From the article: Top 10 Poker Tips to Make You a Better Player & Improve Your Poker Game
Did you ever have an "A-ha!" moment in poker that really helped you play poker better? Was there a really good piece of poker advice that really improved your game? Share the tips and tricks that were most important to learning and mastering the game of poker.
Reraise with flush draw in position
- When you have a flush draw in position, and behind you a player is raising, give him a small re-raise. That way you can often see often two more cards without paying the next, in most cases, bigger bet. And if you hit on turn you can go on betting.
- —Guest heinoslocos
Fold in tournaments
- "The best thing to do most of the time is fold" is sage advice that has done well by me. If you have around an average chip stack in a freeze-out, play nothing except the really big hands. The rest of the people tend to eat each other up; and your position will increase "like magic"... of course watch where you are relative to other stacks and adjust play to suit. Also: don't lament the small fish that got away. Folding and then saying, "Look what I could have got," is useless. Once they're folded it's over.
- —Guest extant
Make sure your straight is best
- Too many times I see amateurs beat by a larger straight. When your hole cards complete the high end of a straight, you should bet aggressively. If the board completes the high end of the straight be cautious, there could be a larger straight out there.
- —Guest Ben
Keep Quiet After You Fold
- Don't live in the past and show or tell that you would have had the winning hand had you not folded. Obviously this is a house game kind of tip you don't want anyone to know what type of cards you like or don't like that might give the other players a leg up. On the other hand, it could lead to a good bluff but my thought is you have to learn from that hand that got away and play it better next time.
- —Guest kcfan1970
Look for reasons to fold
- Always look for a reason to fold. (not to call) Remember poker is a marathon not a sprint. Once you decide to play a hand be aggressive. Remember selective aggression is the key to winning at poker in the long run. Always play within your bankroll and enjoy.
- —Arizuv
Online Poker: Don't get trigger-happy
- Especially when multi-tabling, it's easy to decide on the flop that you've got the nuts and all that's left to do is increase the pot as much as possible. But almost every hand is beatable. Don't get trigger-happy - if you see a rock go all-in on turn or river, reevaluate the board to see if your hand might be beat.
- —Guest Ranger
Bet/Raise to eliminate competition
- Your chips are your ammunition. One way to increase your odds is to induce folding by making a bet. Unless you've got the nuts, you don't want someone catching their cards in the next betting round and stealing your pot. Note: don't attempt against amateurs who will call anything.
- —Guest Alex
Checking with a big hand
- When getting dealt a big two cards, be it a Ace-King suited or pocket Kings etc consider just checking. No need to rush into a solid bet. This allows you to have a better look at what the table has, lures the rest into false sense of security and may give the opportunity to call a bet or re-raise, increasing the pot most likely to your favour, before the flop.
- —Guest Blackas
To Play or Not to Play Each Hand
- No matter how good of a player you are the most important decision in any poker hand is whether or not you are going to play the hand you get dealt... Simply put: Your decision to call the blind/raise pre-flop is the most important decision in any hand. Ask yourself at the beginning of every hand you play "Do I want to get involved in the pot with THIS hand"
- —Guest Ryan
Don't ever give up
- Never give up, even when you are down to one chip. Very often, the player with the smallest stack at the final table winds up winning. Examples: Joe Cada, 2009 WSOP Champion, and previously, Joe Hachem, 2005 WSOP winner.
- —rmercer1952
Tournament Rebuys: Know When to Stop
- Don't keep rebuying in tournaments when you have to put in more than the final prize place !!!! Its obvious but online O see so many people do it you are better off starting even in a new cheaper tournament :o)
- —Guest dannoAA
Keep your hand in perspective
- One of my aha! moments came when I learned that top pair is not a big hand and I should not go crazy betting with it.
- —Guest Ed
Get Caught Bluffing
- Don't be afraid to bluff and get caught. When you turn over a junk hand the opponent will be caught off guard unless they predicted the bluff. Getting caught will give them the hint that you're reckless while making your play unpredictable.
- —Guest ITX5
Be Patient
- All forms of poker, especially online poker, require a heavy amount of patience. There are going to be times when it seems like you have a strong hand every 2 minutes. At the same time, there are going to be stretches when it seems like you haven't had a good hand in hours. The averages will balance out. Develop true patience and your poker game will drastically improve.
- —Guest pokerkid
bet the draw
- When you have draw especially a large one like a flush or open ended straight draw more often than not it is best to bet it. You will when the pot more often than not, whether they call and you catch it or they simply fold and you when without having to get there. Of course sometimes neither work. This sort of play needs to be determind on a hand to hand basis and also the type of player you are up against is a huge factor .
- —Guest colby
Poker is a people game, not a card game.
- I think this is echoed best on some of Harrington's books, but poker is a people game, not a card game.
- —Guest BigT