Poker Strategies

In the high stakes realm of poker, there are winners and then there are others. Strategy is the singlemost important element that separates the champions from the unknowns, whether you are among friends at a friendly game of home poker, playing low-key on online poker tournament sites, highly visible in globally major poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker (WSOP), or seen by the world on television at the World Poker Tour (WPT). Especially if you play poker regularly with the same group of players, you want to be among the few who win consistently while the others can only aspire to be better. Based on a solid understanding of the different poker games, some strategies are so universally valid that they are practically considered as the golden rules of poker. On this page, master the seven most important building blocks of a good poker strategy. These strategies of play apply to practically every game of poker, be it stud or draw poker, seven-card or five-card, deuces wild or nothing wild.

1: If you have nothing, get out.
Don't play cash poor. Generally, you should start with 40 to 50 times the table limit. Beware, stud poker players who go in with two indifferent cards only to drop out later. You, too, draw poker players who stay with a low pair only to fold after the draw. You stand to lose more money than even having three Kings beaten by three Aces. Know when to quit if it were staring you right in the eye. Only by having enough patience to stay out of pot after pot, however long it actually takes, will you win in the long haul.

2: When you are beaten, fold.
So you have a pair of Queens back to back in a stud game. Tough luck to your opponents, your high hand is good enough to win 99 pots out of 100. But as luck would also have it, an opponent shows a pair of Kings or Aces on the next card. The smart play is to drop out at once. Except for going in on nothing, trying to beat a big pair with a small one loses money like anything in poker. You can hope to improve your hand but also realize that the odds are against it. Besides, even as you improve your hand, so may your opponent. And his pair was better than yours, to begin with.

3: Dare the weak, not the strong.
Your goal is to beat the other players, not have the highest hand. So stop trying to beat the better player. If you are lucky, you'll win small; if not, you'll lose big. To win money consistently, stick with those who play worse than you do. The law of the jungle rules the poker table: strong players prey on weak players who easily let their money be siphoned away just like that. Guilt does not pay in poker, guile does. Remember that if everyone else folds, you bring home the pot.

4: When you have the best hand, make your opponents pay.
Now you have a pair of Aces back to back. Well, then. There is never a better time to make the play as expensive as possible for the opponent with the pair of Queens to play. Sure, he will outdraw you every now and again. But rest assured: not only will you beat him more often, you can even afford his occasional victory.

5: Manage the odds and expectations.
Pot odds are one way of understanding expectations. Always look at the money in the pot in relation to the money you need to put in to keep playing. That should give you a pretty good idea whether or not your hand makes it worth staying in the game. If the pot contains $100 and you need to put in $10 to keep playing, then your pot odds are 10:1. You will likely have a better winning chance than that so it's worth calling. Or if you have a 25:1 chance of getting that inside straight, by all means, get out. When the card odds are better than the pot odds, it's time to fold.

6: Don't play too many hands.
Playing too many hands is a dead giveaway that you are a beginner. It also clues the others in on what type of hands you play. You have greater chances at winning by folding more often. Patience is key; even the experts swear by throwing away as many hands as necessary in order not to lose. In casinos, especially, there are more players at the tables and thus less chances that you'll have the best hand.

7: Bluffing requires timing.
The bluff is to be used discriminately and at the right time. Bluff only when there is a very low risk of being called. Leverage on your understanding of pot odds to guide your bluffing. An occasional "discovered bluff", or one that does not work, won't hurt. It won't cost you too much and may even help win you bigger pots in later hands. If players suspect you to be a bluffer, they may just stay in the game when you actually do have a good hand.

Poker Strategy Links
7 Card Stud
Common Poker Mistakes
Draw Poker
Poker Strategies
Poker Tips
Texas Hold'em

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