Tired of losing every hand of poker you play? Want to walk away from games with all of the chips instead of without any money in your wallet? Maybe you just want to look like you know what you’re doing. Whether you play at the casino or online poker, these five poker tips will up your ante and have you playing Texas Hold ‘Em like the pros.
1. Fold More
It’s a basic idea that is going to trip up a lot of players who think they can bluff their way into winning every hand. If you don’t have anything good, fold. You’re more likely to lose money staying with hands like this. Most likely you aren’t fooling anyone. The same goes for limping in. Limping in is the best way to lose your money over a long period of time. If you want to play a weak hand, checking bets and making small bets that you’ll eventually lose, you won’t walk away with money by the end of the game. Just fold.
2. Bluff Smart
More on bluffing: It’s kind of an art form. It’s an integral part of the game, but that doesn’t mean you can fool everybody. Know who it is you’re bluffing against before you even try it. If your opponent isn’t going to back down no matter what you want them to think you have, your bluff is going to look amateurish. Know your marks. Don’t try to fool a table full of players, wait until you go head to head. You have better chances of fooling one guy than fooling everyone. Sometimes you may want to bluff and get called out on it so that you can fool people into calling when you actually have a decent hand. It’s mind games, but you have to be mindful about it.
3. Drink Less
Or don’t drink at all. Drunk players make drunk mistakes. It’s in your favor to watch everybody else get facedown during the game so that you can outsmart them as you go on. Playing on a computer, this isn’t going to be as much of an issue, but you could sit in front of the computer and make the same mistakes you would around the table if you get wrecked.
4. Be Unpredictable
If you predictably bet the same exact amount every time you get a bad hand and a good hand respectively, it is going to be pretty easy for the other players to read you after a little while. Mix it up once in a while so that you make everybody think twice about what kind of hand you’re betting on.
5. It’s Poker, Not Show and Tell
You don’t have to see what the other guy is holding. If you know you are going to lose a hand, but your pride makes you want to know that you didn’t get bluffed, you’re going to throw money away just to satisfy your curiosity. Save your money and see rule 1.
* If you want to try your luck at online poker, there is really only one poker room that we can highly recommend – 888 Poker! They are the safest gambling business in the world and probably the best. Their poker software is really decent and you get a nice sign up bonus as well. Check out their website here.
