop is 9-10-Q, someone with a K-J, who is raising, has the higher straight. Lower cards are less of a concern. If you play a 6-3, for example, and the flop is 4-5-7, it is possible that an opponent has a higher straight with an 8-6, but it’s more typical for players to fold with such cards.
- Also try to avoid playing a K with a low card. Even if you have a K on the flop, you risk somebody having a better kicker. Also, with a K and a low card, if you happen to achieve a flush, you still run the risk of being second-best because of the low card.
- Against an early position raise, A-Q isn’t the kind of hand you would want to call with. An early position raise signals strength, which means the A-Q can be beaten by A-A, K-K, Q-Q, or A-K. You want to be aggressive with an A-Q, but if you don’t get a two-pair or a straight with the flop, you should fold. You might ask, “Even if another Q is in the flop?” Yes, that would give you a high pair with a strong kicker, but these hands will beat you if the flop is something like Q-10-8 with your A-Q: J-9, 8-8, 10-10, Q-Q, Q-10, 10-8, K-K or A-A.
Another key aspect of poker to remember is to exploit a weak-tight player. A weak player refers to how he or she plays after the flop. The player plays afraid and gives up too many cards and too many bets. The tight player plays only premium cards in his or her hand before the flop.
Let that be a lesson: Waiting for premium cards, and then playing them weakly after the flop, will result in disaster.
This is what must be done to exploit weak-tight players: relentlessly attack them pre-flop and on the flop; play small pots because they only play for bigger pots; don’t pay off a weak-tight player with a big pot because they will always have a strong hand; and shut down on the turn if the weak-tight player shows action.
Many more tips exist for winning poker, but the essentials are listed here. The most important aspect of poker is the mental approach and your character at the table.
To be a winner, you must prepare yourself like one and present yourself in a competent manner. Don’t be predictable. Leave them guessing. And above all, do not be weak and tight.
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