It is a common misconception that only beginner players need tips and tricks to strengthen their poker game. We’re here to break that false impression as advanced players also need a push or two to take their poker skills to the next level. After all, the challenge of winning remains regardless of how advanced and forward anyone’s poker skills are.
Poker is continuously evolving. That’s why we wanted to focus on finding the best poker tips for both beginner and advanced poker players. Hopefully, these highly effective poker tips will help you take your game to the next level.
Remember that there are no guarantees these tips will lead to the maximum winnings, but they represent a great way of improving your poker skills. Get ready to take your poker skills from mediocre to high-level in a few simple steps.
Stay tuned!
Beginner Tips to Start Playing on the Right Foot
It should go without saying, but it is crucial to know all of the rules regarding poker, including positions and poker hand rankings before playing for real money. If your poker knowledge is a bit shaky, you might want to spend a little more time studying poker cheat sheets. Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to move on to the tips that can help you maximize your winnings.
Start at Low Stakes
Starting at low stakes is probably one of the best tips you can get if you’re still unsure about your poker skills. Although many players are not interested in low stake games, these games are an excellent way to establish your poker strategy without losing a lot of money. So, even if you lose some money, it shouldn’t break your bank and you will be learning a lot.
Consequently, your skill level will increase every time you move up the stakes. Start small and work your way up. Most importantly, you will have time to see the whole picture and understand the positions better. After a few games like this one, you will feel more comfortable. Note that it’s important to decide on a method of depositing funds into your account before you start playing.
Bluff Aggressively
Most newcomers make the mistake of bluffing excessively once they get a seat at the table. This method of playing is ineffective as it will lead to huge losses. So, it is essential to keep your bluffing under control.
The best way to control your bluffing is to let your cards dictate whether you will bluff or not. This means that it’s best to bluff with hands that have outs to improve later on in the game. These hands include flush draws, straight draws, or even two to the board — also known as semi-bluffs among players.
Fold When Unsure
Only the best players know when it is time to fold. That is the biggest difference between amateur and professional players. We know this tip sounds much easier to follow through now than in practice, as players are naturally curious to see where the game will go once they start playing.
So, whenever you feel unsure of whether to call or fold versus a raise or bet, it is better to fold. Calling often is one of the most effective ways to lose at poker games.
If you have the chance, write down all the details of the hands you’ve folded so you can examine it closely after the game. Studying your hands is one of the best ways to improve your poker skills and take your poker knowledge to the next level.
Fast-Play Strong Hands
Most beginner players are afraid to chase their opponents out of the pot when they have strong hands, leading to slow-playing. We believe that slow-playing is another common mistake players make when they start their online poker journey.
However, we are not saying that you should always raise or bet your strong hands. In most cases, you should bet and raise your strong hands to build the pot. That way, you will be protecting your equity, as well.
So, when you’re on the fence, choose to bet. It might be disappointing when your opponent folds, but it is far more disappointing to miss out on a potential value or to get outdrawn.
Tips to Further Advance Your Poker Game
If you are already pretty good at poker, the previously mentioned tips will not do much to improve your poker game. Still, poker is a continuous learning process, so even advanced players need to take their strategy to the next level. Take a look at some advanced tips to put your poker skills over the top.
Check-Raise More Often From the Big Blind
We know that check-raises can be tricky, but in advanced poker games it’s important to put pressure on your opponents by check-raising. If not, you will be making their bets much more profitable than they should be.
There are a few hands that you should check-raise. Start with check-raising for value, meaning you should check-raise with your strong hands like two-pair or better. Another good idea is to check-raise with top pair top kicker on low boards. For example, A9 on a 9-3-2 flop.
Don’t stop here, move on to check-raising as a bluff. You might know that the best bluffs are hands that have a good chance of improving to a flush or straight. These typically include gutshot straight draws, open-ended straight draws, and flush draws. Sometimes, an overcard or two can be helpful as well.
Note that you shouldn’t check-raise all draws but find a way to randomize it. Our tip is check-raising straight draws only when they have a backdoor flush draw, while check-calling the ones without a backdoor flush draw.
Pocket Pairs and Suited Connectors Win Big in Multiway Pots
It’s not unusual that when more players enter the pot, there is a higher chance of a player hitting a strong hand. So, when the pot starts turning into a multiway pot, it’s time for you to focus on playing hands that have a high probability of making two pairs or better by the river.
In most cases, pocket pairs have shown to play out well with multiway pots. Pocket pairs can be the perfect multiway pot hand as it hits a set on the flop 11.8% of the time.
On the other hand, the power of being connected and suited can be demonstrated by comparing two versions of the same hand — QT offsuit and its suited counterpart. Ultimately, QT offsuit flops 16.9% of the time, while QT suited flops a strong hand or draw 26.3% of the time. This means that QT suited will perform much better in multiway pots — to be specific, a 55% increase.
