POKER STRATEGY: A WAY TO WIN THE GAME

Like any realistic card games in the society today, poker is indeed the most multifaceted conglomeration of skill, luck, strategy, scheme, and personality. The theories involved in the playing of the game may not be applicable to everybody. There are instances that things might have worked for a certain group of people but may have undeniably failed with the others. However, most poker experts still contend that feasible poker strategies and tips are still critical elements of winning the game.

Most poker players assert that they face a lot of strenuous choices on many situations. Normally, they have to deal with checking, betting, raising, or folding. Because of these, most players believe that they need to equip themselves with practical poker strategy and tips so as to establish the appropriate expectation for every probable move of the players. By doing so, they will know how to act correctly in return.

Generally, psychological poker strategy is a decisive move basically because playing poker involves more psychological activities. A player should know how to read cards of the other players and must be well adept in reading the actions and reactions of his playmates. The best poker strategy is to know how to interpret body language and talk of the players. Both of these things can divulge a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of the hands.

A good poker strategy also requires a player to vary his poker approach. This means that there should be times that you know how to tactically bluff a game. This, in turn, will make other players have a hard time reading your cards or predict your next moves.

However, bluffing should never be a permanent poker strategy. This should only be used when the need arises. Constant and consistent bluffing may eventually lead to large losses.

A good poker strategy is also about considering the hand strength. A player must not only master the rank of hands but also their relative strength during a poker game. For example, a full house may be a good hand that will be far more likely to be the best hand compared to a 7 high or the lowest possible hand.

Consequently, certain poker strategy may vary depending on the poker variant being played.

Like in a stud poker game, it is advisable to choose a seven-card-stud poker instead of a five-card poker. Here, five-card can give you limited opportunity to use your skill as it is significant if you have a strong first hand.

In a Caribbean Stud Poker, a nice poker strategy deals with when to bet timely and appropriately. A good poker strategy will require you to maintain a pair or better. In the event that the dealer showed 10 or less and matches one of yours and you have and Ace-King or better, don’t hesitate to bet. You can also bet confidently whenever the dealer’s card is less than your fourth highest card and you have an Ace-King or better; or if the dealer’s card is an Ace-King and you have a pair of six or better.

Bear in mind to calculate the odds against you such that if the profit is greater than the odds, make the bet. So to speak, when the odds are in your favor, bet as heavily as you can.

But the most important poker strategy of all is: never form a pattern of play. Being able to disguise your play may be the most valuable poker strategy you could have but then you must remember to apply them as varied as possible. This way, you avoid being known to your opponents thereby lessening the chances of losing big bets.

By Ron Jones
Ron Jones has been an avid poker player and researcher on the subject of poker for over 35 years.