We have put together poker strategies to help you beat your poker opponents. In this guide, you will find a top ten list of our proven poker strategies by expert poker players. These strategies have proven to be working for some of the top poker players. Many players use these tactics to win international poker tournaments.
Below is a list of our top poker strategies to help sharpen your poker gameplay. Remember these tips were created mainly for Texas Hold’em poker but can still translate to other poker variants.
1. Don’t be the first to limp
Limping is calling the big blind. In a situation where you feel like calling, it is best to raise or simply fold. Limping works against you both in terms of odds and the game strategy. When you limp, you are telling other players that you do not necessarily have a strong hand. This will keep your opponents in the game leaving you against many opponents. If you indeed have a strong hand, you have to raise the pot to win more.
If you raise, you put other players in a tough spot, and they would have to make tough decisions.
2. Fold when you don’t have confidence in your hand
Instead of limping you could simply fold before risking more chips. Bluffing can also only protect you up to so far, but if you fold you save face and your chips. Understand that some hands can hardly be improved and raising the pot for an opponent is not going to help either.
3. Don’t play multiple hands
This is the golden rule for all poker variants. Playing multiple hands will destroy you in multiple ways. Firstly, there are about 169 possible hands you can be dealt, and only about five of those hands are regarded as premiums. These are the best possible hands and are worth playing. Even premium hole hands should be disregarded under certain circumstances though. So, unless you have endless chips, avoid playing multiple hands.
4. Play Later Positioned Hands
One of the best poker strategies is to pick hands wisely. Positions on the right side closer to the small blind are the best place to sit and witness the pot grow. You are likely to win more money sitting there and you are not going to even worry about being the first to limp.
5. Play When You are in a Positive Mood
Negative emotions tend to blind our thinking capacity. So, only play when you feel good, and don’t let your emotions get over you when you lose as well. Let it all sink in and keep a clear head. This way you are positioning yourself to make sound decisions.
6. Learn Poker Odds
Understanding pot odds will help you know when to call and when not. This will be based on the profitability of the pot and not just emotions.
You also need to understand the card odds. For example, if you have two pairs and think it will take a full house to have a winning hand. You need four outs. This way you can make mathematically sound decisions.
7. Use Online Poker Software
If you are playing poker variants like Pot Limit Omaha, you might have a hard time working out the bet amount. Fortunately, if you are playing online poker, you can easily tab ‘pot’ and the software will work out the maximum amount you can bet. You can also ask the dealer to work the pot limit out for you when you play at a land-based casino.
8. Know When to Bluff
When you play against experienced players bluffing will not take you as far as you’d hope. Some players can see through your aggressive bluffing tendencies. However, bluffing can be beneficial in certain instances. You can scare players off a draw when you bluff aggressively even when your hand is not relatively strong.
9. Study Your Opponents
Some poker players are easy to read while others are not. You can see through a rookie player who makes certain decisions and can detect how strong is their hand based on that. Although you can not read through people’s minds try to look through them and see what could be brewing. The showdown is one of the best opportunities to understand how certain players play certain hands.
10. Play Free Poker Online
Fortunately, many online poker sites offer free poker games you can play for practice. Try practicing recurrently to get used to the game. Also, play with friends and improve your strategies. Remember practice makes perfect, so make use of any opportunity to practice and up your poker game. You’d be surprised how much your gameplay would improve when you continue to practice for free.
Poker Strategies – Final Thoughts
Knowing your poker strategies and understanding when to apply which one will take you one step ahead in your game. Try to avoid thinking about which strategy to apply whilst playing since this might distract you at times. Our advice is that you think about these strategies whilst practicing. That way everything will just work itself out is you play.