Poker Strategy Guide: Back to Basics

Poker isn't a complicated game. It only takes a minute or two to learn poker rules and understand which of two hands is better. That's the easy part. Truly learning to play—and poker becoming a dependable source of income—is a lifetime endeavor.

For new players starting out, however, you need to balance the fun and excitement of playing poker against the massive losses you can so easily incur when you have no experience at all. One good starting point is through choosing a good room to play in—have a look at current poker site rankings to find the optimum room for your skill and goals. So how do you set yourself on the path to being the next poker phenomenon? Below are five tips on poker strategy to get you started on the right track.

Tip 1: Play More Aggressively Than You May Otherwise Do

The only way to win at poker is to bet—and the only way to win big is to bet big. Poker is a game of aggressive, calculated focus. As you master the fundamentals of the game, you'll also master when to dial up the aggression at the table.

Too many new players are simply too conservative too often. They raise when they should check, and they check when they should call. On strong beginning hands like high pairs or A-K or A-Q, you should be playing more aggressively than you probably think. These are excellent cards to start with. You do not want to ensure that in a full table, you are putting pressure on weaker-holding players—making them pay or forcing them to leave.

Nothing is more irritating than folding pocket kings to be beaten by a lucky 8-4 limper who gets a miracle straight. Have them pay to see those cards, and remove as many people from the pot as soon as possible. With six in the pot, your chances of winning are just 17%. With two, it increases to 50%.

Worse still about playing cautiously is that it brands you as a weak player to the rest of the table. If you only bet and raise infrequently, stronger players will notice and begin pushing you around, knowing that you'll fold under pressure. When you do bet big, other players will think you have good cards and fold immediately, reducing the amount you can win.

Keep in mind: aggressive play builds big pots. If you have a current winning hand, your best action is to extract as much value as possible. That is where the fun and the thrill of poker truly exist.

Tip 2: You Must Also Practice Patience

Aggressive play is not about throwing money at unplayable hands or going all-in in hopes of a river card miracle. That's how you blow up your chip stack quickly.

One of the most straightforward smart poker tips is to fold a whole lot more than you play. To many players, this will seem like a pretty boring way to spend an evening—sitting there at the table while everybody else has fun.

But remember this: just by the law of averages alone, most of the hands are going to lose. If your hand is poor, your best move is generally to fold—immediately. Spend some time observing other people at the table and studying them. When you don't care about your own cards, then you can look very closely at everyone else.

Bottom line: Wait patiently for the right opportunities, then use your aggression to go after the pot.

Tip 3: You Need a Sharp Eye

There's an old poker adage: Play the player, not the cards. It's just a fancy way of saying poker is a situational game. Your hand is really only good or bad in comparison to what someone else holds. K-K is a great hand, but when you're facing A-A, your kings are an 82% underdog. Assume the opposite: You have A-10, and they have J-J. The flop comes out 10-8-6. Your pair of 10s now only has a 20% chance of winning.

How do you know what they have? Watch them and know their playing style. In that 10-8-6 flop debacle, imagine you are dealt A-A. What are you going to do? Have you been paying attention to your opponent in front of you, how they've played big, slow hands up to this point? Maybe you should tighten it up and play your aces better. Have you seen them bluff a lot when fear cards hit the board? You can call their wager or increase, recognizing that a tens set is an uncommon holding.

Master reading individuals and learning their tells. Tells are not just nervous mannerisms like chip-shuffling or ring-twisting, like in the movies—there's also how a player plays. A player who has been calling all night and then comes out with a huge raise most likely has a monster hand.

Tip 4: Play the Long Game

As a beginner, you’re going to lose sometimes. At some point, you’ll go all-in with a pair of aces, only to lose to someone holding pocket 9s who hits a third 9 on the river. Don’t let these kinds of losses—known as bad beats—get to you. The odds won’t always be in your favor in the short term, but over time, those aces will win more than they lose against 9s.

Learning to win at poker is a long-term project that requires playing thousands and thousands of hands in real game situations. That’s the only way to truly understand even the basics, and you’ll need much more than that to become an expert.

As you progress in your skill with this book of poker strategy, remember the first three suggestions: Play tight, bet forcefully when you have to, and observe the table like your favorite movie. That'll help you remain in control of your game and not tilt. Don't try to cut losses with loose bets. Create a bankroll—both for a session and in the long term—and stick to it.

Tip 5: Strengthen Your Skills

Although you'll gain a tremendous amount from winning and losing, poker is not something you learn at the table. You can learn even more by reading poker strategy blogs and books. You can start here on the 888poker blog, or read Doyle Brunson's Super System and Dan Harrington's Harrington on Hold'em. There are many more great poker resources out there, but these will provide a good starting point.

Online play is also a great way to improve your skills and knowledge. Just make sure you're playing at the right tables. "Play money" tables are usually full of recreational players who are not playing seriously. Instead, play low-buy-in tournaments with buy-ins of $5 or less. Take notes while you play to help improve your strategies as you keep improving!