10 Beginners Tips to Winning Poker

I have received some questions from our members on how do play better poker, and why are they always losing in a poker game. Fret not! Here are 10 tips that will helps you in your poker game. To win poker you must avoid some of the pitfalls and mistakes that you may have committed.


1. Playing too many hands. Are you playing too many garbage hands? For eg. 2 3 unsuited, 2 7 unsuited? These hands are very likely to lose, if you got them, fold them. For a beginner, it is advisable you play good hands such as a high pair or high card connectors eg QK. They usually have a high chance of winning.

2. Playing your hands wrongly in the wrong position. Position is one of the most important aspect in poker and the most neglected. a 10 pair may be a good starting hand, but do you play them the same way in every position? Late position has an advantage over early position as you can see how your opponents react pre-flop. Rule of thumb- play lesser hands in the early position than in late position.

3. Playing when you are not in a good condition. Are you playing when you are tired, distracted, sick, drunk or bad mood? All these can affect your poker game! Avoid them at all cost just like you avoid operating machinery or driving when you are taking certain medications.

4. Bluffing too much. Bluffing is cool when you managed to pull off one, winning a pot when you don't deserve to win. But... do you have to bluff so often? Are you bluffing for the sake of bluffing? Buffing is a strategy for more experienced player. For beginners, avoid them until you learn more about the game.

5. Ignoring the pot odds and card odds. These are two of the essential tools that help you decide whether to bet, raise, call or fold. Master them well! If not poker is essentially a gamble when you hope that you will ultimately get the the desired result when the river comes even though you shouldn't get involved in the first place. Master the odds and make the right mathematical decisions!

6. Failure to read the board. It is important to know what is the best hand you have can make from the community cards. But do you know what is your opponent is probably holding? Is he holding a better hand than you? You may hit the flop when you have 2 pairs but what could your opponents be holding? Straights or flush draws?

7. Poor bankroll management. There is a term in poker called "variance". It simply means there are times when you have a bad run or you received lousy hands. To cushioned variance, you need to have a certain bankroll before you are playing at a table. Playing at the wrong table with too high limits in contrast with you bankroll will result in one thing- your bankroll being wiped out.

8. Playing at too high limits. Now for example, you have 10K of real money, do you jumped straight at the high limits table? No! Even though, your bankroll is sufficient for that level but are you poker skills sufficient? Usually, there are better players in higher limits poker than in lower limits poker. For beginners, start at low limits before moving up.

9. Playing poker is not about playing your cards well but also your opponents! You have to adopt a different strategy for different opponents. Some players types are loose passive, loose aggressive, tight passive and tight aggressive.

10. Lastly, Complacence! After few winning rounds, you start to get excited and think that you are the next big thing and you are ready to take on the poker world. No! Don't ever think of that for now at least. Why? Poker is a game that take minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Don't expect you can master it overnight. Try to learn from experienced poker players, books, videos and lastly TLW Poker!!!

We hope you have benefited from reading 10 tips to winning poker! All the best to your game!