Becoming a Better Poker Player

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Mark | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy

If you chose to read this article than I guess you play poker. It doesn’t really matter whether you play once a week, every day, wishes to make a living out of it, play online or live games – In this article I will share with you a few important tips for becoming a better poker player and thus making more money wherever you play. So, grab a pen and a paper and let’s begin…

1. Start with the Fundamentals

Every professional poker player started by learning and mastering the basics of the game and in order to move forward you’ll have to start with the fundamentals. This means knowing how to play from various table positions, which cards to raise with from which position, when to play tight or loose, knowing your odds to make a better hand, calculating pot odds, knowing who and when to bluff and so on. I know it may sound a lot, I know you may think you know it all but until you master the fundamentals of the game, you will keep on making silly mistakes that will cost you money. So, start with the basics and move on because they are the foundations of every strategy guide in poker.

2. Read Various Poker Guides

You should always learn when it comes to poker because there is no right or wrong strategy, they are all right and wrong because every strategy suits different players and different game types. When you know various poker strategy guides, you are able to play any table you wish whether online or at live games. You learn the players and the game whether it’s tight or aggressive and you adjust the right strategy to that specific table and game. Phil Ivey plays one way, Chris Ferguson a whole different way but knowing both will make you a better player and one that can play at various tables against all kinds of players. Click here for comprehensive and professional poker strategy articles and guides.

3. Learn From the Pros

Well you can’t really take a course from Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu or Antonio Esfandiari, but you can watch videos of them playing cash games and on tournaments. Watching the pros play is a great way to learn and understand how they think, why they played that specific way and basically learn poker from the pros at the most important time of their lives – When they play big cash games and tournaments. Watch the videos, analyze them, listen to the commentators and if necessary take notes. It’s not just a hobby and about fun, it’s one of the best ways to learn from the top players in the world.

4. Play as Many Games as You Can

I’ll tell you something that you already know but maybe forget at times – The more you play, the better player you become. It’s real simple actually, there is no substitute to experience and so the more you play, the more experience and confidence you’ll gain and the better player you’ll become.

5. Play against Various Players and Opponents

A great way to learn the dynamics of the game and how different players think and play is to play against various opponents. You can find all types of players around the poker tables, among them tight players, loose players, players that bluff a lot, players that bully the table, players that gamble and chase cards, players who talk too much, players who are confident and know poker, players who know nothing about strategy and are basically donkey and much more. Learning to play against all these kinds of players will give you a great advantage and edge around the table and will help you make serious money knowing to adjust the right play and strategy against any of these opponents.

6. Control Your Game

Poker is a skill game that involves strategy, psychology and a little bit of luck. When I say controlling your game means playing calm around the table and not make mistakes. When you feel you’re on tilt, angry or upset take a small break, cool down and when you feel you are calm and concentrated on the game, continue to play. A lot of players keep playing while on tilt, make horrible mistakes and basically lose their bankroll. Everything can happen in poker and you’ll suffer bad beats or bad plays as well just like any other player. A great player know when to take a break and relax so when he’s back to the table, he can fully concentrate on the game and control his emotions, his mind and his game in order to win.

7. Learn from Your Own Mistakes

This is probably the most important tip I can give you on the road to become a better poker player. You’ll will make mistakes and play bad sometimes and that’s natural, there’s nothing wrong with that. Remember how you played, understand your mistakes and figure out how you should have played better so next time you won’t make it again. Even the best player in the world (Phil Ivey) makes mistakes to this day but he always learns from them in order to master his game and become even better – You should do the same and who knows, maybe one day you’ll get to play against him face to face.

These are crucial and important tips I wanted to share with you in this article in your way to poker success. Take these rules seriously, treat poker like a job rather than a hobby and you’ll be able to make a lot of money as well because it’s not about luck, it’s about skill, determination and self-control.

See you around the poker tables…

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