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Poker Tournaments for You This Week
There is never a dull moment in a poker player’s life. Obviously, the main reason for that is the constant existence of poker tournaments and poker events that one can participate in. These events are not just for making money, but also to have some fun and get better at the game in the process. Several live poker tourneys are lined up for this week and the coming weeks. Here is a note on some of the tournaments you can … Read the rest
2012 PokerStars Macau Poker Championships Announced
PokerStars is one online poker room that never takes a break from hosting tournaments. The poker room recently released details about its upcoming event, the PokerStars Macau Live Tournaments. The Macau tournaments hosted by PokerStars is one of the biggest and richest poker events held in Asia. It includes 4 major poker series – Macau Poker Cup (MPC) Red Dragon, Asia Championship of Poker, Macau Poker Cup Championship or MPCC and the yearly Asia Pacific Poker Tour event at Macau. … Read the rest
The $30,000 Winner Wednesday Dozen Unveiled
Winner Poker has partnered with pokernews.com to bring a new promotion to its new members. The online poker room announced its new promotion called Winner’s Wednesday Dozen Freerolls, which literally lets you win free money. The new promotion is open to all the new players who register with Winner Poker and make a deposit. The promo will run for three months, and all you need to do is play poker and earn as many Winner Points as you can. Here … Read the rest
How to Become a Better Poker Player
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 by Phil
Here are some thoughts on how to become a better poker player. These might not all apply to you. Your needs for improvement as a poker player aren’t the same as mine. Most of the advice below applies to beginners.
1. Tighten up. Most poker players, especially new online poker players, play too many hands. If you’ve spent ANY time reading about poker strategy, you’ve read about the difference between tight poker players and loose poker players. If you haven’t, then read the next paragraph closely.
Loose poker players play lots of hands. Tight poker players play few hands. Loose poker players don’t fold very often. Tight players fold. A lot.
Tighter poker players tend to win more money. Here’s why. When a poker player only gets involved in hands when he has good cards, then he’s more likely to win at a showdown. It’s like running a race and getting a head start. The other reason tight players win more often is that the other players notice when you fold a lot. So when you have good cards and play, they’re more likely to fold, and you win pots without even having a showdown.
How do you tighten up? Set more stringent starting hand requirements, and fold when you don’t get the right cards.
Be willing to fold later in the hand unless you have a really strong draw or a good hand.
2. Be more aggressive. The other side of the poker player style chart has to do with how often you check and call as compared to how often you bet or raise. Players who bet and raise often are aggressive poker players, and players who check and call a lot are called passive players. Aggressive players tend to win more money.
Here’s why. Aggressive players get more money in the pot by betting and raising. So when they win at a showdown, they win more money. Also, since they’re betting and raising often, they’re giving the other players at the table a reason to fold. That means aggressive players win more pots without having to go to a showdown at all.
How do you be more aggressive? Raise and bet more often. Don’t cold-call. Raise or fold.
3. Track your play. Performance measured is performance improved. That’s a management truism, but it applies to poker as well as business management. If you want to become a better poker player, and you start making some strategic changes, how will you know if your new strategic approach is working unless you track how much you’re winning or losing?
Lots of online poker tools and software programs are available to help you track your play, but you can track your play just as easily using an Excel spreadsheet or a spiral bound notebook. The important thing is that you keep up with how well you’re doing.
To become better at poker, beginning level players need to spend more time tracking their results. They also need to work on becoming tight aggressive poker players. Both of those aspirations require self-discipline.
