It's easy to learn the basics of the game of poker, but mastering it is not an easy task. Basic poker strategy includes many concepts that you need to master in order to become a “profitable” player. The following concepts are fundamental for mastering the strategy:
- Aggressive play
- Tough game
- Selective play
- Using the mistakes of opponents to your advantage.
It is necessary to constantly keep these concepts in your memory, and they will help you to reveal your own style and originality.
Decide on the choice of goal
First you need to decide why you are playing poker - to win or just for fun. Remember, it takes time and effort to win consistently. Of course, there is nothing wrong with playing for fun, but nevertheless, there is absolutely no reason for deliberately losing either. Undoubtedly, even professionals have lost sessions, so the constant expectation of winning is wrong.
Your goal should be to play to your limit, every time you take a seat at the table. If you adhere to this rule, honing your skills and craftsmanship, victory will not keep you waiting. You should not judge your skill based only on the result of one game session. You should make the most of your capabilities in each of the games - the closer you get to that, the better you will perform.
Fighting tilt
Avoiding tilt is also an important part of the strategy. Your rivals, as soon as you allow them to do this, use the same emotions against you, and the result will be wrong decisions and, as a result, loss of money. If you lose your composure and fall into tilt, the only cure will be a break in the game. The game will not end in half an hour, moreover, it will continue tomorrow as well.
Poker math
Poker is considered a mathematical game with incomplete data. It sounds a little difficult, but you should try to understand the basic scientific principles in order to come close to the professional level.
At the initial level, winning starts with picking up the original hand - by entering the pot with the best hand, you will be more likely to win pots than your opponents. Once you master the basics of choosing your starting hand and understand how it relates to your position at the table, the next thing you need to work on is playing until the end of the hand. You will need to master skills such as determining the probability of the pot, using position, bluffing, determining the order of bets. But that's not all - no theory can replace practice, because even minimal shifts in a player's capabilities will have a good effect on his winnings.