Our 10 tips for playing better poker will help you improve your game and make better decisions. Because every player tends to make some mistakes that are easy to correct. We all err by excess of enthusiasm or foolishness but fortunately these defects are not irreversible.
1. Reduce the number of hands you play
The more hands you play, the more likely you are to lose. It’s nobody’s fault, it’s just mathematical! Indeed, if you look at poker odds, you may find that a small percentage of hands represents a high percentage of success.
So, the more you just play these (strong) hands, the more likely you are to win the pot. Also, note that the more hands you play, the more you reveal to other players your playing style and you will become easily predictable.
2. Change your style
There are several types of poker players. There is one who seeks thrills and will play adventures. The lock as for him would try for nothing in the world an uncertain shot. But also the player who will follow the probabilities to the letter without ever changing style and this regardless of the context or the opponents.
Try not to lock yourself in one of these genres. Try to adapt your game to your opponents until you mislead your partners. In this way, you can better hide your hands and surprise them when the time comes.
3. Be careful…
This third poker tip is paramount to this card game. Because if knowing the probabilities or the strategy in poker will reduce your chances of losing, it is only by being vigilant that you will win more hands.
Learn to read in the gestures and mimicry of your opponents. But also learn not to be fooled like Erik Seidel against Johnny Chan in the 1988 WSOP final who took a look (simulated) of Johnny Chan up for a sign of weakness.
4. Be weary of the response time of the players
Online poker certainly did not change the way the Earth turns, but it taught us to be more attentive to player response times. Indeed, on an online poker room we can not visualize his opponent, we can not see his gestures or mimicry. So we have very few clues available.
We quickly realize that the response time of players at a poker table is an important factor and easily assimilated. On the other hand, take care to relativise your deductions according to the context of the game of poker as well as your intuition.
A player may be slow because he has a bad hand and he would like to play it anyway. But he can also be slow because he knows he has the best hand and he wants you to believe that this is not the case. This poker trick should be used with caution.
5. Bet smart
The most common mistake in poker is to bet too big. It happens that we are sure to win the pot but unfortunately, even with a Square Ace can be beaten by a Flush Flush out of nowhere.
In the long run, it is more profitable to win little and lose less than to win a big shot and lose 10 others just as big. It’s mathematical.
One note however: if you have a Royal Flush for the Ace, forget all our poker tips and bet all you have!
6. Be careful about the position of the players
Positions, also called rounds of speech, are very important in poker. Indeed, you will not bet the same way you are before or after your main opponent. For example, if you are at the end of the turn, you will have seen all your partners bet and you can then react.
But if you are at the beginning of the turn it will be up to you to act (or not, depending on your strategy). You will then more difficult to anticipate the reaction, the bets and raises of other players. Beware of those who will try to make you bet more than reason to revive you behind.
7. Adapt your wagers to the game
One of the poker tips is how to bet a player because it affects a lot of the behavior that other players will adopt then.
If you bet too big at a small table then none of the players will follow you and you will win small … until a tile falls on you.
If you bet too small to a table of big players then the opposite will happen. They will bet hard and will lie by intimidation 9 times out of 10.
8. Take breaks
Without referring to Jean-Claude Duce and talk about compete, it does not prevent that you will be brought to play more sporting parts. In this case, do not hesitate to take breaks, especially when you start to enter a bad series.
Do not forget the basic principle of casinos: “a player who loses 1 will bet 2 to try to win 4” … and eventually lose everything!
9. Use the bluff wisely
To bluff everything is not to play poker! Poker bluffing is one of the techniques available to a poker player, but not the only one.
Among our poker tips, we advise you to bluff only when necessary. Also, be aware of times when another player is trying to make you bluff.
Make sure your bluff is successful before you start this business. Because nothing is more destabilizing for a player than having to show an ugly pair of 2 after making huge raises.
10. Let your problems at the door
We do not play well when we are concerned or when we are not focused. To show the greatest attention and concentration you do not have to play when problems are in your mind.
Go instead for a jog or a few laps at the pool.
And then, beyond the improvement of your game and your technique, do not forget that poker is a game. You are there, on an online poker room or around a table with your friends, for to have fun!