Poker Tips and Tricks to Watch Out for

Here Are Five Essential Poker Secrets

Maybe you’ve been losing more than winning, but you’re not quite sure why. You’re quite sure that you’re a fairly smart person who should be able to take down other players. But more times than not, you’re a poker players who’s finishing out of the money. Here are five tips and tricks that every player needs to know in order to start winning consistently.

Poker Tips and Tricks

Some of these poker tips and tricks are useful and some should simply be avoided at all costs. There are some tricks that may look great in the movies or on TV, but they can often sink you and your bankroll faster than the Titanic went down in those cold North Atlantic waters. However, there are also some poker tips that you can take to the bank.

Tip/Trick One: Bluffing

I’m not sure how to say this more plainly—do not bluff when playing poker. That does not mean you should not play your position. You should do that. But being in the dealer spot with middling cards and betting when all others have folded up to that point is not bluffing. That’s using your position. If someone goes all-in after you bet and you do too—that’s bluffing.

Bluffing occurs when the poker player pushes the betting to extreme limits with the knowledge that they are holding nothing. This is never good. Why is it not good? Because the people you are bluffing may very well know that they have you beat and will simply meet your bluff and then reveal their high pair, three of a kind or flush.

Tip/Trick Two: Check/Raise

This is one to watch out for and to use when the time is right. The check/raise occurs when a poker player with a superior hand, let’s say pocket rockets, checks instead of betting and then meets any bet someone makes after they had originally checked. On the next card, the player checks again. This time when someone bets, they may raise that person a bit. The point is to keep the aggressive player in the game. On the final card, the player may check and then when the other player bets really answer with a high raise. To use this technique when playing poker, you must be sure that you do hold a better hand than anyone else.

Tip/Trick Three: Chat Box Chatter

Some people will use the cat box in an attempt to throw off a player. It may or may not work. A smart player simply shuts off this distraction. Anything that takes you out of the game is bad and chat certainly has the potential to do just that.

If you use chat, do so at your own risk. It can backfire in many ways.Taunting, being belligerent and insulting another poker player is not only rude but it could get you banned from an online poker room. Be professional in play and temperament.

Tip/Trick Four: The Tilt

You’ve just lost a sizable amount of cash and so you decide to cast all sense to the wind and push the betting out of frustration, anger and sheer spike. This is a trick that you are pulling on yourself. For some reason players think that this will simply make them win the hand. It won’t. If anything, a poker player should sit out the next hand if they are feeling emotional and get their focus back. That’s a poker tip to always follow.

Tip/Trick Five: First Hand Hole Cards All-in

You see this a lot in poker tournaments. It may or may not work. I’m not a big fan of this. Even with a pair of Aces in the hole going all-in on first hand hole cards can backfire. If solid poker playing is about addressing each hand smartly, the decision to push the betting on the first hand is often not a good one.

This will result in one of three things:

• Everyone folding and you taking in a small pot.
• Another player or two going all-in and beating you.
• Another player or two going all-in and you taking down a huge pot.

Two of the three outcomes are not desirable. And remember that although you may be favored to take the hand when you have two Aces in the hole as the hand develops another player, that one with a Two and King in the hole who pulls a King, Two, 10 flop, looks a lot better and now has better odds of winning.

Save going all-in for later in the game when you are tall stacked and the blinds are large. And even when you’re in that position, you don’t need to go all-in. You need to bet enough to make the other players go all-in. Bet what you need to and do not over bet.

That way if everyone folds, you’ve actually won something of value and if they stay, you may still have some cash to play with in case you do lose the hand.

Remember these Poker Tips and Tricks

When playing poker, you’ll be well served to remember these tips and tricks. It’s important to be vigilant when you play poker. If you’re not, you can find yourself out of the hand and even the game very quickly.