10 tips to become a better poker player

Want to become a good poker player? Follow these 10 easy-to-follow tips and you’ll boost your performance and profits.

Best poker tips to become a better poker player

1. Play the position

Position, position, position! When playing in position, for example at the button, you are the last one to speak. Since you act after all the other players, this is extra information for you. You can exploit the slightest sign of weakness.

You also have the ability to turn a losing hand into a winning hand. By being the last to speak, you can afford to play hands with much lower potential than if you were the first to speak (UTG). Another advantage of playing in position is the ability to control the size of the pot.

We recommend reading our article on the importance of position in poker.

2. Be aggressive

By attacking your opponents, you drastically increase your chances of winning the hand. Is your opponent showing weakness and little interest in taking the pot? One bet from you should be enough to scare him away.

The Tight-Aggressive player is the sniper of the poker world, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. TAGs play a selective range of hands, but when they do play, they bet and raise aggressively.

If you also play in position, your chances of winning the hand are further increased. Also, feel free to make the pots bigger by raising your big hands and making continuation bets (Cbet) almost 100% of the time against one or two opponents.

3. Know how to calculate the odds

You have 8♣ 9♣ . The flop gives 6♣ 7♦ A♥ . You are in a straight draw at both ends. A 5 or a 10 would give you the winning combination. How many cards can you win? 8 cards. What is the probability that one of these 8 cards will fall? Your odds are 2.2/1. If your opponent bets the size of the pot, or even a little more, it is not profitable to pay. However, if he bets 1/3 of the pot, you can pay (or raise) with your eyes closed.

Please feel free to read our series of articles on poker mathematics or how to calculate the odds of the pot.

4. Don’t lose your cool

Your cat hanged himself last night. You punctured a tire on your way to work. Your boss spoke to you badly. Your friend stood you up at noon. You spent 2 hours in traffic on your way home. In short, your day was rotten. You arrive at your poker game and a player cracks your aces. Looks like the evening will be rotten too!

Calm down, calm down. Don’t mix everything up. It happens. Don’t lose your cool. Your decision making will be altered by it. Try to cut yourself off from emotions. Emotion is rarely a good counsellor. Making decisions out of disappointment, anger or stress can cost you a lot of money.

Read our article : How to deal with downswing

5. Read poker books

How did you learn at school? You read books, did your homework and listened to your teacher in class. Poker is a lot like that.

Are you passionate about poker and want to improve your knowledge of the game? We suggest that you turn to poker literature. You will be able to read many tips in great detail. Various strategic concepts will be clearly explained. Professional players will share their experience and background. There is food and drink. There are books dealing with generalities, others explaining a specific aspect of the game, the choice is yours.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the best poker books that are essential for progress.

6. Don’t play under the influence

In point number 4, we explained to you not to lose your temper. If you take drugs and or drink too much alcohol, you lose good judgment. Without your good judgment, you will do stupid things. If you do stupid things, you will lose money. No money… no money.

7. Take notes and keep track of your sessions.

You will regularly encounter the same situations. Sometimes you will be satisfied with the way you gambled. Other times, you will tell yourself that you could have played differently and that you won’t get caught again. Write down these moves. Buy yourself a small notebook. It will help you review your hands.

You can also talk about it with other players in order to learn from it and improve yourself. It will pay off on the court. In this regard, we strongly recommend that you keep a record of the financial results of all your sessions. You went to play at Jean-Michel’s house on Saturday evening. The evening was prolific and you made a profit of 150 euros. Great!

Keep a trace of all your sessions in order to check the state of your poker finances.

8. Do your self-criticism

You just busted from your tournament. You arrive at the bar and join the other players who jumped out of the tournament before you. Listen to the discussions. Everyone tells the worst bad beat in the history of poker that made them jump. Another has cracked aces. There’s the one who says his opponent played really badly and got lucky on the river, etc. .

The cemetry of poker players is full of the most amazing stories. Only rarely will you hear a player say, “I misread my opponent, I saw myself in front when there were all the warnings”. These self-critical players are usually the ones who regularly find themselves in the paid seats. They have reflection and humility. These are essential qualities to progress.

9. One fold too many is better than one call too many.

As unlikely as it may seem, a lost chip is worth more than a won chip. Why is that? Well, it’s simple. You with a stack of 10,000. The blinds are 200-400. You have 25 BBs and are still pretty quiet, there’s no fire. You win 8’000. Great, you have 18’000, that’s 45 BB. You are quite good, but there is still a very long way to go. Now let’s take the opposite situation. You lose 8’000. Ouch, you stack has melted down to 2’000. And now it’s much more annoying. You still have 5 miserable BB’s left, you’ll have to work hard to get it back up. It’s better to do one fold too many than one call too many. You’ll have a better spot later.

10. Remove distractions

Facebook, Twitter, news sites, YouTube, etc… . Everything must disappear! If you want to be able to fully concentrate on your poker game, you should not miss a single crumb of it. Stay tuned for information at all times. Your cards are only a small part of the complex game of poker. Observation is paramount. You’ll be able to spot flaws in your opponents, their strengths, their habits. Their style of play will no longer hold any secrets for you. It’s up to you to make good use of it.

Note that the opposite is true . Your opponents are also watching you. All the more reason to remove all distractions.

What is the best advice to become a better poker player?

What is the best advice you have been given? Tell us in the comments section of this article.