Classic casino games such as roulette, slots, craps, and blackjack, continue to grow in popularity, but perhaps the most popular game of all is poker. This competitive, social game, continues to find a new audience as more and more players are drawn to its combination of skill, strategy, and luck.
Online gaming
A huge part of pokers incredible growth has also been down to the rise of the smartphone, making the game more accessible to users everywhere. No longer do gamers need to visit a physical casino in order to play their favourite games, instead they can play anywhere and anytime they choose.
Technology is making poker a more exciting and immersive experience too. Players can now access live poker tables online and interact with real dealers. Promotions, bonuses, tournaments, and a wide choice of poker variants are also available online.
Physical casinos
The good old bricks and mortar casino remains a popular entertainment destination for many. The atmosphere, social aspect, restaurants, and bars, remain a big draw for a night out. While it lacks the convenience, variety, and accessibility of an online casino, physical casinos remain a significant part of our cultural landscape thanks to movies such as James Bond and events like the World Series of Poker.
Poker Strategy
Whatever your level of experience or ability, it’s important to have strategies when playing poker in order to enhance your chances of winning. They are also a great way of making sure you maximise your budget – and therefore game enjoyment – when playing.
Here’s our round up of the five most common mistakes that even the best players make.
- Know your odds
This is a surprisingly common mistake you see at a poker table, but understanding the basic maths and probabilities involved in poker is rule number one. Most poker players will know the standard odds of receiving hands such as flushes and straights, and those that don’t will soon get through their bankroll.
Learning the odds for certain hands and being able to calculate pot odds, means players can make informed decisions based on the likelihood of winning the hand and not on gut feeling. Ignoring basic probabilities puts players at a huge disadvantage. These basic math skills are also a great asset in everyday life, and are a fun way to keep your brain active.
- Keep your concentration
There are plenty of things to focus on when playing poker, but there is one key aspect that is often forgotten, and that’s remembering to keep an eye on your fellow players. It’s one of the most important ways of gaining an edge and potentially tipping the odds in your favour.
Sometimes we get sucked into the excitement of a good hand or trying to double bluff our way out of trouble. However, neglecting your opponent’s behaviour, or playing style, means you are missing out on lots of valuable information.
Spotting and understanding your opponents’ weaknesses can allow you to adapt your strategy accordingly and capitalise on them. Maybe your fellow player folds too easily allowing you to consider upping the number of times you bluff. Maybe they have a “tell” that means they have a good hand.
Analysing player behaviour is a key element for professional players, but those with less experience are more likely to give away information without realising it. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you don’t just focus on your hand and learn to take in what’s happening around you.
- Control your emotions
An all-too-common mistake for less experienced players is to let their emotions take over when playing poker. Once that happens, the decisions you make are not based on sensible strategies, and the likelihood of losing rises considerably.
It could be a sequence of winning hands or the desire to chase a series of losses, either way, when emotions become part of a players decision-making process, the odds are stacked against them. The best poker players learn to detach themselves from emotional fluctuations and remain focused on their strategy, but even the best can succumb.
By learning to control their emotions, players are better able to make sensible, logical decisions based on facts. This skill takes time to learn but has positive implications outside of poker and is a useful life skill.
- Grab opportunities
To win at poker you don’t always need the best hand, sometimes all you need is a well-timed bet to make everyone else fold before showdown. The best players realise this, but they don’t always grab the opportunities when they arise.
If you want to be a good poker player you need to play aggressively. If you only bet and raise when you are lucky enough to have a strong hand, good opponents will spot this and use it to their advantage. Winning poker isn’t just about what hands you play, it’s also about how you play them.
- Manage your bankroll
Every player will lose pots when playing poker. That’s a fact. Therefore, bankroll management is a key factor when it comes to sustaining losses, because it allows you to keep playing and benefit further down the line.
Too many players try to build up their bankrolls quicker by playing in the biggest game they can find, but they end up in situations they don’t have a bankroll for. That’s why sensible bankroll management is a key skill for any successful poker player. It will not only enable you to play longer and maximise your game enjoyment, but it’s also a great life skill.
Whatever your skill levels, everyone is always learning when it comes to poker. They key is to keep practicing and building up experience and knowledge, because the fewer mistakes you make, the better your chances of winning.
DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for entertainment purposes only. Online gambling carries risks, so you should only play within your means. If you’re struggling with a gambling addiction, reach out for help from a professional at the National Gambling Helpline through this phone line: 1-626-960-3500. All gambling websites and guides on this website are 18+. Check your local laws to ensure online gambling is legal in your area. Not valid in Ontario.
Check these websites for free gambling addiction resources.
https://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/
https://www.cprg.ca/
https://www.responsiblegambling.org/
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