Poker Tips

Following is a rag-tag grouping of important lessons to learn in the realm of poker. They cover things from bluffing, avoiding sending tells, the concept of a free card and much more.

Emotions in Poker

Face it – poker is a very, very emotional game.  You win some and you lose some and I have to say that I have made this mistake at the table many, many times … becoming too emotional.  When you are on a winning streak, no one really minds if you are emotional, but if you are a sore loser, it can become annoying.

Emotions in poker should definitely be kept to a minimum and should not be shown all that often.  After all, this is a card game and you want to ensure that your emotions do not sway your judgment this way or that way and you want to make the best decisions possible at the table.

That is why you need to ensure that you keep all of your emotions in check and you do not let them affect your overall attitude!

Using Your Bluffing Skills

When you are playing poker, there is one thing that you should definitely keep in mind and that is the fact that you need to bluff.  For me, this was the hardest thing in the world to learn.  It took me forever to learn exactly how to turn my face and exactly how to look so people couldn’t tell that I was bluffing.

This is what we call a poker-face and this is certainly something that you want to invest in – I can promise that it is going to do nothing but help you in the long run.  Slapping on your poker-face will give nothing away to the other people at your table and they will never see that you are bluffing!

If you play poker – definitely make sure that you use those bluffing skills to your best advantage!

Concept of a Free Card

When you are playing poker and in doubt, be aggressive. It is one of the most basic concepts of the game. You have to seize the opportunity and good things might just happen. You might lose some chips along the way but you will be winning some if not entire pots which cannot be yours if you played passively.

Some players however overdo the idea and ends up in a losing situation. Let us say you have high cards on a late position and decide to raise before the flop, then you get two other players calling. Now you do not get a pair on the flop but two overcards. Someone bets and you are left with a decision to make. Your decision to call, fold, or raise really depend on a lot of factors. Some will play it overaggressive hoping for a free card on the turn but it might be too far.

Heres one scenario from which you might pick some valuable lessons:

You have a J of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds and you get a 9C-7D-2H

You might have enough reason to raise on this situation given that you might draw a straight, a J or another 10.If you raise then you can ward off the danger of people acting after you who hold cards like K-J or A-10. If the other players fold, then you decrease the danger of getting your other 10 or J but still losing in the end. Other cards may come like Q which can improve your chances of getting a straight plus another high card can slow down your opponents.

So making most of the overcards to make a good raise is ideal for a scenario like this. If it returns nothing, there is still a good chance that you get a free ride to find whats up on the river. So spending small bets is a good investment on the flop.

Knowing Which Game to Play Equals Win in Poker

Knowing which game to play does not refer to knowing if it will be a no limit hold’em or limits hold’em for you. It is determining which tables to play at and which players to face head on.

Choosing the right game for you may mean saving some change after the game or bringing home the real money after. As much as you need to develop your skills in poker, it is as important to know which games to get into.

If you are an ordinary fish then it will be hard to play in a see full of sharks. You may be lucky and be out of it alive but look at the very bleak chances that you have to consider.

Winning money is beating other players in the table. You need to ask yourself before sitting down for a game:

• You can check if you know the players. Whether it’s in your local casino or playing poker over the internet, you should scan the table for players which you think you can outclass. You can know the players more by jotting things about them or by pure memory.
• Try to read if it is a loose or passive game. Loose games might help you win some decent pots while the passive kind of poker will help you protect your chips and have smaller loses in the long run.
• Observe. If there is a very important skill in any kind of poker, it is reading how players react to wins, to bluffs, or to any other tricks other players play against them. Learn their tendencies so you will know their strengths and weaknesses that you can use against them.