Anyone who has played poker before knows that it is a lot more fun when you win.
While knowing the basics of poker is great, there are some other things that you can be doing that will help you win.
If you plan on playing some Holdem poker with your friends this weekend, here are some tips straight from the leader in Texas Holdem, which may give you an edge.
Know Your Position’s Strength
During any hand of poker, where you are sitting could give you a strong edge. The best position to be in is the person who gets to act last. This way you can see what everyone else does before deciding what you want to do. The person who goes last is “on the button”.
This means that they are either the dealer for that hand, or they have been designated the dealer by a chip. Since the dealer – or the button – shifts after each hand, your position shifts as well. You want to be either the person dealing, or as close to the right of that person as possible to have the most strength.
If you are to the left, this is a bad position, and so you should be careful how you play during these hands. If you want to do well in poker, it is vital that you know as much as you can about position strength.
Look For Tells
If you are playing with the same people all of the time, you can start to spot when they are bluffing.
Most amateur poker players have “tells” or signals that can give you a clue as to whether or not they are lying. They could fold their hands, take a drink of water, or start talking a lot. Take note of these things and keep them in the back of your mind for future hands. Looking for tells is a sure-fire way to gain an advantage over your opponent.
Of course, if you are playing with friends online, this isn’t as easy to put to use. So, if you are only able to meet with friends through the internet for a few rounds of poker, then you won’t be able to watch for their tells. This doesn’t mean that playing online is less entertaining – it’s just that you will need to incorporate a slightly alternate strategy. Also there are numerous apps and sites available for you to use to be able to play online with friends, too.
Play Conservative
When you are playing with friends, the game can tend to be a bit more relaxed and the other players don’t care about their money as much. As such, they can make mistakes and find themselves out early.
By playing conservatively – that is, not betting hands unless they are good – you are saving up your chips and waiting for other people to be down. This also allows you to play more hands since you won’t be running low on chips. And, if people notice you are only playing good hands, you can use that to your advantage by bluffing occasionally when you have a weaker hand.
Scout
Lastly, you are following your own strategy, so there is a good chance other people are following their own strategy as well. Try and keep a mental note of what your friends are doing to see if you can figure out their strategy.
Do they like to bet a lot early? Are they only playing strong hands? Do they bet big when they are bluffing, hoping they can bully people? Once you have an idea of what their strategy is, you can use it to your advantage.
Hopefully with these few tips you can rake it in big this weekend. If you are on your game and using the tips above, your friends won’t know what hit them. Just make sure you don’t let them know how serious you are taking the game, or they may do the same in turn. Your advantage is that they won’t expect you to be using things like the tips above, and so you can win some major pots when they are expecting it. Good luck and we hope you win big!
