Tips for How to be a Good Poker Player
Most people who are introduced to poker for the first time will naturally follow the standard process. You play "just to see what it's like" at first. Then you learn the rules and try to master the game. But the real question is: how do you actually become a good poker player? If you want to view other variations, you can also try play Caribbean Stud Poker online, which adds another strategy dimension to your game.
If you have already been familiarized with this captivating game and agreed that you would like to master it, what would you need to consider? What do you need to do, and what are the habits you will need to abandon so that you can increase the level of your play?
“How to become a good poker player” is truly a million-dollar question. There isn’t a simple answer. However, by following the tips below, you’ll certainly elevate your game. Maybe not to the point of entering the list of the biggest winners in the history of poker, but definitely enough to be profitable in the long run.
Check out 8 tips on how to become a good poker player.
Patience
Attempt and picture a winning poker player who is impatient—you will completely fail. Patience is among the most fundamental recipes for winning at the tables, online and offline tournaments alike.
To further illustrate, this is what patience really is in action:
- Waiting for good hands instead of chasing bad ones.
- Observing over players when very little action is going on in an effort to learn patterns.
- Avoiding unnecessary risks until the right spot occurs.
On average, only less than 30% of the hands in a tournament are played by professional gamers. It does not mean they are eliminated from the game for the remaining 70%. Patient practice means using that "downtime" for observing opponents, and holding out for the right time to make a timely move.
Long-Term Thinking
This is advice that's immediately associated with patience, but on a larger scale—not just for a tournament or money session, but for the entirety of your poker career. In order to be a good player, you need to understand that the result that matters is the long-term outcome.
If you're certain you made the right play and still lost a big pot because your opponent hit a two-outer on the river, remember the following: in the long term, when the same scenario occurs 10, 100, or 500 times, you will have the edge.
The same vice versa. Don't be thrilled if you are given a big pot after playing improperly. Always ask yourself: "Will I win or lose money in the long term, if I keep playing in such a way?"
Lucky players are dealt large hands; good players win large tournaments.
Study
It is not possible to be a proper poker player without study. And now there are tens of thousands of ways to do it.
You can study on YouTube, read books, listen to experts break down their own tournaments, get a coach, study your own hands with instruction, and more. There is no lack of tools to learn the strategy behind each chip you bet or fold you take.
As the old saying goes: poker is simple to learn, but a lifetime to master. And you'll have any hope of mastering it if you never stop learning.
Practice
This advice is in a way the reverse of the previous one. Learning is important, of course, but no theory, no matter how much, will be worth it unless you practice.
Most experts recommend that you practice at least twice as much time as you put into studying. Practice, of course, is where you will actually learn things inside and out.
Taking notes on what goes on during play is also a great way of closing the theory-practice gap. That gap is what will raise your level.
A good starting point for training is watching online sites that are widely played in Canada, where you're likely to find less aggressive competition than very competitive action in other regions of the world.
Be Specific
Poker is not single-game poker—it's an assortment of constructions and tourney formats. If you want to be a quality player, especially as a beginner, it's best to be a specialist in one format.
Cash games or tournaments, do you prefer? More lucrative in Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold'em, can you imagine?
Five community cards and two hole cards create the most well-known form of poker: Hold'em. However, other forms are popular among some experts as well, where the competition is less intense, and they build profitable careers in anonymity.
Choosing one of these formats to focus on will help you commit your study and progress faster.
Bankroll Management
Being a good poker player is to be profitable in the long run. And to achieve that, apart from knowing the strategies and avoiding common errors, you also have to practice the correct bankroll management.
Otherwise, no matter how skilled you are, you'll play indefinitely at stakes that don't match your bankroll, so each lost tournament will cost much more than it has to.
Having a well-defined bankroll plan and sticking with it "no matter what" is the difference that makes you a solid winner.
Mathematics
Some individuals are just more mathematically gifted than others. But all solid players are proficient at math to some degree. There is no method by which you can be profitable in the long term without using mathematics to your decision-making.
Math does not have to be the only factor when deciding at the table, but always must have some value. Using math and intuition will play best.
Poker is equally a game of numbers and a game of people.
Psychology
None of the above—patience, study, practice, bankroll management—will do you any good if you cannot deal with the psychological side of poker. Tilt can destroy even the great players.
Knowing how to keep control of your head and emotions is equally as vital as any technical skill. A mind not ready won't allow you to make the right decisions, however soundly the logic is guiding the way.
To be a good poker player, you need to be a master of being in command of your head. Sometimes that means getting professional guidance to increase your mental toughness—not just for poker, but life.
Remember: poker is a game of the mind. If your head isn't on, your chance at the tables will become negligible.