If you’re a newbie to the game of poker, then this post is for you. That’s because we’ll help you learn more about the various poker tactics, rules, and other aspects of the game in our informative post.
Continue reading for more.
Understanding the Basics of Poker Strategy
Just like you learn about letters before you learn about words and sentences, you should first master the fundamentals of poker before you play the game. This includes poker rules, poker tactics, and important tips.
Let’s explore more below.
Poker’s Rules
While different poker variants have different rules, there are some common rules that you should be aware of to ensure a smooth experience.
- You should first consider the variant of poker you’re playing. That’s because this will determine whether the cards will be dealt privately or otherwise. The type of poker game will also determine the flow of the game and how you can rack up the chips and play a hand.
- For example, when you play No Limit Texas Hold ‘em Poker online, then you are dealt 2 hole or private cards. On the other hand, you are dealt 4 hole or private cards in a Pot Limit Omaha game.
- Making decisions to defeat your opponent’s hands is a key skill in poker. You can improve upon this skill by studying the flow of the game and understanding which hand to play.
- Thirdly, we would recommend that you understand the different sets of cards that lead to a winning hand.
- You should study the movement of the button during the game to understand which person will be dealing the cards for a particular hand. The button will also indicate the start of a new turn.
- Lastly, you should understand the stakes of the game, which you will understand after you understand the buy-in amount to be paid to the website. That’s because this will determine how much money you will be paying for the game.
Recognizing the Value of Hands
Understanding the composition of cards that make up a hand will help you understand how to progress in each round of the game.
Chronologically, the poker hands and their card composition can be ranked, as seen below:
| Card combination name | Card Composition |
| Royal flush | (Ace, King, Queen, Joker, Ten) of Diamonds |
| Straight flush | (Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four) of Spades |
| Four-of-a-kind | Ace of Spades, Four of (Spades, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds) |
| Full house | Ace of (Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts), Joker of (Hearts, Spades) |
| Flush | (Ace, Joker, Eight, Four, Two) of Hearts |
| Straight | Ace of Hearts, Seven of Spades, (Six, Five) of Diamonds, Four of Spades |
| Three-of-a-kind | Ace of Spades, King of Hearts, Five of (Spades, Diamonds, Spades) |
| Two pair | Ace of Spades, (King, Five) of Hearts, King of Spades, Five of Diamonds |
| One pair | Ace of (Diamonds, Spades), (Seven, Four, Two) of Spades, Two of Hearts |
| High card | Ace of Spades, Queen of Diamonds, Nine of Hearts, Six of Spades, Three of Diamonds |
As you can see, a royal flush can beat all other hands. So you should play quite smartly in this regard.
Let us now move on to other aspects of the game.
What Happens During Pre-Flop and What You Should Do
In simple terms, this refers to the moment before the players post or place the small and big blinds. After that, you will receive two or four hole or face-down cards from the dealer. The number of cards you receive depends on whether you’re playing Texas Hold ‘em or Omaha.
You will have to make a decision based on the strength of those cards if you’re placed to the left of the player who posted the big blind. Some other factors that will influence your decision will be the:
- Your position at the table
- The actions performed by the players before you
The 4 Poker Actions
These actions include choosing to fold, call, raise, or go all-in:
- Folding: if you feel your hand isn’t strong enough to win the game.
- Calling: when you can match the value of the chips and play a hand
- Raise: if you wish to increase the chip value to make your opponents fold
- All in: when you want to play all your chips
Now, one of the poker game tips you should be aware of is to keep a ‘poker’ or blank face throughout and not reveal any emotions. While this is one of the most common poker tactics, it is quite important. Furthermore, you should also keep a cool head during the game.
Additionally, you should not overplay your hand or prematurely play a turn to avoid losing the turn. This will ensure that you win that round of poker.
The pre-flop round will end after everyone has performed one of the four actions we’ve mentioned previously.
What to Do After Post-Flop?
Continue reading to know more about the various things you should do during this phase.
Reading the Board
Being able to read the board is one of the important poker game tips in the game. That’s because it determines whether or not you will win the current round.
So, you should study the stacks on the board and your hand very carefully. For example, if you have hands like the Royal Flush, while others have the Straight Flush, Full House, etc., then you can call and win the game.
Apart from that, you should focus on the players who are playing in a loose-aggressive manner as they will be less careful about their hands. Furthermore, you should learn to estimate from the size of your opponent’s stack size to try and guess which hand they might have.
Knowing When to Bluff and When to Back Off
If you feel that your opponents have a weaker hand, then we would recommend that you should raise the value of your chips. This will unsettle them and make them think you have a strong hand, which might make them fold as well.
Some situations during which you can consider bluffing are when you’re in the last position or have a low pair. You will be able to understand this better as you keep playing.
How to Stay Sharp During A Poker Game
One of the most important poker tactics is managing your emotions and staying consistently focused. You can consider including practices like deep breathing, meditation, and thinking, “What move would a good player make if they were calm right now?”.
Apart from that, we would recommend that you use your brain to solve a different series of logical problems to refresh it. For instance, you could think of answers to different riddles, or start listing numbers that belong to a particular series.
We would recommend series like the Fibonacci series or the squares of each number starting from 1.
Furthermore, we recommend developing a winner’s mindset by practicing a never-say-die attitude. Additionally, you should identify situations where your emotions might be affected, such as being forced to fold due to the opponent’s bluffing.
This will allow you to calm yourself if you reach that point during an actual game. Lastly, we would recommend that you practice being patient. That’s because you might have to wait for the perfect turn in some games.
Some Tips to Enhance Your Poker Skills
Practice makes perfect. That’s why, we recommend that you regularly play low-stakes online games and also enter mock tournaments to strengthen your abilities.
Apart from that, you should mentally review the games that you played earlier to identify and plug any loopholes in future games. Lastly, we would recommend that you observe well-known, professional poker players and watch videos of them online.
You will understand the poker tactics they use and can incorporate some of them in your own games as well.
Wrapping Up
We hope that you’ve now understood the poker tactics we’ve spoken about in the previous sections. For instance, you should know when to call, fold, raise, or go all in. Apart from that, you should understand how to bluff, read the board, and so on.
Following all these tips will help you win the game. Have a good game ahead!