During those years, one of the most important things I picked up was a poker strategy. A good poker strategy can make the difference between being a winner or a loser. The difference between making a profit and losing the hand. From becoming a novice with a limited bank roll, to finally becoming a professional and making the final table, poker is an ongoing process. You must remain one step ahead of the competition.
There are many available poker strategies available, but less popular is how to make the most out of the strategy you have chosen.
As you can tell, this is the most important part of any poker strategy. Many amateurs have spent time and effort looking for a poker strategy, but without first developing their own approach, they end up performing weak actions, and ultimately adding nothing to their game.
Each poker strategy has a place. Some are geared toward tight play, which focuses on the fundamentals of hand selection, betting, and bluffing. Other poker strategies, also called looser strategies, allow the player to take more of a risk with weaker hands, by trying to take pots down before they bleed out. Loose play is generally done to protect a good hand.
Once you have identified your poker strategy, the next step is to define the space you are in with that particular hand.
- If you are playing in a home game, and you have a decent hand, you can let your opponents make bets for you. This helps you to win with a reasonable hand, before you take your opponents out of the game. At the same time, if you are at the poker table, and you have a lousy hand, you don’t want to invite danger simply by staying in, because you will have to invest too much to see it through.
- The definition of a good poker strategy is the ability to adapt. As you play, you are trying to see the game in different ways, in order to stay on your current level, as opposed to moving on to the next, or the one after that. Most often, the best poker strategy is one that suits the playing style of the individual player, but it is also crucial to adapt to the environment the game is being played in.
Not all players adapt to the same factors.
- A player may see an opportunity to bet when everyone else has folded, and he may bet too aggressively, causing all other players to fold. Different players will end up folding, and the one who stayed in the game will pick up all the chips. Be flexible, and adapt to the game!
- While you can spend a lot of time perfecting your poker strategy, the really important aspect is that you are constantly focused on the actual game. Being focused on the task at hand, rather than prematurely chasing a pot, will ensure you have completed your task and made money. While it is easy to say, “I have raised the pot three times the blind, and I have a monster, therefore I will bet after the flop if I have a monster hand,” unless you are sitting on a monster, it might not be the right move.
- Also, avoid becoming a poker player who decides what hands to play. After awhile, you will start to realize that some hands just do not work well, or are not that strong. Don’t fall into the trap of having your skills soiled by thinking that any hand is a “monster.”
- You can spend hours perfecting your poker strategy, but if you do not take particular notes while you are playing, you will lose your advantage. For instance, if you are playing online, make sure you take notes on when you raise, fold, check, and folding. Then, when you play, make sure you remember what you decided at that moment. That way you will be able to mentally prepare yourself for the next round.
- If you are not studying your hands and others’ too closely, you will not be able to mentally prepare yourself for the later rounds. The cards fall, the river, and then you will have to start playing. If you are trying to learn everything that has happened in front of you, you will not be prepared. You want to be running on top of the game, so you bet, call, raise, and make the right decisions when it is still early.
The simple fact is that the better you prepare, the better you will do in poker. Every decision you take short of a shake will be easier to dig deeper and will provide you with more information. arm yourself with the right information and you will be uppermost when it comes to your poker strategy.