31 Aug 2024 Have you started playing poker but find it hard to win? Do you feel frustrated because, even with a set, you get beaten by a flush, or your bluffs never seem to work? In this article, for those who have started playing poker but find it hard to win, we will introduce 10 strategic poker tips that will help you start winning right away and significantly improve your skills. We've divided these 10 poker strategies into 5 dos and 5 don'ts, so make sure to review them every time you play poker. 5 Poker Strategies You Should Use First, let us introduce 5 strategies you should do when playing poker. Tight Open-Raise The first thing to focus on is raising with a tight range preflop. Many beginners make the mistake of getting involved in pots with too many weak hands. However, you can't win in poker that way. It depends on your position at the table, but you will start winning more if you narrow down the hands you open-raise to about 20-25%. Make sure you can raise with the correct hands depending on your position and the situation. That said, many people may not know which hands to open with. For such players, we recommend a tool called GTO Wizard. You can view preflop ranges for free, so please give it a try. Play Aggressively with Draws Why is it better to bet/raise with draws? Because you can win the pot in two ways: by forcing your opponent to fold or by hitting a big hand later and winning at showdown with the best hand. Strong draws, such as open-ended straight draws (OESD) or flush draws (FD), are the best candidates for betting or raising as semi-bluffs. On the flop, they have no value, but even if you get called, there is a good chance you could make a strong hand by the river and win. So, be sure to bet or raise with your draws. And your win rate will thank you for it! Calculate the Odds Have you heard the term 'odds'? In poker and gambling, odds refer to the ratio or probability of an event occurring versus not occurring. Calculating odds is crucial in poker, as they help you make informed decisions about whether to call, raise, or fold. There are different types of odds in poker: Pot Odds Implied Odds Odds of Hitting a Draw Since poker is a game of mathematics, understanding odds allows you to evaluate the potential profitability of your plays and maximize your chances of winning in the long run. Be Aware of Position Position greatly influences the hands you play and the actions you take. In poker, there are advantageous and disadvantageous positions. The person in the advantageous position can act later and think after seeing the opponent’s action. In position, you can play more hands with +EV compared to when you're out of position. You can float more often in position, as you have the advantage of acting after your opponent. This allows you to take free cards and control the pot when necessary. Identify the Fish To start making a profit in poker, it's crucial to maximize the EV you take from the weak players (aka 'fish'). Fish, or recreational players, are crucial to the poker ecosystem because they provide opportunities for more experienced players to profit. Fish make a lot of suboptimal decisions and huge mistakes. Experienced players can exploit these weaknesses. So, it is crucial to identify the fish at the tables as soon as possible and make them pay. 5 Poker Strategies You Should Avoid Next, we introduce 5 strategies you should avoid. By simply avoiding these 5 actions that beginners often do, your poker results will improve! Don't Limp The first thing to introduce is limping. Limping is recognized by many pros as a losing strategy. By limping, you forfeit the chance to win the pot preflop and give your opponents an excellent opportunity to see the flop. If you have been limping so far, stop immediately and switch to folding or raising instead. Playing against limpers is very easy. As an exception, limping is often used in SB vs BB situations. This strategy is fine if you can balance it, but maintaining that balance is quite difficult, so beginners should avoid it. Don't Donk Bet Donk betting is an action often done by beginners and fish. They tend to donk bet only when they make a hand. This behavior is easily read by more experienced players. Donk betting is strategically incorrect because, on most boards, the preflop aggressor will have a range advantage. This is also confirmed by GTO solvers. As an exception, there are situations where donk betting can be effective. When you’re on a board where you likely have a stronger range than your opponent, donk betting might be a viable option. However, finding situations where donk betting works and balancing it with checking is difficult for beginners. So, it’s better not to donk bet at all! Don't Slow Play Slow playing can cause you to miss out on EV in the long run. For example, when you get AA preflop, do you choose to just call? Or when you make a set, do you always check? Trying to be deceptive can cost you a lot of money in the long run. Don't Make Unprofitable Bluff Catch Are you calling down with any hand just because you believe you can beat your opponent’s bluff? Bluff-catching doesn’t work simply because your opponent might be bluffing. It involves considering the ratio of bluffs to value hands based on your opponent's tendencies and bet size. When you have a decent hand, first consider if you can beat any of your opponent's value hands. If you can’t, then evaluate the ratio of their value hands to bluffs. For more details, please refer to the bluff-catching article. Don't Tilt The last thing to introduce is not to tilt. When you tilt, you lose the ability to make calm decisions and can end up losing a lot of chips. If you feel like you’re tilting or have already tilted, leave the table immediately. For more details, please refer to "Tilt Control: How to Stay Cold at the Poker Table". Also, if you notice an opponent is tilting, their bluffing frequency will increase, and they might go all-in with weak pairs, so wide your calls and take their stack! Before every game, review these 10 strategies and try to implement them!