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It's common knowledge that only people
who get lucky can win at poker. That at
least is what people who lose at poker
say. If you ask winners though, they
will tell you that the only people who
rely on luck in poker are losers.
Winners use every trick and tactic up
their sleeve to shrink the part that
luck plays in any hand.
When a loser crosses his fingers, calls,
and waits for the last two cards to see
if he is going to win, a winner knows
the odds. And if they are not good, he
has already folded. Because there is no
point in paying money into someone
else's wallet if there is nothing but
luck to make you win. If you are tired
of adding chips to your opponents'
piles, there are a few simple and easy
things you can do to set yourself on the
road to poker winnings.
By far the most basic, and by far one of
the most overlooked, things that you can
do to improve your odds of winning hands
is to play only hands that can win.
That seems funny, but it is true: a
winning player drops any starting hand
that will not be a winner without an act
of God. Simply by doing this and
resisting the urge to see what fate has,
as they say, in the cards, you will be
setting your game above most of the
people that you will be playing against.
Also, if you get the feeling that all
the odds are against you and that you
are beat, most likely you are. Fold and
get out any game you don't have a reason
to be in.
It also helps to get to know the people
who you play against. Rather than
hopping up to fetch another gin and
tonic or hit the snack bar for peanuts,
stay at the table after you fold and
observe how your competitors play. If
you've watched the man sitting across
from you call bluff after bluff of your
opponents, you should know that it isn't
such a wise idea to try to pull a bluff
on him. Find out which of the people
you are playing with bet high, which bet
low, which can be made to fold easily,
and which will stick it through to the
end.
Have a realistic perception of your
abilities and don't play people who
vastly outrank you in experience. Like
all other competitive sports, poker's
winners set themselves apart by
experience and skill. How would you
expect your local t-ball team to do
against the Red Sox? Would you bet on
the kids or the professionals? Think of
poker the same way. Don't pit yourself
against people who will simply take all
your money without effort, because they
will be more than happy to do so and you
will gain little from the experience.
It's far better to sit at a table with
people whose level of play is well
beneath your own. Watch and learn from
their mistakes. And profit from them.
And, of course, if you get a nice draw,
play it accordingly. A lot of players,
when they are first starting, let
excellent hands slip away without making
full use of them. If you draw a hand
that will beat all the hands your
opponents are showing, bet
aggressively. You might scare some
loser who would get lucky later into
folding. Or you might just take some
more of his money and add it to your
stack.
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