The key factors to winning poker for Rookies!
Posted by rookie Jun 23, 2007 11:35am ago
If the only ingredient to winning poker were understanding the hierarchy of cards, the World Series of Poker would include third graders, savants, and the occasional imaginary friend. There is so much more that goes into winning poker then just the cards. The intangible aspects of the game are what separate the amateur from the professional.
Concentration and Observation
When playing poker, self involvement is not your friend. Concentrate on everything when you playing. Use your eyes and ears when studying your opponent. Listen to what is coming out of their mouths while observing what is going on with their body language. Many player talk loose and play tight. Later on they may switch this up on you. Take the measure of the player on every hand.
If sheer observation is not providing the information your looking for, start to prod him. Throw a bluff at your opponent and start looking for weak points. Over time, you should get a good snap shot of how your opponent plays, and reacts. Be careful to not get so involved in looking for cracks in your adversary that you become an open book yourself.
Psychology
There is also a psychology to the game. Play aggressive. This sort of play will intimidate weaker players at the table and limit the number of serious threats to your stack of chips.
Remember bluffing also has a psychological effect on a player. Lying is not something most people are comfortable with, no matter how at ease they seem to be doing it. Bluffing and lying are the same thing. When a player is bluffing there may be some physiological sign. Watch a player’s body language. They may give themselves away with an unconscious movement or action that happens only when they are bluffing. There will be those with unusually good body control. Fortunately they cannot control their heartbeat. When you see a player’s neck just throbbing away, the cause of this will probably be a bluff they are trying to perpetrate.
ESP
Most people know that ESP stands for Extra Sensory Perception. There is a sort of ESP that comes with time though. Lets call it Experience Sensory Perception. A player who has developed this sort of ESP will be able to work on instinct in times when they have nothing else to lean on. In the words of Obi Wan Kenobi, “Trust your feelings”.
Mathematics
Poker mathematics deals with the expected situation when we bet, call, raise or fold. Understanding the mathematical expectation on poker will help you in predicting your winning chance or the situation that makes you loose the bet. So, you know when it is the time to bet, to fold, to raise or to call in order to optimize your winning and minimize your loosing of money.
In a particular play, you may think and you feel optimistic for its winning chance. However, later you know that it is not the best one as you find another better play. For example, you have a full house of a five card draw. The opponent before you bets. You think that the best thing to do is to raise, as you know that if you raise, the player will call. However, the two opponents after you will certainly fold. If you decide to call, you feel sure that the two players after you will call. In short, if you raise, you will get one unit, and if you call, you will get two unit. So, the best decision in this situation is calling.
Mathematical expectation can also lead the player to realize that one particular play having a less profit to the player rather that the other. For example, when you predict that you will loose 75 cents including the ante, you should play on as it is better than folding it when the ante is a dollar.
Understanding mathematical expectation can also leads you to a sense of equanimity. It means that by doing the play based on the understanding on mathematical expectation, you will not feel surprised on the amount of money you loose as you has already known that it is the best play you can. The same thing happens if you win the game. You will know the exact amount that you will gain through this winning.
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Here's a few more online Poker tips
Don’t play too many hands. Its the most common and costly mistake in online poker. In a ten-seat NL-game you should see something like 20% of the flops. In a six-seat game 30-34%. If the game are loose and passive figures go up and if its aggressive they go down.
Bet your good hands strong. You cant afford to give your opponents good odds on their drawing hands.
Don’t bluff too much. Online players tend to call too often.
Don’t call big raises pre flop to often. There are few hands you should call a big pre flop-raise with. You need a very good hand to stay in the pot, and if you have that you should re-raise most of the time.
Semi bluff your strong draws often. Especially in small and medium pots when its a good chance that your opponents will fold.
Take notes on your opponents. Pay special attention to their bluffing frequency. Some players bluff way to much. If you knew them you can call their raises with medium hands.
If you don’t like the game you are sitting in; The opponents are too aggressive, too tight, too good or if it doesn’t just feel good; just change table. That’s a good thing with internet poker you always have a lot of tables to choose from.
If you have a streak of bad luck and bad beats it will probably affect your game. Even if you can’t see it yourself, it’s a big risk that you don’t play your best game. Never try to get even. Switch of your computer and do something else.
Keep track of your performance. If you don’t you have no way of accurately measuring your success.
Don’t play too high limits. Not only are you risking too much there’s also a risk that you will play too passive if you don’t feel comfortable with the stakes.
Playing too low limits can also be a mistake. If the money is too small to mean anything to you it’s hard too focus and playing your best game.