Courage Best Poker

Learn to Study Your Opponents

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:34:26 +0000

People have habits. This is a part of human nature and it doesn’t not matter what they are doing people will always do things that are based on their personalities. Poker players have certain patterns and things they do with each hand as well. As you probably already know you must watch the cards that are being played. But even more importantly you must watch the opponents you are playing against. You will want to study them whether or not you have already gotten out of the hand or not. Watch to see who does what at what times during the game. Perhaps there is someone sitting at the table who always raises at a specific time during the hand or someone who has a poker tell whenever they happen to be trying to bluff. By studying your opponents you may become better at beating them when you are playing in a hand against them.

In the same way you should be working on becoming unpredictable to the other players who are sitting at your table. If you notice that you are becoming acclimated with a player’s style then what makes you think someone else is not doing the same to you. Know that as much as you are studying the players, someone else is most definitely studying you. Try to pull different tricks out of your hat every so often to always keep people guessing. The less predictable you are during a poker game the better chance you have of taking the pot.

Watch the Cards Being Played At the Table

admin — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:33:44 +0000

If you have just started playing poker then you are probably so busy just trying to keep your own cards right then you may not really be watching the other cards that are being played on the table. This is not really a good thing and can cause you to lose more hands. You must find a way to watch the other cards and which ones are being played, and where they are being played. For example, in a game of Texas Hold’em you will want to try and determine the best hand in order to fit the flop. If you are playing 7 card stud then you will want to be able to tell what is actually showing and who has folded before you even think about calling any of your opponents.

If you have played other card games besides poker such as Rummy then you know that paying attention to the cards is vital in order to gauge what it is you are going to do on your next play. Not watching the cards is a very big mistake and it is made by newbie players all the time. Do not watch the cards to the extent that you lose track of what you are doing yourself but make sure that you at least have a pretty good awareness of what is happening with them. Another thing is that your opponents will surely be watching the cards so do not think for one minute that other players will not know what you have done the last few turns.

Do Not Play When You Are Not Feeling Right

admin — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:33:04 +0000

If you play poker during times when you are angry, upset or depressed then you will be walking up to the table already on a tilt. It is very hard to play a good game if you are not in the right frame of mind. You may start making ridiculously irrational bets just because you are playing with your emotions. By the time the other players catch on the what is going on with you it may already be too late as they may have already started taking advantage of you. You cannot use poker as a way to escape from something else in your life that is troubling you. That is not unless you enjoy the idea of compounding your problems more by adding losses of money to the twist.

In addition, you may walk up to the poker table just fine and then have something there set you off. Perhaps a phone call from a lover makes you angry or even one of your opponents. When this happens it is best to get up and walk away from the table. Give yourself some much needed time to cool off so that you will not do anything you will regret during the game. This is called going on a tilt and when you see it coming then act quickly. Do not allow yourself to stay there if your mind is not totally on what you are doing. This is even more important when you are playing in a casino setting.

Do Not Bluff For No Reason

admin — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:32:56 +0000

Many brand new poker players use bluffing in the wrong way. They realize that bluffing is a very big part of playing poker but they are not clear on how exactly to use bluffing. There is no exact rhyme or reason to bluffing and there is certainly nothing stated anywhere that says a person even has to bluff once while they play. The problem is that bluffs will only work if they are used correctly and if they are used against the right opponent. For example there are some poker pros who will call every single hand all the way down to the showdown then you do not even want to try to bluff that person because it will do you no good at all.

Bluffing is only effective when it is used in the right way. If you see an opening to bluff someone and you think you can pull it off then by all means go for it but you better be sure that you at least have a decent hand. If you bluff with a terrible hand you may wind up losing a lot more than you bargained for. This is especially true if there are really savvy players at the table. Eventually the art of bluffing becomes second nature and you will figure out the best times to do it. This is when you will be able to bluff even the best of players. Another problem with bluffing too much is that other people will begin to expect it and your game will be given away.

Never Play Poker Intoxicated

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:31:53 +0000

There have been so many occasions in which someone sitting at the poker table has sat there and drank beer after beer, all the while getting more and more bold ( and foolish) in their decisions. This is not to say that poker night with the guys means no drinking. When you are playing amongst your friends for lower stakes then there is not much to lose and the drinking and partying may actually wind up being more fun than the poker itself. However, if you are playing poker at a casino then you definitely want to steer clear of the alcohol as this is one of the best ways to lose your head and your wallet. Studies have shown that people loosen up considerably just after two drinks. This means that you may become much too brave and may be more inclined to do ridiculous things like think that you are bluffing someone when in fact everyone knows that you are just completely drunk.

Another thing you may not know if you are a novice poker player, at least in a casino setting is that the casino is really banking (no pun intended) on the fact that the free drinks they are giving you are going to help you come off your money a lot quicker than you would with a clear head. If you are playing poker at the casino politely turn down the free drinks and save the partying for the end of the evening.

Fold More Often

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:20:01 +0000

One of the biggest mistakes that poker players make is playing too many hands without ever folding. Folding can be your friend if you have a terrible hand. There is no reason to stay in the game just because you really do not like to fold. If you have a hand that you know is not going to get you anywhere, better to fold than to continue playing only to hope that you can bluff all of your opponents into folding. Another reason people tend to stay in hands is that they really enjoy playing and just do not want to get out of the action. This is foolish thinking and can lead to you losing a lot of money.

If you see that your game is going no where then fold. In addition, never assume that someone is bluffing because you never truly know until the hand is played out. Yes, poker is about taking risks but not about taking unnecessary risks that are actually stupid. If you start to notice that you are playing more than half of the hands you are dealt all the way through then you may want to rethink the limit you set for yourself in terms of how many hands you stay in. One key to being a good poker playing is in knowing when it has become time to fold. Until you understand that then you will not excel at the game. If you can master this then you are on your way to being a pro.