I’ve been playing poker for 4 years now, at both free poker sites and offline poker rooms.
Here are 6 strategies that have earned me quite a few thousand quick n’ easy dollars over the years.
One
Know your enemy: Tight, elephants, maniacs, donkeys, sharks and fishes and learned that to beat them, you must have the ability to first spot what type of players are they. (free poker sites are great places to find donkeys, fish and maniacs.)
Two
Position – A key factor in deciding how to play hands is your table position. The button is the best position to be on. If the other players limp in with a call, chances are, they are weak and a good raise should either force them to call, or to fold and earn their blinds.
It is also a good position to bluff from as you see how your opponents act before making a decision on whether to take a stab at the pot. This is because you are the last to act.
However, if someone raises before you, and you have a weak hand, then it’s best to fold because it is very hard to win with a 7 2 (Bird on a stick) against Bullets (Pocket Aces).
If these names mean nothing to you see this free poker games site for poker hand name definitions.
Three
Have the stones to lead out even if you have a marginal hand. This both serves as a trap should if you hit the flop with a J 8 and opponents might think you have a good hand such as AK or AQ and you have missed the flop so they would think you are bluffing.
This also this serves as a disguise if you have premium hands such as the big slick or cowboys and they would not know you have that because you always raise pre flop.
Another 2 advantages of this is to:
a) Kill the limpers who might get lucky on the flop. The more you reduce the number of people going into the flops, the higher your chances of winning.
b) It may reveal your opponents strength of their hands as they called to your raise.
However, you must have the guts to lose the money if you did not hit the flop and not be pot committed which may result in losing of more money.
Losing is inevitable no matter how good you are. Practice at free poker games sites until your average wins are consistently more than your average losses.
Four
Mixing the way you play your hands is a good way to leave your opponents guessing what cards you have. This is very important when you’re moving into higher skill games and playing against sharks (skilled players) who will be tracking your hand playing patterns for certain.
For example:
a) For the first hour play real tight. Skilled opponents in particular will start top counter play you accordingly.
b) In the 2nd hour, you start playing like a grinder, always raising and betting.
c) Your opponents have no idea what you have and may just walk into your trap without realising it.
d) free poker sites are ideal places to master this and also to learn how to observe and memorize other players hand playing habits.
Five
Play the opposite of what your opponent is, this really frustrates and can force errors. Be a grinder if you are against a tight player because you get to steal their blinds more than often and shows that he/she really has a good hand if he/she calls.
Six
Be a tight player against maniacs because you know the action is always there and you just have to wait for a good hand to earn some money from them. This is perfect on free poker games sites where you get a lot of maniacs.
Sharks however, avoid them if you play for the money especially early in your career.
But as you improve and you’re playing to win proper money start seeking out games with smaller sharks, it feels really good when you outplay the shark by being a bigger shark!
So go ahead, be the shark and own that table. Start out at free poker sites and become a shark there before moving up to challenge other sharks where your strong core skills will serve you well in these more challenging environments.