5 Easy Poker Strategies That Increased My Winnings

22 Apr 2025

Intermediate

This material is for medium-skilled players

There are five simple poker strategies that have seriously boosted my results lately — and they can do the same for you. I’ve used these fundamentals throughout my entire professional poker career to achieve world-class results. So let’s dive right in!

This is hands down one of the biggest mistakes I still see amateurs making all the time: they let opponents chase their draws way too cheaply.

Let me show you what I mean with a real example. You’re holding   — a premium hand. A recreational player (aka a “fish”) calls your preflop raise. Now, these are the kinds of players who play for fun. You’ve seen them before — calling with all sorts of junk hands, often sipping a drink, and definitely not studying strategy videos like this one. They’re here to gamble.

The flop comes down:   . Boom! You’ve hit the top pair with a top kicker. That’s a monster hand. Sure, we won’t always hit it this cleanly — but one in three times, you will. And when you do, the strategy is simple: Make them pay.

A lot of players overcomplicate this spot. They try to get tricky or trapped. But the best play here is to make the obvious bet. Keep it simple. Let the fish convince themselves you’re bluffing and talk themselves into making bad calls.

So, you bet, and they call. Perfect. The turn brings the , a total brick. Nothing changes. But let’s go back and think about that flop for a second:   . This is a super draw-heavy board. Your opponent could be on a flush draw, a straight draw, or even holding a worse king. And since we’re up against a fish, their range is all over the place. That’s why it’s so crucial to charge them to continue. Don’t give free cards. Make them pay to chase.

Let’s take a closer look at why betting big on draw-heavy boards is so crucial. In our earlier example, the flop came    with two diamonds. That board creates a ton of possible draws. Here are just a few examples:

• A hand like Queen-Jack has an open-ended straight draw. That means they can hit any of the four remaining Aces or any of the four remaining Nines to complete a straight — eight outs in total;
• Any hand with two diamonds — even something like   — now has a flush draw.

So, what do we know about recreational players in these situations? They don’t fold draws. Ever. They chase them. If you’ve played even a little bit of low-stakes poker, you’ve seen this happen over and over again. The fish call with any kind of draw, no matter the odds. And that’s where your edge comes in.

Now the turn hits: . A complete brick — it doesn’t complete any draw. What should you do? You bet. And you bet big. Seriously — don’t check here. Against a recreational player, this is your moment to maximize value. I often bet the full pot in this spot. Sometimes I’ll even overbet.

This might go against some of the “balanced” strategies you hear in modern poker theory videos — but at the lower limits, this approach works like a charm. It’s how I’ve consistently crushed games and built a successful career. The key: Don’t slow play.

When you have a strong hand on a draw-heavy board, especially against players who chase anything — make them pay to chase. Let them level themselves. Let them think you’re bluffing. But don’t give them a free card.

Let’s talk about one of the most misunderstood positions at the poker table, the big blind, and how you can turn it into a profit center with one simple mindset shift: take the initiative.

To help visualize it, imagine a standard 6-max poker table. The positions are:

• Early Position (UTG).
• Middle Position (MP).
• Cutoff (CO).
• Button (BTN).
• Small Blind (SB).
• Big Blind (BB).

In this example, you're in the big blind: the last player to act preflop, sitting there with $2 already posted as your forced bet (in a $1/$2 game). The small blind has posted $1, and now the action unfolds. Let’s say you pick up a decent hand: Ace-Eight of Diamonds.

Now, three players limp into the pot — just calling the big blind without raising. Limping is incredibly common in low-stakes games, as you’ve probably seen firsthand. But here’s the thing:

Players who limp are saying, “I don’t have a strong hand, but I’d like to see a cheap flop”. And when multiple players limp? That’s an open invitation for you to take control. And that’s exactly what you should do.

Don’t limp — punish limpers. Instead of checking or just calling along, raise it up big from the big blind. Even with hands like suited Aces or decent Broadway combos. You're playing against weakness, so you should respond with strength.

What kind of sizing are we talking about? Make it 10x the big blind. Sometimes even 15x or 20x if you're up against several limpers. The goal is simple: Punish the limpers and ideally get one caller to play a bloated pot out of position against your strong range. This strategy works wonders in games filled with passive recreational players.

Now, the exact raise size depends on your table, your opponents, and your stake level — but remember:

• You’re turning dead money into real equity;
• Most players don’t defend well against big raises after limping. They fold too often, or they call and play terribly postflop. Either way, you win.

So the next time you see a crowd of limpers inviting you into a pot while you’re in the big blind, don’t just check — take the initiative and seize control.

Here’s a powerful move that can completely shift the momentum of a hand: re-raising with your draws. It’s a slightly more advanced tactic, but when done right, it will massively boost your win rate — especially against a specific opponent type: the aggressive regular, often called an aggro reg.

Let’s break it down with an example: You raise the preflop with  , a classic suited connector that plays well in many scenarios. One of these aggressive regulars calls. Now, what is a “reg”? A regular is someone who plays frequently, takes the game seriously, and studies strategy — likely even watching the same training content you are.

But here’s the good news: Even though many regs play decently, most of them still have serious leaks, and the aggro reg’s biggest weakness is being too aggressive for their own good. They love to bet, they love to raise, and they love to pressure you. Which gives us a golden opportunity.

Here’s the spot:

• The flop comes:   
• Your hand:  

Your opponent now leads out with a bet. This is a standard move from aggressive players — they’re trying to take the pot right away. But here’s the thing:

• You’ve got an open-ended straight draw;
• Any 4 or 9 on the turn or river gives you a nut straight.

That’s 8 outs, and while the math tells us you’ll only complete this draw about 30% of the time by the river, you don’t need to rely solely on hitting your draw to win this hand.

Instead, you can represent strength now, and potentially take the pot down immediately, with a re-raise. Why this works so well: Aggro regs aren’t used to being pushed around. When they face resistance, especially in the form of a strong re-raise, they often back off unless they’re holding the top of their range. You’re putting pressure on their aggression — flipping the dynamic on its head.

And even if they do call, you still have solid equity with your draw. You can hit your straight, and sometimes even bluff again on later streets when scare cards hit the board. So instead of just calling and hoping to hit, take control. Re-raise them back. Make them uncomfortable. Force them to make the tough decision.

Many players make a critical mistake in this spot — they just call with their draw, hoping to hit. But let’s be real: calling here isn’t profitable in the long run.

So what’s the better approach:

• Raise.
• Apply pressure.
• Put the aggressive player to the test.

You’re facing a player who’s likely bluffing a huge portion of the time. Why just call and hope to catch up? You don’t need to hit your draw, and you certainly don’t need the nuts to raise in poker. A lot of players fall into the trap of thinking they need top pair, two pair, or a monster hand before they can apply pressure. That’s just not true.

You can absolutely re-raise with a draw, and it’s a highly effective move against aggressive opponents. When you raise, you shift the burden back onto them. Now they need to prove they have something worth continuing with—when in reality, they probably don’t.

And sure, sometimes they’ll call. That’s fine. You’ve still got plenty of equity with your open-ender, and you’ve now seized the initiative. You can keep the pressure on the turn and river, often forcing folds even when you miss.

Let’s face it — bad beats are part of poker. If you’ve played more than a few sessions, you’ve probably been on the wrong end of a brutal river card more times than you care to count. A bad beat, by definition, is when you get your money in as the statistical favorite, and your opponent sucks out with a lucky card. It stings. But here’s the mindset shift that will take your game to the next level:

That’s right — when you’re taking lots of bad beats, it means you’re playing in the right games. You’re playing against opponents who are making huge mathematical mistakes. And in the long run, math will always win.

Over nearly 20 years in this game, much of it as a professional, I’ve experienced more bad beats than I can count. But instead of tilting or complaining, I treat them as confirmation that I’m doing things right.

When weaker players chase long-shot hands and get lucky against you, don’t focus on the loss — focus on the mistake they made. Because over time, those same mistakes will funnel money back into your stack again and again.

In poker you can't fight the math. If your opponents consistently make big fundamental mistakes, you’re eventually going to print money. That’s not optimism — it’s just math.

Let’s break it down with a classic example: You raise with pocket aces — the best starting hand in poker. Let’s say you’re holding the  . One of your fishy friends calls.

Now, let’s be clear about this player type: This is your classic recreational player. They’re in the game for fun, clicking buttons with random hands, maybe sipping a beer or two. They’re not thinking about ranges, odds, or EV — they’re just playing.

• The flop comes:   

You make a standard continuation bet, and they call. So far, all is normal. This flop is relatively safe. Sure, there are a couple of straight draws, but nothing alarming. You’ve got the overpair, and against this kind of opponent, you’re ahead almost every time. So you’re simply betting for value—because when you suspect you have the best hand, your job is to get paid.

The turn brings . You fire again and again, they call. Nothing out of the ordinary here. The board’s getting a little heavier, but still, against this type of opponent, there’s no real reason to be concerned.

So you continue applying pressure. You’ve got pocket rockets, and unless your opponent is hiding two pair or something goofy like Q-10, you’re miles ahead.

The river drops — a complete brick. It changes absolutely nothing. All the straight draws missed. No obvious flushes came in. There’s almost zero chance this card helped your opponent. This is where you do what strong players do—you stay consistent. You fire again for value, because against a recreational opponent, your goal is to get that one last bet in.

And if they call with something like bottom pair or Ace-high? Perfect. That’s exactly what we want. You’re not going to win every time — sometimes they’ll hit a lucky two pair or a random straight. But over the long run, if you keep extracting value from worse hands in spots like this, the profit adds up fast.

So, you fire one more value bet on the river—still confident with your pocket aces—and your opponent calls. Then they flip over  .

Yes, they hit two pairs on the river. They chased their bottom pair all the way to the end and got lucky. And this, right here, is the essence of how recreational players think and play. They’ll call down with weak hands, chase improbable draws, and once in a while, they’ll hit a miracle card like this and take down a big pot. That’s poker.

And instead of tilting or getting frustrated, you’ve got to make peace with it. In fact, you should embrace it. Because this, this exact kind of hand, is the reason they keep coming back. It’s why they reload their stacks, keep sitting down at the table, and ultimately fuel your long-term profits.

• You want to see plays like this;
• You need opponents like this in your games;
• Because every time they get lucky, they reinforce their own bad habits.

And that’s good news for you. Bottom line? Bad beats are a sign that you’re in a good game. When you see someone call you down with a bottom pair and catch two pairs on the river, you should be smiling — not cursing your luck. Why? Because in the long run, you’ll win every dollar they give away making plays like this. That’s the beautiful truth of poker.

Take them to value town. Let’s run another example: You’ve got  . That just means the two cards are different suits.

You raise preflop, and once again, you get called by a recreational player. You already know the type — playing all kinds of trash, calling with bottom pairs, not thinking too hard about what you might have. This is your green light to go for maximum value. 

• The flop comes down:    

What should you do here? Well, the answer is straightforward. You’ve hit top pair, top kicker. You’re up against a recreational player who could literally have any two cards in this spot. This is the perfect situation to fire a strong continuation bet.

And what happens? They call. That’s exactly what you want. You’re building the pot against a player who doesn’t understand hand strength — and likely doesn’t care.

Now the turn brings the . This is not the time to get tricky. Don’t try to slow play. Don’t attempt some fancy trap you saw on a million-dollar televised cash game. That’s not your world right now. You’re playing against a fish, not a high-stakes crusher.

Your job here is simple: You have a strong hand? Bet strong again. So let them convince themselves that their second pair or backdoor draw is worth chasing. Let them make the mistakes. And once again — they call.

Now the river brings the . Some players freeze up here. They worry about the King. But here’s the truth:

• Against a recreational player, this King changes very little;
• They’re still calling you with any Queen, any eight, any five, or even ace high. 

That’s what fish do. They don’t fold — they convince themselves you’re bluffing. So what do you do? You go for that third street of value. It sounds pretty simple — BET EVERY SINGLE TIME!

If you want to start consistently crushing the small and mid-stakes games, this is the mindset you need to adopt: No fear, no hesitation, and full value extraction every time you’re ahead. And if this article helped you, be sure to comment and share it with your poker friends. I’ll see you in the next one!