Basic Poker Strategy: What do you really need to win?
by Dougie Goguen | Jan 19 2012
There are three things at the heart of every successful poker player's game, whether they play online or in casinos. Without each of these three factors contributing to a player's total game, they're never going to be as successful as their more well-rounded opponents, languishing as a fish versus becoming a shark. These three things are actually three little words: math, psychology and discipline.
Play online poker free at Bodog!Math is, of course, rather obvious: odds and chance are at the heart of what makes poker what it is. However, you need to go beyond being able to count outs and understand the probabilities to excel at poker. It's true that you might understand that you have a 1:8.5 chance of hitting a set when you've got a pocket pair, but do you understand concepts such a pot odds and how they should affect your betting? Take the time to bone up on these concepts before you play in order to know you're making holistic, sound decisions.
Where math ends, psychology begins and it is an absolute must for the poker player who wants to win. Becoming empathetic with your opponents and understanding the questions they might have during a hand can give you real insight into what your next move should be at any given time. When you play poker, you should strive to have an answer for each of these questions:
1. "What does my opponent have?"
2. "What does my opponent think I have?"
3. "What does my opponent think I think they have?"
Once you have an idea of what they're holding and what they think you might be holding, you can start using slowplaying, fastplaying and out-and-out bluffing to control your table image from moment to moment. While it's much more important in no-limit games than pot-limit games, you've got to understand psychology and how other players view you to get the most out of your cards.
Discipline is more than just being "tight" and not playing in as many hands as the rest of the pack. Discipline is knowing that when you play a hand of poker, you're playing it for the right reasons and expect to win. While there's a lot of talk about the use of a winning attitude, most of the time true poker winners are defined by the hands they simply choose not to play. Even more important than that, however, is the fact that they learn to use their mistakes as a teaching tool. Every bad beat and moment you're outplayed is a learning opportunity for poker players.
Bodog's online poker promos give players more bang for their bankroll buck!Good poker players know how math, psychology and discipline interact and how to maximize the reward they get while minimizing the risk on any given hand. Take the time to study and learn each aspect of the game before you begin to play poker for real money. That way, you can get the most out of your bankroll and swim among the sharks, not the fish.
