Poker Strategy: Understand the Concepts

One of the best things you can do when first getting into online poker is sit down and read a well-known poker strategy guide before you get started.  Poker guides are not just for newbies—the real pros are contestants educating themselves about poker theory and different ideas about effective play.  For you, it is a great way to get an idea about the game and how it works on so many different levels.  Here are come concepts covered in guides that most people don’t know

One of the best things you can do when first getting into online poker is sit down and read a well-known poker strategy guide before you get started.  Poker guides are not just for newbies—the real pros are contestants educating themselves about poker theory and different ideas about effective play.  For you, it is a great way to get an idea about the game and how it works on so many different levels.  Here are come concepts covered in guides that most people don’t know about:

The Gap Concept

This refers to the idea that a player should have stronger hand when playing against someone who has opened the hand than he would have seen as sufficient to use if he was in his opponent’s position and had the choice to open.  Basically, what is says is that it is best to avoid head-to-head action and a winning strategy involves calling most of the time.  Then again, if opponents fold you can win in any position.

Aggressive vs. Passive Play

Both aggressive and passive strategies have theri place in poker for every poker player.  Aggressive players usually raise a lot and passive players typically prefer to limp along just calling and checking for almost every hand they can get away with it.  Every player should use both methods of play depending on the circumstances of the game, but most people see the more aggressive player as an advantage because he often bullies others out of the pot and gives himself more opportunities to make the hands he needs.  His intimidation might trip other players up as well.  Still, aggressive players can also get caught up in hands they never belonged in and are throwing away a lot of money on hands they don’t win because of their betting strategies.

The Sandwich Effect

The sandwich effect concludes what factors must exist for a player to stay in the hand.  It is based on different variables like knowing how many player are or will be staying in and whether other players are likely to re-raise.  This greatly affects how the player proceeds, and it is always best to have a very strong hand if he is unsure.

Reading Opponent’s Hand and Tells

Reading tells and hands is an art.  To some players it seems to come naturally, and to others it is more of a challenge.  It is often the difference between an okay player and an exceptional player.  By making educated guesses about what a competitor holds in his hand, a player can tailor his strategy to that particular hand.  This is referred to as hand reading. The tell is usually something physically noticeable about an opponent during different situations, such as having a particularly strong or weak hand.  The  point is to define a specific set of possibilities based on what you know about the player’s behavior and how they are acting in this particular hand.  However, many players purposely vary their behavior throughout a game and do different things in the same situation or the same thing in different situations in order to throw you ff.

These concepts are just the tip of the iceberg.  Poker is a very dynamic game, and if you want to get serious you really need to pick up a poker strategy guide and read it.  Soak it in.  Heck—read a few of them.  You will need real-game experience to really learn, but by adding to your knowledge-base and taking what you’ve learned to the table, you begin to cultivate a sound winning mindset.

Categories: Strategy  |  Tags:  |  Comments Off