Poker is one of the casino’s most popular card game. It combines elements of luck, skill and strategy. Regardless of the poker variation that you are playing the aim is always to build the highest-scoring hand.
Our very own Cash casino features one of the largest selections of poker including Joker Poker, Loose Deuces, Sevens Wild, Jacks or Better, Double Jackpot, Aces and Eights and much more. Each variation has its specific rules and techniques but the basic poker strategy applies to all of these variations. Learn about Poker Strategy so that you can maximize your gaming adventure and get the most out of your poker event.
Poker Strategy
There are many poker strategy topics. Some apply to video poker, others to live poker and others to both types of poker. They include topics such as
- The relationship between the odds of winning and the pot odds that infer that a player’s odds of winning must be better than their pot odds.
- The importance of employing deception relates to live poker and refers to instances in which players bet strongly on a weak hand to induce opponents to fold a better hand.
- In live poker, “position” refers to the order in which players are seated around the table and how this affects the game.
- In video poker, raising is done to get more money in the pot while in live poker, a player may raise in order to bluff.
- The “Gap Concept” relates to a player’s need for a better hand.
- The “Sandwich effect” refers to the need that a player has to make a bet that allows him/her to stay in the game when other players still need to act.
- Players are either regarded as “loose” players who play more hands and stay in the game even with weak hands or “tight” players who play fewer hands and fold with weaker hands. Playing “loose” or “tight” should be a matter of strategy and not gut instinct – when do you play “loose” and when do you play “tight.”
- Similarly, players need to decide whether they are going to play aggressively (betting and raising) or passively (checking and calling). Poker strategy generally regards aggressive play as stronger.
If you’re not a poker pro you don’t need to get into poker strategy in depth but it’s a good idea to keep some of the basic poker strategy tips in mind when playing. Top easy-to-remember poker strategy tips include:
Aggressive Play
Play fewer hands of poker but play them more aggressively. If you try to play too many hands of poker you’ll likely find that your budget is exhausted before you even get going. Top poker players work to develop a solid pre-flop poker strategy so that they don’t play hands that aren’t worth following through.
Poker pros sugest that you play a tight range of playable and/or strong hands and play them aggressively. Raise liberally when the hand is worth following through and follow it to the end.
Fold
Fold if you are unsure. Good players lay down fair hands when they think that someone has something better. Even if you are curious and think “well, maybe….” Stick to the strategy and hold off on calling. Listen to your gut because, even if you give up your chance to win the pot, you’ll be in a better situation for the next round.
Pros follow up by noting the details of the hand so that they can review the situation later and try to figure out if they made the right decision. Studying these hands is a good way to improve your skills.
Fast-Play Strong Hands
Fast-Play strong hands which builds up the pot so you make more money on a win. There’s no reason to slow-play too often, even if you’re worried that you’ll chase your opponents out of the pot. Bet your strong hands and build up the pot to protect your equity.
The only reason to check strong hands is if your opponent’s range is weighted in favor of hands that have no showdown value, if you think that it’s unlikely that you will be outdrawn or if there aren’t many care cards left.
If you’re unsure, go ahead and bet so that you’re not outdrawn or you don’t miss out on potential value.
Hold off on Limping
Limping means that you enter the pot by calling rather than raising. For instance, if you’re playing Texas Hold ‘Em, if you call the big blind before the flop instead of raising, it means that you’re "limping in. Avoid limping because, in the long run, you’re less likely to win the pot because other players are more likely to keep playing. Only limp if another player has already limped because the pot odds have been raised so you have a better chance of hitting something good on the flop.
When to Defend the Big Bind
If you have a big blind invested in the pot, you need to know when to defend it. If you’re faced with a raise in such a situation your pot offs will be better to call than other positions.
This “discount”, together with the fact that you are the last person to act in a pre-flop situation, means that you can call more effectively than if you were sitting in another position. Don’t call raises with a lousy hand but a so-so hand becomes more playable in such a situation.
Stack Preservation
If you’re in a tournament you need to double or triple your starting stack early in the tournament in order to move through to the later stages of tournament play. That means that you shouldn’t play defensively in those early games but rather you should play aggressively so that you can build up your stack for the later part of the tournament.
Go defensive if you find yourself short-stacked near a pay jump or the money bubble. That’s the time to start using a more survival-oriented playing style. Until then, give it everything that you have!
