Playing poker whether you play for fun or for money, is a game of strategy. Unless you are a professional poker player chances are good that you could use an improvement in your current poker strategy. Whether you want a better strategy for bragging rights, tournament glory or simply to fatten your stack of cash, you first must step back and analyze your shortcomings as a poker player. Once you have identified where you need to improve it will be much easier to become a better poker strategist. These tips can help you get there faster.
Check Your Emotions
Learning to control your emotions will improve your online poker strategy almost instantly. When you learn not to respond to bad beats or the unexpected twists and turns that make poker so exciting, you will be better able to think clearly and logically. There will always be some surprises in the game of poker, but how you respond to them can improve your game and your gamesmanship as your opponents will never be able to read you.
Always Take Notes
Whether you have a pen and pad next to you during all games or you simply take mental notes, it is important to pay attention to what happens at the table. This is especially true when you play online poker. You can take minimal notes by simply labeling your opponents by their style of play or make more detailed notes about when someone is bluffing or making notes on yourself. This will help you learn more about your strategy during the game instead of trying to remember all of your mistakes after the game has ended.
Never Turn Down Free Advice
It doesn’t matter if it’s your uncle Jerry, the chatterbox at your table or a loose cannon at your regular poker night, if someone is offering you free advice: take it! Of course not all poker wisdom is useful, but simply listening to what others have to say can help you reformulate your strategy for success. Sometimes bad advice can help you find your own good advice, and let’s face it any advantage that can be gained in the game of poker should be used.
Play All Hands
One of the best ways to improve your poker strategy is to play out the hands that you’re not playing. Look at the flop, look at the players and figure out what hands they hold and how they will bet. Better yet, figure out how you would respond if you hadn’t folded your hand. By playing all hands at the table (in your head, not literally) you can look at the game from every vantage point and improve your strategy. This will help you perfect your bluff, aggressive play and slow play techniques. The more games you play the better player you will become.
Eliminate Distractions
In the age of online casinos, there are more distractions than ever at the poker table. One way to improve your poker strategy is to eliminate when possible, all distractions. If you can’t eliminate them do your best to minimize them so that you’re focused on the cards and the players, not the chatter or the avatars. This doesn’t mean you can read the table talk to give you clues about your opponents, but participating in those interactions will serve one purpose; distracting you from implementing your best poker strategy. Try these tips the next time you play poker and see if you don’t play a better game that will have your opponents cursing your name after every hand!