Learn Poker Strategy if You Are Serious About the Game

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This huge subject has been covered in numerous books, magazine articles and poker strategy seminars led by professionals. As any top player will tell you, it’s easy to learn the game, but it takes a lifetime to master it. However, with a bit of reading and a minimum of experience, almost anyone can learn enough to enjoy the game and even become mildly successful.

From the beginning, a player should decide whether the goal is to have fun playing poker without regard for winning or losing, or if the goal is to win money and become very successful at the game. This might be the most basic of poker strategies, because mixing the two “styles” can be nothing short of frustrating.

If your goal is to be serious about poker, and you want to win more than you lose, it is time to focus on the basics of poker strategy. Remember, there are some ideas that will work both in live games and during online play, but those who play much of the time on a Web site will want to pay particular attention to online poker strategy.

Some of the best poker players in the world agree that the first rule of the game is not to try to win as many pots as possible. The strategy should be to maximize winnings, of course, but also to reduce losses. As well-respected pro David Sklansky wrote in The Theory of Poker, “The bets you save are as important as the bets you win.” [Two Plus Two Publishing LLC, 1987, Henderson, NV]

Another general piece of poker strategy that must be addressed early in the learning process is the idea of aggression. Each individual must know what type of player he or she is, and decide how much of the aggressive style will be part of the game. Poker legend Doyle Brunson relies on aggression while at the table, even while he sits quietly, grinning like an old fox. As all professionals will tell you, you have to know yourself.

While these basic ideas are certainly not all there is to building a good poker foundation, using them wisely can take an average player a long way. One of the details of poker strategy that is essential to any player is an understanding of poker hand odds or card odds. Again, this can be a large subject, but knowing the basics and being able to figure card odds quickly opens up a whole new world in poker.

Let’s look at an example: In Texas Hold ‘Em you have two “hole” cards that only you can see, and they are both hearts. After the flop – three cards dealt face up on the table for all players to use – you see that two of those cards are hearts. You need only one heart in the last two cards on the table to make a flush, a fairly nice hand. Here’s the simple explanation: There are 47 unseen cards (52 minus the five you can see = 47). You can see four hearts, which means of the 47 cards you can’t see nine are hearts (there are 13 of each suit0. Subtract the nine hearts from 47 and you have 38 cards that won’t help your hand and nine that will (38 to 9 odds), or about 4 to 1 against you getting the heart you need. That is a very basic concept of card odds or poker hand odds. Learn this well and practice figuring while playing. It’s a powerful tool for decision making in all types of poker.

To tie that 4 to 1 card odds idea to the amount of money in the middle of the table brings in the idea of pot odds. The simplest way to look at pot odds is to ask this question, “If there is $50 in the pot and the final bet was $10, what are my pot odds?” The answer is 50 to 10 or 5 to 1. Remember that this is a very basic introduction to poker strategy. There are more complex poker probabilities such as implied odds and effective odds, which take into account how many cards are still to be dealt and how many players might get involved etc.

We have just scratched the surface on the subject of poker strategy. Let’s touch on one piece of strategy that is really a difference between live poker and online poker strategy. When you are betting based on what you see on a computer screen, you don’t have table talk, body language and other signals to rely on. When playing on a Web site, focus on betting patterns of other players, in addition to accurate figuring of odds.

Take these beginning poker strategies and try them the next time you sit down at the felt table.

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Quick Poker Tips

"Don’t be too predictable – There is a slight difference between being consistent at the poker table and being predictable. Successful players mix things up over the course of a session, sometimes raising, sometimes calling in similar situations. The best players are able to play good hands and less-than-good hands and make them appear to be the same."

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