poker strategy

In order to improve your chances of making money playing poker, you must be able to capitalize on the money lying in the pots after the flop comes down. While stealing the blinds pre-flop is an important part of any poker game, post flop play will typically yield the biggest pots.

Post-flop play stems from 3 basic scenarios that are a result of the pre-flop action. Those scenarios are:

* No action - This scenario is a result of everyone at the table folding to the pre-flop raiser or re-raiser, or of everyone folding to the Big Blind.

* Heads up action - When only 2 players see the flop, the resulting action will be heads up.

* Multi-way action - When 3 or more players see the flop, this results in multi-way post flop action, or a “multi-way pot.”

No Action

No action - Nothing much to explore here. No post-flop action is the result of pre-flop play where all but one player folds. In this case, no flop is dealt, and therefor there is no post-flop action. Congratulations, you just saved some chips!

Heads Up Action

Heads up action - When there is post-flop action, this type of action is the preferred scenario of any professional or serious poker player. Heads up action is simply easier to play. Bluffs and semi-bluffs are successful a higher percentage of the time than in multi-way pots. It is easier to get a read on your opponent’s hand strength. Often in heads up action, pots can be won with low to middle pairs or even high-card hands.

The keys to successful post-flop play include position and aggression. Successful post-flop play will depend largely in part on your pre-flop choices. You will win more pots playing from position than you will out of position. You will win more pots when you are the aggressor (the bettor or raiser) than you will by checking and calling. Therefor, one of the most effective improvements you can make to your post-flop play may be an adjustment to your pre-flop stratgey. Open with aggressive raises from superior position to improve your post-flop winning percentage. By coming out aggressively pre-flop and playing from position, a multitude of different ways that you can win the pot will open up to you.

The most important tool you will have at your disposal will be the continuation bet. This is when a player raises pre-flop, and then fires another bet into the pot after the flop, whether or not the flop improved the raiser’s hand. When you enter into a heads up pot with a preflop raise, you should follow through with a continuation bet 75%-90% of the time, regardless of what flopped. Your opponent will completely miss the flop roughly 70% of the time, and your continuation bet will win you the pot the in most cases.

Another tool that a pre-flop raise from postion will give you is the semi-bluff. This is when you flop a draw, such as a straight or flush draw, and bet or even raise as though you have a made hand. If you get called and then hit on the turn, you are likely to get paid off in a big way! Even if you miss on the turn, you’ll still have a free shot at the draw most of the time. Your opponent usually will not bet on the turn because either (a) he will be afraid of facing another big raise, or (b) will have the best hand, and will be anticipating (and probably hoping for) another bet from you on the turn. Take advantage of this oppotunity to see a free river by checking the turn if it’s a blank.

You can also utilize “feeler bets,” which are bets or raises to determine the strength of your opponent’s hand or the strength of your hand in relation to theirs. While you are spending some chips in this situation, try to avoid thinking to much about your “lost chips” when facing an opponent who is giving you clues to the fact that they have you beat. The reason you are putting out small feeler bets is to save yourself large amounts of chips if you’re hand is beat.

Multi-way Action

Multi-way action - Multi-way pots are typically the most difficult to play, and should be avoided in most situations whenever possible, especially if playing from out of position. Multi-way pots can be good to play in, however, with drawing hands or small to medium pocket pairs. The reason is that if you flop a monster with a disguised hand, you’re more likely to get paid off as someone in the hand is likely to have a hand that is strong enough to call you with, even if it is 2nd best. If you were to flop a set with a small pair or a a flush or a straight with a suited connector, you’ll have plenty of players in the hand who might have top-pair-top-kicker, 2 pair, or a draw that may be willing to pay you off even if you fire a huge bet.

If you do flop a draw in a multi-way pot, tricky plays aren’t as likely to work. Stick to good pot odds to chase a draw. If the price isn’t right, throw the hand away. You will find good pot odds often enough in multi-way pots to make it worth throwing away a few draws when the odds are against you.

Phil Gordon teaches you the most common percentages every serious poker player should know. Learn more: read Phil’s poker articles, buy his Final Table Poker DVD, listen to his WSOP podcasts and even ask him a poker question at http://www.ExpertInsight.com Also available: Beating Blackjack with Andy Bloch -The former MIT Team Manager gives you the secrets of card counting and more. Short Game Golf with Jim Furyk & Fred Funk -The #2 Golfer in the World teaches you how to master the short game…

In Poker, the game ‘Texas Holdem’ needs to be played with smart poker strategies.

For the beginners, this poker game has a practical standpoint with some disastrous implications.

An important thing for the begginers to know is that the poker hands shown on television shows do not well represent an ideal poker player. All the famous poker players like Ted Williams, Magic Johnson and others have spent hours on the basic poker fundamentals and they do follow smart poker strategies. In fact, they devote more time for the improvement of those areas in which they are not much good.

Like any other poker game, ‘Texas Hold’em’ has some basics that are not very apparent, but these basics must be mastered by the players as part of the poker strategy for achieving excellence.

The first poker strategy that comes is - Discipline. It doesn not matter what special skills you have if you do not have discipline. It is always good to work hard on the discipline.

The Bets - The bet is the most important element in poker. We can refer the ‘Chips’ as protons or electrons, but a bet is the basic block of everything that takes place in poker be it good or bad. All the ring games in poker revolve around the bet place by the players. (The case of Tournaments is different. In tournamnets, surviving and being the only winner is a concept that does not relate to the ring games.) In Texas Hold’em, you do not try to win the pots, but you try to achieve the best of it on the bet you place. In this game, a player wagers money, he places bets, with a supposed and analysed favorable expectation. Though it does involve aiming to win the pots, however this is not the main goal of a player, so the whole efforts should not be focused on this. It does not matter whether a player wins or loses, the main motto is to get the money in. So, do not worry about the unimportant things, instead focus on doing the right thing.

The Blinds - Poker is a game of a continuously thinking player. In Poker when the bets are placed without thinking wisely either by bad or good players is not a good thing, a bet is the basic money at the stake. A wise player who belives in playing with poker strategies, should play the game with complete focus on the bets he places thoughtlessly. Now if you have placed the bet without thinking much, then apply this poker strategy - attack the bad players as well as the blinds. In Texas Hold’em, the thoughtful players have an edge when compared to the semi-thoughtful players. Actually the thoughtful players have enormous edges for their bets they place thoughtlessly. Do not forgtet his ‘Thoughful’ poker strategy.

Limit vs No Limit - No Limit ‘Texas Holdem’ tournament poker is different from Limit ‘Texas Holdem’ ring game poker. Most of the winning tactics that are used by the players in ‘No Limit’ are either useless in the Limit ‘Texas Hold’em’ ring games. Here this reference works well – “The chainsaws may be good to things in a better way, but for some tasks, the butter-knifes are perfect solution. Just because a lumberjack cuts down an oak tree with a chainsaw you should not use one to cut butter”.

Starting Hands - One poorly considered conecpt of Texas Hold’em that the most begginers have is that they focus correspondingly on the starting hand groups. Texas Hold’em is game that is more of a post-flop rather than a pre-flop, but the beginners fixate on believing the starting hands guidelines. You completely miss the main game point when you play without understanding why you are playing a specific hand. And also you should know properly that how you intend to play it after different flops. So, always learn how and of course, why play hands. It is simple - learning how to play this complex game means you actually start understanding the reasons for “what” you are doing.

Become smart enough to make intelligent decisions. By follwing the above poker strategies, you surely will win the game. Best of Luck!.

People always say pro poker players are amazing and they are likely to beat amateurs hands down every time. But what skills do pro players have that amateurs don’t have? Pro players cant be that advanced.

What skills would an amateur need to develop before they become a pro poker player?

Thanks