Patience is a virtue
Good poker player is a like a hunter. Hunter can wait a long time to until a victim shows up. Usually in poker tables the victims are the beginner players, or players who are playing a loose game. (Click terms button to read more about loose player.) If you are playing poker in a table which is full of hunters the game becomes very dull. Every player plays very tight game and flop % is very low. That is not very profitable for a hunter. Hunter wants to find poker tables with a players that want to see several flops. So if you seem to be losing money analyze your game and verify are you calling to see too many flops?
Minimize the risks
If you are totally new to the game, familiarize the game by playing with play-money. The tables where play-money is used are marked “play-money”. Here you only play to learn how the poker software works. You should also get used to read the cards at the table. NOTE! You should not play too long with play-money, because the game is completely different when real money is involved. With play money you see people try go all-in all the time etc. So play with real money and some cents only.
When you play with real money it is very important that you play only with monster hands, if you play with low cards you will eventually lose. Rather fold more often, and when you have a good hand make aggressine raise. -If the flop is not suitable for you, save you money and fold.
You are a winner
There is a very simple rule which separates a winning player from losers. Winners play against the ones who make more mistakes (with a lot of money). So to become a winning player is fairly simple, try to find players that are not experienced ones. Beginner players often call too many hands, that’s where the expensive mistake happens. Those who only play with monster cards like Kings and Aces will win more money.
Poker analyzers
Poker analyzers are good tools for beginner, because they give you the hard facts of your playing style.
If you on the other hand understand why you have lost and your opinion is that this only is due to bad luck you should stay at the table if you think you can change the game. This might however not be the case as you are rookie (beginner) and you might have missed some important factors, which make you lose.
It is said that if you cannot figure out who is the “idiot” of the at the table it is probably you.
Don’t drink and drive or drink and play poker
Do not play when you are tired or have a lack of concentration. Do not play when you are drunk. Trust me, there are people who just wait to play against a drunken ones.
Poisonous cards
This is easy tip to become a better poker player. If you get any card below seven as your pocket cards your hand is poisonous. You don’t want to have poison in your hand so fold. Poisonous cards rule will teach you to play more tighter poker.
Choose the right table
When you are a beginner don’t show it with your money. Don’t choose a table where you are the only one with 20$, where al the other player have 100$. You will not make it there. Also beware of the players who have more money that the table buy in is. So for example you decide to play in a game where the maximum buy is 100$, pay attention to those players who have more that 150$. They might be “sharks” hunting for you. While you are playing you might want to get additional information from other tables. See how many players in your table are playing in other tables. Beware of those players too, they are experienced and play aggressively.
Bluffin’
If you are a beginner player my advice to you is that don’t bluff. There are nine other players who might have better hand than your bluff. Play only when you have a good hand, and even be ready to sometimes to fold the good hand. Pair of aces will not win if there is a obvious flush on the table.
Look out for player who are “multi tabling”
Clear warning sign for a beginner player is a opponent who is playing simultaneously in many tables. This is often a sign of a good player. You can easily spot a player who is playing many tables at the same time. They decision making takes usually so long. (This is because they have to make decisions at many tables all the time...)
Kicker
A kicker is how you break ties in poker. Let's say that you and your opponent both have "four of a kind". Both of them match evenly, no matter what the cards in that four of a kind happen to be. But both of you have extra cards in your hand. If one of you has a ace as your "kicker card" and the other one has a 2, then the person with the ace wins. So make sure when you call that you have often ace as your kicker card. Also remember that if you limp in with a Ace and 2 and in flop you get another ace you 2 is almost useless. If you have a tight player against you most likely he will have higher kicker than you.
Bluffing
Bluffing and bluff strategy is one of the hardest and most fundamental parts of poker. Without a doubt, if you do not bluff in poker, there is no way you can be a successful poker player. When you bluff and want to pretend that you have the best hand, you want to look as honest and as strong as possible. You really do have the best hand, so your behavior must be according to that. When you play online your “strong behavior” is very difficult to show. Often it is considered that very quick decision makers tend to have strong hands. It is also considered that if you wait a long time you are unsure whether your hand is good or not. That behavior is good to keep in mind while playing online.
There are some basic strategies you should keep in mind when trying to win hand by bluffing.
Bluffing is by far the most interesting aspect of poker. It’s great to win a hand with a hand with 7-2o - and show your cards afterwards. Bluffing is a very important tactic that every poker player needs to master in order to advance his game. Very aggressive and stupid bluffs should be shown to all players. That kind of bluff should be done only once per night. (Because there is a chance that it could become expensive “show”)
Bluffing hints and tips
Here are some basic hints and tips for bluffing poker:
* What position are you - this is extremely important, best position (in almost every case) is the late position. In late position you have a good idea of how good other people's hands are.
* If you bluff try to make the hand as cheap as possible, so that you minimize your losses
* If the table where you are playing is very loose forget bluffing. You make more money if you play tight (and aggressive) poker
* Note the person that you are trying to bluff and his characteristics
* Do you still have outs (are you semi bluffing) or you are sure that you can't have the best hand even after all the cards are out
* Avoid bluffing in small stakes tables, many players might call your bluff anyway. If you are playing $1/$2 and you bet $30 at a pot, it is very likely for the other player to call you with the second or third best hand. Again, that depends on other players too; if they are college students, $30 might mean much more to them than if they are IT professionals
* Do Bluff at good/tight players. They will put you on the good hand more often than the loose players
* Don't bluff too much, because you will lose your image at the table.
* Do bluff at scary flops. If there is a possible flush at the flop - three of a suit on the flop - and you bet at it, people will most likely fold to you, because even if they have outs to hit, it is still hard to beat a flush.
* If you don’t bluff too much and you know your opponent is a tight player try also re-raises
* Do bluff more often when there are less players in the hand.
* Do bluff more often on the turn and river.
* If the tables flop % is low, make sure you bluff % is very low. Don't ever try to bluff at a hand where there are over 4 people playing in it. It is very likely that you will be called by at least one of them.
* Don't bluff bad/loose players. Bad players don't necessarily know when they are beaten or when they should fold. So even though it might be obvious to you that they should fold their hand to your fold, most of the time they don't.
* Don't show your cards every time you bluff, some say that you should never show any of your hands. The less you give information about your self, less your enemies know about you.
* If you have been caught bluffing recently, play tight.
* Don't bluff when you just lost a big hand or have lost a series of hands.
* Pay attention to your opponents tight player might fold even if you make a small bet, if a tight player calls be careful or become more aggressive. It’s up to you!