How to win at poker
Winning easy and poker don’t usually go hand in hand, but that’s only because people like to make poker difficult. They say to themselves: I can come up with a way to make it a lot harder, to appear smarter than everyone else, and then get people to buy my poker strategy courses so I can make money since I’m not a profitable poker player.
However, it is not necessary to spend money on expensive lessons. Firstly, the player learns many things in the process. Secondly, there are a number of strategies that have already been tested. Thirdly, you can follow the advice of professionals.
Play fewer hands of poker
This is a simple but very effective poker strategy. When you first start playing tournaments, you tend to play a lot of poker hands because you want to see a lot of flops. Then it becomes like a bad golfer making a great shot. They don’t think about shooting 115 on 18 holes. They think about the only approach that hit the mark. That’s what keeps them coming back.
In poker, you could J9-off even though you 4-bet preflop and then hit a straight on the flop. Winning a huge pot made you think you were a great poker player, or that the game was easy. You would be wrong on both counts.
You should never call a preflop 4-bet with J9-off. There is a very easy way to get much better at this game – play fewer poker hands.
You may not have noticed, but the best poker players in tournaments and other poker games are tight players. This means that they play fewer poker hands than most. Always keep this simple concept in mind: the bank is a dangerous place in Texas Hold’em poker tournaments. You should only intervene with strong hands or when there is an opportunistic situation.
The range of hands you play should depend on your position. If you are early on, you should only play AA, KK, QQ and AK. Maybe AQ, but only if you’re a strong player.
Know how to bluff properly
There are three important points here. First, a semi-bluff is good. You can’t always check flush draws. In most cases, either your opponent will fold or you will make your flush. I’m not saying that you will usually hit your flush. This is only possible 36% of the time when you have four flushes on the flop.
Second, it’s almost always better to make a continuation bet or check-raise heads-up. Check-raising is an incredibly powerful bluff. Even if you are wrong, you will know with absolute certainty the strength of your opponent’s hand. He will never call a check-raise with a marginal hand. If you get called at this point, slow down.
Thirdly, if you are going to barrel the river, it is recommended that your story makes sense. Let’s say Villain raised preflop, big bet on the flop, and big bet on the turn. The flop was two hearts, but you had 6s 6d with no sixes on the board. P
Since Villain kept chasing and started raising preflop, it’s safe to assume he has an overpair or top pair. He value bet preflop and has been trying to get rid of you ever since, especially after seeing two hearts on the flop. Now that the river is a heart, you can bluff with a flush.
Bet on monsters (aces)
If you check a monster on the flop, your opponent will be more suspicious than if you bet on the flop. If you bet a monster on the flop, a good poker player will bet you on the marginal or good hand you are trying to protect.
