Top 10 tips to improve your poker skills
February 24, 2010
1. Don’t Play Every Hand / Do Fold More
Probably the number one mistake beginning poker players make is that they play far too many hands. When you’re just starting out playing poker, you want to play poker, and that means staying in hands that aren’t very good just to be part of the action. But playing more doesn’t mean winning more, it usually means losing more. Playing every hand won’t give you the image of a great poker player. If you find you’re staying in half or more the hands you’re dealt, you need to upgrade your starting hand standards. It might be putting a giant target on your head, that sharks will eat up. It’s ok to fold.
2. Don’t Play Drunk
Countless nights have I sat across a table from someone & watched them get plastered silly and throw away their entire stack of chips. I’ve been that person too, and there are nights where you’re just playing with friends for low stakes and it’s more about the fun and being with friends than the poker. But if you’re in a casino or a cardroom, watch the alcohol. The truth is, while you may be more relaxed after 2 drinks, it may lead to you playing looser and less sharply. Even if you say you’re just “tipsy”, you’re basically telling everyone at the table that you are not thinking straight.
3. Don’t Bluff Just For Bluffing’s Sake
A lot of beginners understand that bluffing is a part of poker, but not exactly how. There’s is NO rule that one must bluff a certain amount or at all during a poker game, but many players don’t feel like they’ve really played unless they’ve tried a poker bluff. Bluffs only work in certain situations & against certain people, and if you know a player always calls to the showdown, it is literally impossible to bluff that player. Choose your spots wisely, bluffing is an art, a privilege, not a right.
4. Don’t Stay in a Hand Just Because You’re Already In It
Another common mistake beginners make is to think that “Well, I’ve already put that much in the pot, I have to stay in now.” Wrong. You can’t win a pot just by throwing money at it. There may be cases when pot odds warrant a call, but if you’re sure you’re beaten, and there’s no way your hand can improve to be the best hand, you should just get outta there. The money you’ve already put in the pot isn’t yours anymore, and you can’t get it back just by playing a hand all the way to the end. It may be tempting, and you may think that you might get tagged as “a weak player”, but sometimes, folding can be more profitable play for you in the long run.
5. Don’t Call at the End of a Hand to “Keep Someone Honest”
This one follows the last tip. I see a lot of players look at another player’s final bet, look at the hand, and say “I know you’ve got me, but I have to keep you honest,” or “I just wanna see if you have it,” as they throw in a final call. It may be worth it to see if a player really has the hand if it’s cheap, you’re not sure, and you’re gaining information that will help you later on. But, if you really feel a player has the hand he’s representing and you’re beat, why give him another pile of your money? Those bets will add up over an evening. Back to what I’ve been saying, it’s ok to fold.
6. Don’t Play When Mad, Sad, or in a Generally Bad Mood
When you play poker, you shouldn’t do it to escape from being depressed or having a really bad day. You start out on tilt, playing emotionally, not rationally, and you won’t play your best. Likewise, if during a poker game, you lose a big hand or get sucked out on and feel yourself going on tilt, stand up and take a break until you feel calm later on. Less seasoned players will find themselves playing more hands to try to win back the money that they’ve lost, and so on in their downward spiral of tilt. Fellow players will sense your mood & take advantage of it. Even the best players in the world tilt, it’s how you deal with it that defines how good of a poker player you really are.
7. Pay Attention to the Cards on the Table
When you first start playing, it’s enough just to remember how to play and pay attention to your own hand. But once you’ve got that down, it’s incredibly important to look at what’s going on at the table. Figure out what the best possible hand would be to fit the flop and so on. Make sure you notice flush & straight possibilities. Not only will you be able to start picking up on what hands other players might have, you can start learning new kinds of plays and strategies.
8. Pay Attention to the Other Players
As you play, one of the single best things you can do is observe your opponents, even when you’re not in a hand. If you know if seat one always raises in a certain position, seat two another has a tell when he bluffs, and seat three folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them. Once you know that seat three always folds to a re-raise on a river, that’s when you can bluff & steal a pot. Just because you’re not in the pot doesn’t mean that you’re not playing.
9. Don’t Play at too High Limits
There are many reasons people move up to a higher limit game than they usually play. Good reasons like they’ve been winning consistently at a lower lever & are ready to move up, & bad reasons like the line is shorter for higher limits or you want to impress someone. Don’t play at stakes that make you think about the actual money in terms of day-to-day life or with money you can’t lose. Even if you had one super good night at P25/50, resist the urge to play P100/200. The next tip explains more why.
10. Pick the Right Game for Your Skill Level & Bankroll
One of the reasons you shouldn’t jump into a P100/200 game after winning a huge bunch of money at P25/50 is because as the stakes rise, so does the average skill level of the players sitting there. You want to be one of the best at the table, not the fish who sits down with sharks. If you’re making stacks of money at a lower level game, why move? You’re winning stacks of money. The swings up and down at higher limits are much bigger, and one big night’s win won’t last long at a high-stakes game.
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