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5 Poker Tips For Newbies

Public Group active 2 years ago

Poker is a game of luck, strategy, and skill that has wowed crowds around the world for centuries. The popularity of the game continues to grow each year with many live and online tournaments now taking place in lots of different countries.

There are quite a few simple things that any newbie can do to improve their total chances of winning. This includes anything from not relying solely on luck to score you a win in poker, and why it’s important to start with low stakes.

For more newbie tips about one of the world’s favorite casino games, this article will be a huge help.

Begin With Low Stakes To Understand Strategy
Many players (of any skill level) will likely have little to no interest in playing lower stake games. Yet if you want to familiarize yourself with how to achieve a good poker strategy then it’s also a good idea not to waste valuable money as you are learning.

There are a few crucial reasons you should begin at low stakes:

You won’t be risking lots of your money which means you can enjoy gambling without it negatively impacting your finances. Doing so will save you money while also helping you to become more familiar with the process of playing poker.
You can get a feel for what a game of poker should look and feel like. This is a direct line to developing and understanding poker strategy from poker hands to play to positions you should use.
Low stakes can be a great tool to increase skill level. Each time you move up the stakes you are developing your skills. Using low stakes helps you to learn the ropes of the game and play against those with a weaker skill level.

Don’t Neglect Your Mental Game
It’s safe to say that emotions truly are the enemy when you’re sitting at a poker table! Poker isn’t strenuous on your physical body but could be completely mentally draining. This is why you must pay close attention to the mental aspect of the game.

While poker can often be an emotional game (notably anger or sadness) and you might find yourself getting stressed or feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to never begin a game of poker without a clear head.

Emotions can often blind us and force us into doing questionable things. In a game of poker, this could cost you a lot of money! By ensuring you are feeling more positive about things and are generally not clouded by a particular negative emotion, you should be okay to begin playing poker.

Your mind truly does matter in a game of poker as it directs your energy towards the most important things, helping you to block out the world around you. It is also great for avoiding the things that hold little to no significance in a poker game.

Don’t Bluff Too Much
Another common misconception about playing poker is that you have to bluff to win. You may be surprised to find out that this isn’t the case! Bluffing in a poker game or tournament is not as important as you believe it to be.

We get that it can be a pretty exciting experience to try and fool your opponent. This is actually why a lot of players choose to do so! But the difference between the winners and losers in poker is knowing the perfect time to bluff.

As a poker newbie, your focus should be on playing your cards well instead of attempting to bluff your opponent out of a hand. Of course, the occasional bluff is completely fine, but there is an art to bluffing that will only come with practice, knowledge, and skill.

Bluffing in the right spots could make you some serious money. If you want to work out if a bluff will be profitable then you must try to accurately estimate just how often your opponent will fold to your bluff. Again, your accuracy estimates will get better as you practice.

Play Tight But Aggressive
This approach to playing poker combines aggressive play with a careful hand selection (the tightness). The key when you are just getting your start in poker is to only play your strongest hands so that you can avoid many difficult decisions post-flop.

A lot of poker newbies make the mistake of playing too wide and opening far too many hands. Playing strong hands means you can keep your voluntarily put in pot (or VPIP for short) poker stat at a much lower side which will help you to play less but more aggressively when your hand is put into action.

While you must focus on playing tight but aggressive, it’s also key to keep ahead of your opponents. Those competing in low games will likely play random hands a lot of the time so keeping an eye out for these will help you to understand valuable poker strategy.

Never Rely On Luck
Simply put, predestined good luck for poker players is not a real thing! In the long run, a winning streak in poker is pretty much dependent on skill level and implemented strategies.

After all, there is no space for any superstitious behavior in a game of poker. You are in the driver’s seat of your destiny. If you’re willing to work hard then you will quickly begin to reap the rewards. Achieving success during a game of poker can be simplified down to just a numbers game.

If you are looking to maximize your chances of becoming the best poker player that you can be, you’ll need to throw out your reliance on luck. Of course, you may find yourself quite lucky in consecutive games, but you could just as quickly lose your lucky streak.

Summary
To a newbie, poker can look extremely intimidating. However, it isn’t always as complicated as it may look! By learning basic rules and regularly putting them into practice, poker strategies can be picked up and implemented by newbies pretty quickly.