Poker Strategy: A Complete Guide

Often people will say that they struggle in finding their rhythm when they play poker in the beginning. Yes, they understand the rules and the differences between variations, yet they perhaps have not adjusted to the winning edge that is required to take the gaming to another level. Sure, we have all tried the exceptional choices out there available, from Online poker to live poker variants too, to help us get into the actual game spirit and flow of things. However, with the few adjustments that we are about to share, you can see a huge change and difference, to where you were breaking even before, to now totally making your games and actually walking away with a nice healthy win at the end of it.

By the end of this guide, we hope that all the in-depth poker knowledge that you may have been missing out on before, will all tie together and help you make sense of the missing “oomph” that you needed within your gameplay. You may find the information that we are going to relate to be a little bit advanced maybe, however this is definitely necessary for you to be taking on board, if you want to see a difference in your poker efforts. Who knows, after reading this, you may be the next poker king/queen!

Take into account the frequency and range

When you play, you will be thinking what your opponent’s hand actually is. However, the difference between a pro and just a player, is that a pro will always think of the hand ranges and how the opponent will play if you press and change the level of gameplay. A normal player will only try to figure out the exact hand. So, observe the difference! It would actually help if you pay attention to the live poker games that occur from all the best poker players in the world. There you will be able to watch and observe how they strategies and go forth with their opponents and take control!

You must try and cut the hand combinations of your opponent, pre-and post-flop. This should allow you to figure out the level of frequency that they are playing at. With the right eye, you will immediately be able to play their own strategy and decisions against them, until they fold or call. It can be quite intense and interesting, so make sure you play with the right aggression and power yourself. Once you are in, there is no backing down.

Play less hands with aggression

Statistically speaking, the odds are fair betting in your hand when you opt to win larger pots less frequently, then trying to win every small pot as you go along and play. You will have a better chance in pacing yourself, and it will be far ­­­wiser that way too. If you play solidly throughout the entire game, with a tight range, you will force your opponent to fold and thus lose whatever they bet towards the winning pot. This is the best way to maximize the most profits for yourself when you play, so stay aware.

Betting is not for holding your bluff or value

Many players actually do not know this, yet some of the best players in the world actually confirmed this, by saying that betting is ultimately used by the player to build a bigger pot, that can be won by yourself, or by stopping your opponent from providing their value within the game and equity. By preventing a player from realising their equity, you will be forcing them to fold to the bets that you have within the game moving forward. The best kind of poker gaming is when you manage to combine both reasons for betting into one scenario and you ultimately manage to walk away with a larger money pot and take away the threat of your biggest opponents when you play.

Only bluff with your draws and fast play with your monsters

If you play too passively within the game, you will come to reason that it can be your downfall within the game of poker. If you do not play aggressively enough you will come to realise that you may be outdrawn by your opponents and actually miss out on that huge money pot that has been building up the entire game-which is very disappointing indeed. It is okay to play passively sometimes however, if you want your opponent to believe that you have the weaker hand within the game. You can use this sign of weakness to get your opponent to pursue you and lead them out into the open of the game.

For example, if you happen to have pocket nines for the middle set game; and your opponent hit triple aces with the one holding an ace within his hand for a loss, this would therefore improve your hand to a full house, or the second-best hand. They will keep betting money to the pot; yes, if the opponent has the higher set with the ace to pocket this will mean that it will be your loss in terms of cash, yet what you need to think here is that your opponent will most likely have a really low probability of the best hand. You will need to maximise the expected value against the opponent you are playing.

Make sure to defend your blind

When you play, it is important to defend your blind especially when you are dealt a big hand in the process of the game. To do this, you need to make sure that you follow through on the points that we have down below for you.

The position of the raise

You will need to make sure that you play much tighter during the course of any early position raises; if there is more than 1 caller, you should only choose the multiway type of hands.

Raise the sizing

You will need to defend more hands the smaller the size, with less hands and larger size, the less you will need to defend.

Stack effectively

The smaller of the two stacks for you and your opponent is effective, for example a 20 to 60 big blind, you should play at higher cards and fold most of the speculative hands. When there are 100 or more big blinds, you will play a much wider range of hand selections.

Whenever your opponent is more skilled, you will need to play a tighter style of gameplay as that will show for less mistakes. If, however the player is less skilled and experienced, you will be able to outplay them and thus call for a wider range in terms of hands.

If you are close to being beaten make sure to fold

When playing poker, knowing that you will need to lose for the benefit of saving an extra dollar to your game is worth it, but on your ego, it may hurt just a little of course. However, thinking in the long-term aspect of things will make sure that you live to fight another day! By saving the majority of your bankroll, over losing it all is a much wiser decision in the long haul of things. You may lose one particular hand and battle to an opponent, yet you can come back stronger to win the war!

Try and play with a good mind space

Sometimes, when you are playing intensely and going at it 100 miles per hour, it may come to your attention that you can become fatigued and not really enjoy the game anymore. Always try to play, but have some fun by enjoying the social aspect of things that is provided from the world of poker. Many of the top poker events allow players to take a minute out, socialise at gatherings prior to an evening, to really sit back and relax. For example, at the Atlantis Bahamas Resort, where poker tournaments take place, players can use the spa as well as the mixer events to socialise and have fun outside of the intense poker regime that they are often faced with. All work and no play, is never really any fun.

Select the right games for you to participate in

Before you commit to the games with more skilled players, make sure you commit to the games with players that have the equivalent skills and execution as you do. If you go for poker games with highly skilled players, you will lose and that is being realistic. In the long term, the more experience you build up from the bottom, the more likely you will be able to get to the top, to more technically advanced games. We all have to start somewhere, don’t we?

After you have read our guide, do not be afraid to take the time out and actually try playing poker games online! Some of the best software developers for online casino games such as Evolution Gaming, provide players with a free play demo version to practice freely, without having to lose any money.

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