While many people dream of becoming a successful poker player that consistently achieves big wins, in reality, becoming skilled at poker requires a serious amount of dedication and strategy development. Few people are able to make it to expert level, but those that do have put in the graft and developed their skills with lots of practice.
Traditional poker is still enjoyed in casinos all around the world, however online poker has taken over as the most popular form of the game. Millions of people worldwide play games of online poker, in-browser or via apps, with hopes of winning bets and having fun.
If you are new to the game and wondering what it takes to reach a professional level, you might be struggling with where to start.
That’s why we have put together this comprehensive gaming guide to reaching your poker goals. It includes the main rules to learn, how to create your own strategy for success, the value of experience and some tips for when you reach an advanced level:
Main rules of poker
To begin with the basics of the game, most poker games are played using a standard 52 pack of playing cards. Each card is ranked, from high to low and Ace is usually high. A hand is made up of five cards and generally, the highest hand wins the game.
Hand ranking
High card
When none of the below hands are formed, the hand is ranked by the single highest card. It is one of the most common hands but is unlikely to win a showdown.
Pair
Two cards of equal value combined with three other cards. The highest pair wins.
Two pair
Two different numeric pairs and one unrelated, unpaired card. The winner is the highest pair, if they match then the winner is the one with the highest value second pair.
Three of a kind
Three cards of the same value followed by two cards of other values. This is a good hand to have. When multiple hands have three of a kind, the highest value wins.
Straight
Five cards with consecutive numerical values.
Flush
Five cards of the same suit. The strength of the flush is determined by its highest valued card.
Full house
Three of a kind and a pair, this is a strong hand.
Four of a kind
Four cards of the same value, this is a very strong hand.
Straight flush
Five cards from the same suit but they don’t have to be the ace, king, queen, jack and ten.
Royal flush
The best hand. It consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all of the same suit.
Betting
When betting in poker you have three choices – call, raise or fold. To call means to bet enough to match the amount bet since the last time that you placed a bet.
Whereas, raising involves calling and then betting another (higher) amount. And finally, folding is when you drop out of the current hand.
Creating a personal strategy
Starting hands
You should not aim to play every hand that the dealer gives you. Instead, you should fold a lot of your hands and be able to choose which is best to play. To develop a strategy for effective starting hands, first ensure that you understand hand descriptions.
You might want to take a look at a starting hands chart in order to understand how to form a winning strategy.
Bankroll management
Using your bankroll effectively is essential for sustainable poker play and enjoying the game. It can be a good idea to start off with betting in small amounts and then increasing your bet sizes as you become a more confident poker player. Something great about online poker is that minimum bet sizes are often lower than land based casinos.
Be aware that tournaments can have buy-ins and you will usually need to bet more than you would in regular poker games.
The value of experience
Becoming a good poker player takes time as it is essential that you build up experience. Professional poker players spend a significant amount of time between games analysing their gameplay and looking at each move they made. They are able to identify their mistakes and learn from both victories and defeats.
Advanced tips
As you become a more experienced poker player, you should have a look into bluffing strategies and learn about how to effectively read your opponents. This will enable you to identify when they are trying to deceive you can give you more information to use when making betting decisions.
You should also look at adjusting play styles to enhance competitiveness, particularly when playing in higher stakes games.
Using the advice above and through trial and error, with the right amount of practice and dedication you can develop into a expert poker player.