Let’s say you’re at a final table in a poker tournament and you have a mediocre hand, such as a middle pair. You may even have a little something like suited connectors. You don’t necessarily want those cards, but you know you have to at least take them to death, in case the other guy sees them. You are on the button with one of the toughest hands at that point, and a raise can minimize your losses. You are a good player and you know the meaning of position. You have a pretty good read on the other player at the poker table. You may even feel safe, assuming this person always calls when a big raise is in front of him. But what if the person in the big seat re-raises you big time?
There’s a chance you can save your chips for another hand, and maybe even a showdown. That’s a good play when you have middle pair, especially if you have some credibility in your hand. But against good players, you will probably cause them to fold.
If you make that mistake, try to save your chips for a better hand next time. You don’t want to lose a final table stack when you’re close to making the money. Factor in some losses to the decisions you make, but you want to win a coin flip in a final table situation. Play your hand the way you hope other players will. If you have someatics, you can try a variation on the float play.
Here’s a basic guide to the float play. You basically play ignorant on your opponent’s cards. Your pre-flop raise is normally the solid play, unless your prospect simply limped into the pot. If you raise with J6 and the flop is JK6, you could assume your opponent has a big pair. Even if you’re on a coin flip with AK, you’ll frequently see a raise of the same size or larger, challenging your opponent’s hand.
Thus if your opponent raises, you could put him on a pocket pair, a better hand such as a straight, or a hand like A-J. If you have a medium pocket pair, you should call a small raise, since you are the first to act. If your hand is not strong, change your starting hand to something like Ace-King. Then if your pocket pair is better, you can put your opponent on a range. Throwing your hand away with a poor hand is how to win poker.
Here are a few other ways to win at poker. You can develop your own, but these are the main two approaches you might want to take. If you try one of the approaches outlined in this article and it works for you, that’s great. And if you don’t like it, change it up and try something else. This is the internet, after all.
5-Card Stud
If you want to win at 5-card stud, you need to start raising pre-flop more often than your opponents. Often you’ll find yourself with a free card, if you have at least a pair. If you have a high card, you should always raise. You don’t get many chances to make a free card in 5-card stud.
The reason you should raise is because you want your opponents to have to call a raise if they want to continue seeing cards. If they are calling, they’ll be giving you free cards.
You also want to raise because you want to build a large pot. If you build a pot, you’ll win more bets and you’ll win more money.
Aggressive Poker
Playing aggressive MPO777 means that more often than not, you will win pots. You maximize your profits by getting in cheap pots.
The objective in playing aggressive poker is to encourage your opponents to fold. Don’t play aggressive poker against calling stations. Just keep in mind that they are likely to call with any cards.
Before you go on and learn more Texas Hold Em Poker tips, think about a time when you have made one of these mistakes in the past and how did that affect your overall results in the game. Imagine if you had of read this article before that and you wouldn’t have had that mistake.