12 ADVANCED ONLINE POKER TIPS USED BY PROS
It is easy to get envious of how good a pro player plays poker, how composed they are when handling their cards, it almost feels like it’s totally out of your league. Well, let us assure you, it is certainly difficult, but never impossible to play like a pro. Here are 12 advanced tips to help you in your poker career, so that you, too, can start looking like a pro in front of your friends.
Learn your priorities
Your priority in a game should be placed on crushing the micro stakes first. The stakes vary between different games of poker, and the general rule is to always try to start at the lowest stake possible, as the old saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.
Take control of the pot
Not literally, of course. Taking control of the pot means that you should manage your bet efficiently and not blindly. One tip given by an expert in poker states that a very specific way to do so is by entering a pot preflop with a raise, contrary to a blind preflop. This is to avoid what is known as the snowball effect, which is a topic we will touch on in our other articles.
Assert your dominance
Another way to assert your dominance over the pot is by reraising a preflop, this is often referred to as a “3-Bet”. Whenever you have a strong hand, reraising a preflop should always come to mind first, with the sole exception of the case when a player does something out of the ordinary like raising during early position, this could mean they have a stronger hand.
Adapt to your position
“Out of position” is a term coined by poker experts which means a situation in which a player has to act first on all three streets post-flop. This is a scenario where you do not want to call a 3-bet, as it will lead to a severe disadvantage. Remember, in poker, position means everything.
Respect your opponent
You already lost once you start to underestimate your opponent, whoever comes out of the mind games as the victor will dominate the game. For example, when a player places a pre-flop 4-bet, it is extremely possible that they have a stronger hand than you. Learn when to back off.
Understand Buy-Ins
A “buy-in”, in poker language, is a term used to describe a 100 big blinds. The bare minimum for a low stake game of poker is 30 buy-ins, and in tournaments, it is 100 buy-ins. The general rule here is to move up the limit when you have 30 buy-ins for the next stake.
Bluff less
As mentioned before, poker is a mind game, and to have more control over the flow of the game, you should bluff less frequently. A beginner is always bluffing in a poker game, this is why they are so easily called out no matter how good they maintain their poker face.
Know thy enemy
Let’s say you are playing against a bad player, and you choose to go for various tricks and slow-play verses, they do not fall for it and you end up looking like a fool. Understand who your enemy is before you get into their heads, it will boost your winning chance significantly.
Scare Cards
One exception where your bluffing skills will determine the outcome of a game is when you have determined that your opponent is tight, this is when you barrel the scare cards. This is strategically a sound choice, but whether you pull it off or not is entirely up to you.
Understanding value bets
A value bet is a bet based on a hand that is ahead of your opponents, in a low stakes game, you should get your value bets in as much as possible, especially when you are dealing with a player that is somewhat lower level than you (remember, a beginner loves to call).
Be prepared for bad beats
Players mostly lose in online poker because they do not heed this advice, this is especially true for beginners that just arrived in the online scene, where multi-tabling is a common practice. However much you think that you are prepared for bad bets right now, let us assure you, it is definitely not enough, double that.
Have fun!
Sounds cheesy, but what is the point of playing a game if you don’t have fun? Sure you can win money, but nothing beats the satisfying feeling of a fun and fulfilling game, trust us.
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