Welcome to the next article in a series on how to quickly become a better poker player. I'm glad your back for the second part because the first five points were important but I thought another article was needed to help make your rise to poker stardom more complete. Drum Roll please, and here are the next few points to get your game going in the right direction.
The Community Cards Are Very Important
Your hole cards and the betting pattern of your opponents is obviously very important. I also hope you know the flop, turn, and river are just as important. You need to learn the odds of drawing the flush or the straight on the turn and river. You can't just be a calling station because you need a 7 to complete your ten high straight. Pay attention to these community cards because every card could hurt or help you. This point will bringing you to the topics of pot odds, implied odds, and other statistical methods to help you make the proper decision based on the flop, turn, and river. Don't call a bet because you want the next card. Call the bet because the price is right based on how much you could win and the odds that you will draw that card. We want to earn money not pray for it!
Keep a Watchful Eye On the Other Players
Paying attention to your hand is great but why are you not paying attention to that guy who folds to every 3bet. Or that guy that always raises from the button when no one plays before him. These are things you need to observe and learn about your fellow players at the table. Poker is a game of maximizing your advantage! Learning how a player behaves is incredibly important. If you notice the two players to your left playing 5-10% of the hands dealt then you need to be stealing those blinds from them when your in the SB and Button! After awhile they might catch on. So now you adapt and stop stealing with such a wide range of hands. While your on this point, look into C-betting, 3betting, and stealing the blinds. These are great poker know hows that will help you consistently win hands without seeing a flop or showdown!
You don't have to find out
Find out what you say? You don't have to find out whether or not Joe Shmoe was bluffing the entire time by calling his showdown bet. If you didn't get your straight, flush, or a set. Then don't call a bet because you want to see what kind of cards he is playing. Remember your not that skilled yet and if you are why are you reading this? Playing solid ABC poker will make you a winner at lower stakes. Without that foundation you can't learn the special little tricks like forcing a guy to show his cards on the showdown by making a dumb call. Save your chips for solid hands!
Play at your level
When you first start out playing poker your bankroll might be super tiny or it might be nice and fat. However, poker is much more fun when you win! Always remember that! So you need to pick the right skill level limit in order to win. At first you need to start in the lowest limit! Once you have mastered the limit it by winning frequently over a long period of time and your bank roll has grown significantly. Pick the limit for your skill level and stick to it. Don't jump into the next limit because you had one weekend of awesome winning poker. You will quickly lose that money if you jump up to quickly.
Bank Roll, Bank Roll, Bank Roll.
Its all about the bank roll baby! Like the previous tip its all about managing your growth financially and with your skill. I follow the 20 to 25 buyin rule. Always make sure your playing a level that you can buy into 20 to 25 times. On top of that never spend more then 5-10 percent of your bankroll in any day. If your losing that much take a break. Then come back the next day at the same level or lower if need be. Make sure that you are winning consistently over a long period of time before you move up to the next level. Even though you can afford 30 buyins to the next level may not necessarily mean your ready for a higher limit. Use caution when taking risks. We want to grow our fund over the long term.
Conclusion
Most of these points are fairly straight forward and simple concepts that need to be mastered. However reread some this article again after you have started playing with these tips in mind. Ask yourself if you are following all of these rules and be honest with yourself. If you can honestly tell yourself that these rules when applied do help my game, then its time to look farther into the study of poker because your mastery of the game has only begun. Invest in well recommended books and join a strong poker forum where you can begin to learn the finer points of the game. Good luck! I really hope these tips help you out on the road to a better poker game. Feel free to email or comment about how any article on my blog has helped you!
The Community Cards Are Very Important
Your hole cards and the betting pattern of your opponents is obviously very important. I also hope you know the flop, turn, and river are just as important. You need to learn the odds of drawing the flush or the straight on the turn and river. You can't just be a calling station because you need a 7 to complete your ten high straight. Pay attention to these community cards because every card could hurt or help you. This point will bringing you to the topics of pot odds, implied odds, and other statistical methods to help you make the proper decision based on the flop, turn, and river. Don't call a bet because you want the next card. Call the bet because the price is right based on how much you could win and the odds that you will draw that card. We want to earn money not pray for it!
Keep a Watchful Eye On the Other Players
Paying attention to your hand is great but why are you not paying attention to that guy who folds to every 3bet. Or that guy that always raises from the button when no one plays before him. These are things you need to observe and learn about your fellow players at the table. Poker is a game of maximizing your advantage! Learning how a player behaves is incredibly important. If you notice the two players to your left playing 5-10% of the hands dealt then you need to be stealing those blinds from them when your in the SB and Button! After awhile they might catch on. So now you adapt and stop stealing with such a wide range of hands. While your on this point, look into C-betting, 3betting, and stealing the blinds. These are great poker know hows that will help you consistently win hands without seeing a flop or showdown!
You don't have to find out
Find out what you say? You don't have to find out whether or not Joe Shmoe was bluffing the entire time by calling his showdown bet. If you didn't get your straight, flush, or a set. Then don't call a bet because you want to see what kind of cards he is playing. Remember your not that skilled yet and if you are why are you reading this? Playing solid ABC poker will make you a winner at lower stakes. Without that foundation you can't learn the special little tricks like forcing a guy to show his cards on the showdown by making a dumb call. Save your chips for solid hands!
Play at your level
When you first start out playing poker your bankroll might be super tiny or it might be nice and fat. However, poker is much more fun when you win! Always remember that! So you need to pick the right skill level limit in order to win. At first you need to start in the lowest limit! Once you have mastered the limit it by winning frequently over a long period of time and your bank roll has grown significantly. Pick the limit for your skill level and stick to it. Don't jump into the next limit because you had one weekend of awesome winning poker. You will quickly lose that money if you jump up to quickly.
Bank Roll, Bank Roll, Bank Roll.
Its all about the bank roll baby! Like the previous tip its all about managing your growth financially and with your skill. I follow the 20 to 25 buyin rule. Always make sure your playing a level that you can buy into 20 to 25 times. On top of that never spend more then 5-10 percent of your bankroll in any day. If your losing that much take a break. Then come back the next day at the same level or lower if need be. Make sure that you are winning consistently over a long period of time before you move up to the next level. Even though you can afford 30 buyins to the next level may not necessarily mean your ready for a higher limit. Use caution when taking risks. We want to grow our fund over the long term.
Conclusion
Most of these points are fairly straight forward and simple concepts that need to be mastered. However reread some this article again after you have started playing with these tips in mind. Ask yourself if you are following all of these rules and be honest with yourself. If you can honestly tell yourself that these rules when applied do help my game, then its time to look farther into the study of poker because your mastery of the game has only begun. Invest in well recommended books and join a strong poker forum where you can begin to learn the finer points of the game. Good luck! I really hope these tips help you out on the road to a better poker game. Feel free to email or comment about how any article on my blog has helped you!
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