Mental Strategy
In poker the most common reason why people lose money is because they do not have the correct mental state to play a hand. Whether it be failing to realise your opponent’s style, going on tilt, or simply chasing bad calls, your psychological approach to the game of poker will determine your level of success. Certainly when you move up the levels of poker, and most definitely when you reach big stakes tables and start to play against professionals, you need to play a solid game of mental poker. First and foremost those who are successful do not consider poker to be a game of fun. They don’t use the term ‘sociable’ or ‘entertainment’. Poker is all about the business of making money, as such you can only succeed with a mental approach that is disciplined and level headed, whatever the cards may bring.
Keep It Simple
When you start to play poker, you will more than likely be playing low-limit games. Beating these games does not require you to become a masterful poker player, it primarily entails that you are able to outplay poor opponents. Beating good players at high limits can be incredibly difficult, entailing many complex moves. However, winning at low limits is pretty straightforward.
What do I mean? Basically, other players won't be paying attention to you. They only care about their own cards; they don't care about you or your cards. They will play their hand as they always play their hand, regardless of whether or not you are in the pot. You are basically a ghost to them... but hopefully you will be a ghost that's slowly taking their money! If you want to beat these types of players, you simply need to a play a straightforward game that will win in the long run. For example, play tight, don't do any fancy bluffs, bet aggressively when you probably have the best hand, and utilize pot odds for your drawing decisions.
When it comes to deception with these players, slowplaying can work. These players are easily fooled into thinking they have the best hand when they hit a pair on the turn, so giving them a free card when you hold the stone nuts can be to your advantage. However, bluffing is simply an exercise in futility. These guys want to see if they have the best hand. They'll pay to see your cards just so they can see them sometimes! Don't expect to scare any fish at lower limits with an extra $2 bet.
Master the art of choosing starting hands, employing pot odds, and aggressively betting your winning hands. However, psychological strategies are generally useless. Your opponents are not thinking too deeply, and attempting any fancy plays will only hurt you.
Think For Yourself
A disturbing trend I've noticed in the poker community is that people seem to want to follow strict guidelines when they play poker. Many want to treat poker like blackjack, where there is an optimal strategy in every situation.
This is simply not the case. Any and all advice are just some general hints that can never take the place of proper situational judgment skills. Poker is a game of people and a game of situations. It is not a game of optimal, pre-planned strategy. All of the best poker players vary their play and make decisions on the spot. Poker players that rely on a ready-made recipe are doomed to fail because they will play very predictably, and they won't take into account many important situational factors when making decisions.
There really is no way to teach someone situational judgment skills. The only advice on this topic that I can give is to practice and pay attention to your flaws. What are some situations that could be played differently? How often do you correctly place opponents on their hands?
Something that may be helpful is online poker hand histories. Some, but not all, poker rooms will display the hands of all the losing players who called a showdown (the screen will show mucks but the hand history will show the opponents' hands). Some poker rooms that do this are Party Poker and Poker Room. When you beat someone who called you to the river, or you turned a lucky draw, request the hand history and see what your opponent had. This will help give you an idea of how often you correctly judge your opponents.
If you are going to play poker, have confidence in yourself. Think for yourself. Don't worry if your play may be violating textbook guidelines. A winning poker player's arsenal combines general poker knowledge with situational judgment skills. Losing poker players don't think for themselves or simply don't think at all.
Ego
Poker can be an exciting game. Because it is played against other players and not against the house, it is also possible for a player to win at it in the long run.
However, always remember to keep your poker ego in check. First, the vast majority of people who play poker lose. For someone to win at poker, someone else has to lose. Also, the house takes a rake. If everyone at the table were of equal skill, everyone would expect to lose in the long run because of the amount of money paid in rake (of course, this doesn't apply to home games). So to win at poker, you need to be more skilled than your opponents, and you need to be skilled enough to beat the rake.
Furthermore, don't be naive and think you can be a guaranteed winner overnight. Poker is a tough game. Some people have played poker for years and still cannot become winning players. You are not going to just read a few articles and become a dominating poker player right off the bat. It takes skill, practice, and patience to become a good poker player.
Also, just because you do well at one type of poker does not necessarily mean you will do well at other forms of poker. For example: someone who dominates his home poker game may very well lose in a more competitive setting such as a casino or online. Another example: many good ring game players are horrible tournament players and vice versa. Keep track of your poker statistics so you can analyze which form of poker you play the best. If your statistics have shown that over a fair amount of time you have consistently lost at a certain poker game, you need to be cognizant of the fact that your poker skills are not good enough to beat that game over the long run.
Poker can be fun, exciting, and potentially even profitable. However, always have the right mindset when you are playing at the table.
Beginner Mistake
Mistake #1: Playing too many hands
When people sit down in a game, they want to play. Often, this means they even will play hands like J
4
. This is a cardinal mistake. Hopefully, the articles on this site will help improve your starting hand selection.
Mistake #2: Playing above your bankroll
This goes without saying. Sometimes the gambling and money aspect of poker gets to people too much. They become greedy and play in games they cannot afford or games where the competition is simply too stiff.
At first, stick to a consistent, low limit. Learn how to play and beat the game before you play in higher-stakes games.
Mistake #3: Becoming too emotional at the table
Bad beats will happen. Losing sessions will happen. Annoying opponents will happen. Live with it and do not let your emotions sway your judgment at the table.
Mistake #4: Not using pot odds
If your hand needs improvement, the concept of pot odds can help you determine if you should call to see the next card on the board. Few beginning players understand pot odds, and they often call too much. This site has an article about pot odds to help you better understand this concept.
Mistake #5: Using a two-color deck
When most people think of cards, they think of two colors, red and black. The suits are displayed like this:
Well, I have news for you. Some online poker rooms give you two display choices: the traditional two-color deck and a four-color deck. A four-color deck has a unique color for each suit, like this:
While this may seem unusual at first, it will make things much easier on you with time.
Believe me, if you use a two-color deck, there is a good chance that, at some point, you will misread your hand. You might think you have a flush when in fact you do not. Using a four-color deck is a simple way to prevent yourself from making stupid mistakes.
Mistake #6: Not following etiquette
This is a mistake that brick-and-mortar beginners make. When you want to make a raise, you should not say, "I call your bet and raise you $X." Your initial action is considered your final action. So if you say, "I call ..." it means you just want to call. If you want to raise, say "raise" and state the amount you want to raise, if it is a no-limit game (the amount of the raise is obvious in fixed-limit games).
Mistake #7: Imitating other players
A lot of people learn how to play poker by playing in a fashion similar to other people. They may just imitate others at the table, or they may try to play like a professional they saw on television. This is the wrong way to go about playing poker.
Many people who play poker are simply bad at it. Imitating a poor player means copying a lot of their bad habits. Furthermore, trying to imitate what one saw on television is also a recipe for disaster. What is shown on television is almost always a tournament, and their hands are highly situational. The reasons for the professional's decision probably has little applicability to your own game.
It is important to understand how to make decisions at poker. Succeeding at poker is not done through imitation; rather, it is done through understanding the complexities of the game.
Mistake #8: Superstitions
All gambling involves luck. While luck tends to even itself out over the long run, people naturally focus on the short run and on their fluctuations.
Because gambling involves randomness, people will often blame or chalk up their luck to some random event that coincided with how they fared at a certain gambling session. This may be as innocent as believing in a lucky shirt. However, some people take these superstitions too far. They start to believe that if they constantly move seats or change their socks that they will somehow become the next WSOP winner.
You cannot affect the "luck" factor of gambling. Luck evens itself out over the long run. The only thing you should concern yourself with at the poker table is playing well. If you play very well at poker, you will win over the long run. If you do not play well, you will lose. It's as simple as that.
Mistake #9: Overvaluing Suited Hands
Having a suited hand is a plus. However, you should not play a hand just because it is suited. The first two things to consider about a starting hand are the ranks of the cards and whether the cards are paired. These are by far the most important factors in the value of a hand. After this, you should consider if they are suited or connecting.
A hand like A K is much, much more valuable than a hand like 10 3 A K is a top starting hand, whereas 10 3 should be thrown in the muck.
This may sound obvious, but many beginners make the mistake of calling to see the flop with any two suited cards. The probability of flopping a flush or a flush draw with two suited cards is just under 12%. This is fairly low; you need other reasons to play a starting hand besides suitedness.
