If you understand how hands work, which hand beats which, and a little about betting rounds, you've already played your first and second poker game. But can you understand how to win at this game?
I will share five tips on how to start becoming a winning poker player, especially for beginners.
Poker is an extremely complex and beautiful game that requires a lot of logic and strategy. Rest assured that every good player today has been exactly where you are now.
Whether your goal is to become a professional or simply a better player, I will help you win in the games you play with friends or in online poker.
Tip 1 – Number of Players
The more players in the hand, the less you should bluff and the more you should give up your hand. Poker is a game of odds, possibilities, and incomplete information. We can never know exactly what our opponent has, but through logical deductions from their behavior, we can put them on possible sets of hands (ranges).
When playing against just one player, you can be much more aggressive. However, when playing against multiple players, you must be much more cautious with your hands. It's easier for someone to make a strong hand when more players are involved.
Don't get too creative here; it will save you a lot of money when you don't have a strong hand. When you have an average hand, just call; don't raise a lot. When you have a very strong hand, you can put more money in the pot.
Be cautious if someone bets and another player calls. If you have a weaker hand than the highest pair on the table, you can fold.
Tip 2 – Number of Hands
If you are a beginner, play few hands. Most poker mistakes come from playing hands you shouldn't have played since the preflop. When you enter the hand with a hand you shouldn't, you put yourself in situations where you are more likely to make mistakes.
I recommend playing the following hands: strong pairs, suited connectors, and some very strong off-suit hands. When you have a suited hand, you have more chances to make a flush and can bluff more effectively.
Tip 3 – Avoid Slow-Playing
It's tempting to slow-play when we have very strong hands, but this is a mistake. When you have a strong hand, you should always raise to build the pot. Most players cannot be aggressive enough to encourage others to play passively.
When you have a very strong hand, you want to put money in the pot. The easier way to do this is by building the pot yourself. Many hands will still call your raise that probably wouldn't put as much money in the pot otherwise.
Additionally, if your opponents see you putting money in the pot when you have a strong hand, you can start bluffing more effectively. Bluffing only exists when there is a possibility of having strong hands.
Tip 4 – How to Bluff
A good bluff is one that makes sense and is convincing given the circumstances. For example, if you raise from early position and the Big Blind calls, a flop of King-Ten-Two is better for you than the Big Blind.
When you raise from early position, you represent strong hands like Aces, Kings, and Queens. If the Big Blind had these hands, they would likely 3-bet preflop. When they just call, you can eliminate these very strong hands from their range.
You can bluff a lot on this board with hands like Ten-Nine because you have many hands that your opponent likely doesn't have. The probability of them having Aces or Kings is much smaller than the probability of you having them.
Tip 5 – Calling River Bets
There are situations in poker where the flop and turn bring several draw possibilities, but none of these materialize on the river. In these spots, you should often call your opponent's river bet with a medium-strength hand.
For example, if your opponent bets the flop and turn on a board with two and a , many hands like flush draws and straight draws have missed by the river. While your opponent can have some strong hands like Aces, Kings, and pairs of Tens, they have many more hands that have missed their draw.
If you have a medium pair in this situation, you can often profitably call your opponent's river bet. It takes time to refine this concept, but the basic idea is to call when many of your opponent's possible hands have missed their draw.
These five tips will help you become a much better player than you were at the start.
If you're interested in playing online poker and applying these strategies, I recommend KKPoker. It's a secure platform where you can play against people from all over the world.
