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Poker Strategy

Playing poker is a lot of fun; however, for many it's not fun unless they are winning. It is true that you're more likely to enjoy a game more when you have a big stack of money piled up that you have collected from others - who doesn't like to be ahead by a few hundred bucks?

In order to play a successful game of poker, one needs to play the game with a good poker strategy in mind. Because there are so many decisions involved in playing poker, you need to know which decisions will yield the biggest profit. Decisions are based on the probability of making a winning hand based on the cards that you have been dealt and any community cards that may have been laid out. Some hands are easier to make than others, and it's important to keep this in mind when deciding to keep playing the hand or fold.

A poker strategy revolves around knowing when to discard your cards; you have to discard in a manner that gives you the highest expectation of winning. Using a good strategy will increase your chances of winning in the long run.

Here are the basics of a good poker strategy. Depending on the game (as there are many variations), you may find the need to take out or add certain aspects.

  • Analyze the situation: in order to avoid sudden unplanned actions on your part, analyze the situation at the table first. How many players are you up against? What is the maximum you are willing to lose in one game? What are the characteristics of the other players? Are they aggressive or passive? All these questions will help you establish the best possible poker strategy.


  • Odds and Expectation: part of any poker strategy is understanding what you're up against. What are the odds of getting a winning hand? What is the expectation that you have a better hand than the other players at the table?


  • Fold whenever necessary: if you get a bad hand, get out of the game then and there. You really don't want to be stuck with a bad hand, unless you know that your opponents aren't holding any good hands either. Then you can exercise your bluffing skills and see if you can outsmart the other players by making them believe your have a winner. Poker is all about passing on bad hands and sticking to good ones only; playing too many poker hands is bad strategy.


  • Pick the right environment: for those seeking to make money at the game of poker, part of a good strategy is to pick a table where the players play worse than you. The more intimidated the other players are, the greater your chance of making a killing.