How To Beat Your Opponent Playing Poker

With the popularity of poker these days, you will notice poker everywhere. Home games are frequent, and tournaments are held daily in casinos and online. If you want to beat your opponent in this pastime, you'll need to be knowledgeable and well practiced. Here are some simple suggestions to get you to the winning position.

Step 1  

Practice. Learn the game of Texas holdem poker and play for free before playing for real money.

Step 2  

Read a book or magazine on poker. There are numerous books about poker written by some very well known poker players (eg. Doyle Brunson). The top poker magazine in the U.S. is Card Player. In Canada the best magazine about poker is Canadian Poker Player.

Step 3  

Take advantage of the free software offered online by dozens of poker sites. On these sites, you can play live players for free and learn the game of poker.

Step 4  

Know the 10 best starting hands in poker. They are AA, KK, QQ, AK, JJ, TT, AQ, KQ, AJ, A10. These hands should be played aggressively.

Step 5  

After you have played for a while, read some more and keep practicing. You will get to know the tricks of the game and the little giveaway signs other players reveal (known as "tells"). Good luck!

Tips

• Don't play like the players you see on TV. They have beat out a large field of players to be down to the last 6 players. The final table is a different game of poker. You will need to read up on how to play when you make the final table.
• Play sit-n-go poker tournaments to build your experience at final table play.

Warnings

• Don't play while tired
• Don't play while checking email or surfing the net
• Don't play when you only have 15 minutes to play
• Try to play a tight, meaning playing few hands, but aggressive game