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How To Get Better At Poker

4/14/2022
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Reading is a tried and tested technique to improve knowledge. It’s back to basics and a guaranteed way to improve. Provided you have the time and like reading, it can be the most rewarding ways of learning. Amazon has dozens of poker books dedicated to Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. How to Get Better at Poker BitB Cash - The best 6max poker coaching! Monthly 1on1's, 2 group sessions per week, 100's of hours of videos.

How To Beat Video Poker Machines

Vivian Saliba

Being a successful poker player requires much more than learning strategy and establishing a solid theoretical base. Once you have studied the game and reached a good skill level, you will still need to work more than others — especially others who are good poker players, too — to develop an edge and be able to crush them.

Some of the habits you should have go much further than the poker tables. It is essential to have a balanced life and mind in order to achieve your goals as a poker player.

Here are some of my recommendations to those wanting to go further than just to learn the technical aspects of winning strategy — 14 tips to becoming a better poker player.

1. Eat a healthy diet

Eating a healthy diet before and during your poker sessions will help with your focus and your performance. Heavy food may make you feel tired and distracted. Choose options that are lighter and better for you.

2. Sleep well

A lack of sleep can cause irritation, increase your chances of being distracted, and generally disrupt your thinking.

3. Work out

Besides being a healthy habit to have, working out regularly will help you sleep better, enable you to have better control over your moods and emotions, and ensure you feel fresh during a long poker session.

4. Practice yoga or meditation

To be able to control your emotions during a poker game, you must have a well-trained mind. Yoga and/or meditation might help you to become 'tiltless' — or at least to be able to avoid tilt on a more frequent basis.

5. Take breaks

You should always take breaks during your sessions. Walk a little bit, stretch, drink water, and clear your mind. Your focus and performance when you return to the table will improve.

6. Avoid alcohol

Your thinking process will be hightly affected if you play hungover or drunk.

7. Stay off your phone

Staying glued to your phone during a session means that you are not paying attention to details such as potential tells and other information available to you as hands are playing out. Every bit of information you can gather about your opponents is valuable and will help you to make profitable decisions.

8. Review your session

Take time after you play to work on your leaks. The best way do to it is to make notes regarding any doubtful moments that come up during your session and review those decisions later.

9. Table selection

You should be thoughtful when selecting the tables before you take a seat. Don't just jump into a game without at least taking a look at who you're playing against, and try to avoid joining games in which you are going to be without too much of an edge.

10. Take a day off

The human brain is not a machine. You can't just turn it on and leave it running endlessly without fatigue setting in. Playing more does not necessarily translate to profiting more. Give yourself some free time to have fun away from the tables. That will keep you motivated and playing well when you return to the games.

11. Practice smart bankroll managment

You must play according to your bankroll limits. It is very difficult to make the best decisions in a given hand or session when you are worrying about the possibility of busting your bankroll.

12. Don't chase losses

On a related note, if you are feeling 'stuck,' remember that only means you've lost a few hands. That's all. Don't think too much about being 'down' in a given session, which really is just an arbitrary way of keeping track of hands played.

The only 'session' that really matters is your lifetime session, the one that started a long time ago and will be continuing tomorrow. You shouldn't be trying to reach some 'peak' with your profit, or to get even or play a certain number of hands before leaving. Don't stay in bad games, and don't stay if you aren't playing your A-game, either.

13. Keep a strong mindset

How often do you think you are unlucky or that things are unfair? Don't be results oriented. A strong mindset will help you keep looking forward and be less stressed.

14. Be mindful of your table presence

You don't want to be seen as the 'reg' with whom nobody wants to play, not even the 'fishes.' Learn to talk to people and socialize. Don't come to the table all wrapped up in a cocoon like the typical poker player wearing a hat, sunglasses, scarf, and headphones. Strike a balance between being friendly at the table but still paying attention and not giving away information.

How To Win At Video Poker

I am sure if you follow some or all of those tips, your performance will improve a lot at the tables. Keep crushing and good luck!

Primarily an online player, 888poker Ambassador Vivian 'Vivi' Saliba has recently collected numerous live cashes including making the money in both the 2017 WSOP Main Event and 2017 WSOP Europe Main Event. Pot-limit Omaha is her favorite variant, and among her many PLO scores is an 11th place in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship at the 2017 WSOP.

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    Vivian Saliba

Online poker has experienced growth in the last 12 months, just like the rest of the online gambling industry. With flexible deposit options and legislation easing up in several American states, players are taking to the felt in high numbers. That’s why we’re dedicating this article to giving you seven quick win tips to improving your skills in 2021. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will be pumped up and ready to improve your poker skills. Remember though, all the skills in this article require some input from you. It’s impossible to become an expert at anything without hard work. So, if you’re reading this hoping for a lazy way to win at poker, you won’t find it. You need to put in the time and effort to get the benefits.

7) Cheat Sheets and Guides

The quickest way to improve at most things is to take advantage of basic guides. They are easy to use and often free to download. Texas Hold’em Questions give their visitors a free poker cheat sheet to use. It basically provides tips on hand rankings, hand selection, basic odds and advice on position. These guides are perfect for beginners who want to improve fast. I recommend downloading and printing them off. Keep them near your desktop or laptop when you play and you will make fewer mistakes. Remember, these guides are primarily for low stakes games. They are unlikely to work at the highest stakes where players are adopting advanced strategy.

6) Forums

One of the best ways to improve at anything is talking about it with others. Forums provide a productive way of learning. You can ask questions and tap into the minds of other poker players with more experience. They are usually very welcoming and happy to give tips and advice to new players. This can range from basic questions on how to play to specific hand analysis. If you haven’t joined a poker forum yet, make it a priority. They don’t cost anything and will have people ready to help you improve. Some internet forums even have sub-forum areas dedicated to beginner questions. This can be a great way to start. Think of forums as a time-saving device. You’re reaping the benefit of other more experienced minds. Remember to have polite etiquette and be gracious and you’ll get lots of support in return.

5) YouTube

Is there any subject YouTube doesn’t cover? There are literally thousands of videos on poker playing to watch. Naturally, there’s a wide range of quality too. Some are poorly made and giving outdated advice on how to play but there’s also some hidden gems of content. Spend ten minutes researching and see which ones have a high number of subscribers. If they have tens of thousands of hits, they are probably doing something right and offering good practical poker advice. Be careful though, some videos are aimed at advanced players who spend their time in high stakes games. Moves in high stakes games rarely work in low and mid stakes due to the different dynamics.

4) Rail the experts

How to play poker well

Most online poker rooms allow players to watch before playing. This can be an effective way to learn the table dynamics and how people play. It also affords viewers the opportunity to watch from experts. If you have the time and interest, I highly recommend railing the late stage of a tournament or a mid stakes 6 max cash game. You’d be surprised how much you can learn just watching people play. It’s a reliable way of improving your skills. Take notes, save them and refer back to them at a later point. It’s also an awesome way to learn new poker plays you never thought of before. If you make use of the hand history feature, you’ll see how experts size their bets, what hands they play and what actions they take on various rounds of betting.

3) Read books

Reading is a tried and tested technique to improve knowledge. It’s back to basics and a guaranteed way to improve. Provided you have the time and like reading, it can be the most rewarding ways of learning. Amazon has dozens of poker books dedicated to Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. It doesn’t matter if you’re a full ring cash game player or a 6 max tournament player, there’s books on the subject that will help. Always check the reviews first and only consider the ones that are positive. There are lots of poker authors that are offering obsolete advice. Once you’re happy, make your order and set aside some time each day to read about poker.

2) Play poker

This is an obvious one but it’s true! Proficiency comes from experience. The more you play and gain experience in different scenarios, the more you will find solutions. There’s a saying that you have to be a loser before a winner at poker. In other words, nobody is born an expert. All your favorite players lost at the start of their poker playing. So, don’t be put off if you don’t win the first session you play. The more poker you play, the better you will become. If you don’t want to risk money, try freerolls or clear bonuses to gain experience. It won’t cost you anything and you will understand how the games play a bit better.

1.) Read articles

Most of the best poker sites keep an active blog. I recommend bookmarking your favourite ones and checking them on a regular basis. The great thing about the major poker sites is that they keep their content fresh. You don’t have to scroll to 2012 to find strategy ideas. They will publish content every week or two. It’s a brilliant way to stay engaged with players and provides food for thought. Most of these sites will also have a mailing list that you can subscribe to. I find this makes great reading material when you get some down time and want to expand poker knowledge.