Poker Strategy: Tools To Boost Your Gambling Skills

10:49
16 Feb

Poker is well-known for its diverse complexity, so much so that top-ranked players have tried to come up with various strategies to beat the game.
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The primary aspect to bear in mind is that your own strategy highly depends on your opponent’s moves. Luckily, the online world comes to your help with endless resources to improve your gambling skills. The first rule is simple: to be able to spot even the slightest change in your rival’s behaviour, you must observe him first.

Let’s see which strategies work best!

Resort to all available online platforms

To recognise the intricacies of Poker play, you first need to study the game itself: how the cards are dealt, what moves the players resort to, how the table is divided and so on.

And what better way to analyse the whole setting than through ongoing live streams or pre-recorded matches.

For example, YouTube provides real-time Poker game live streams from events set all across the globe that feature renowned professional players.

If you don’t really want the hassle of keeping an eye on each and everyone’s move, you can watch games that have already been studied and explained by other players.

Another online platform that made big waves, especially among young people, is Twitch. It revolves around the same principle, but it provides an easier way to interact with other viewers, who are potential players as well.

Watch and learn!

The most critical piece of a Poker game is the player itself. Studying its behaviour holds the key to a successful match.

So, just like a film director who closely inspects its actors, take a few steps back, watch as the game unfolds and ask yourself: what lies beneath the dark-coloured glasses and detached attitude? Even the faintest smile or grim can give a player’s cards or intentions right away.

Luckily, these streams feature multiple points of view, with the camera panning from side to side, just enough to spot everyone’s micro facial expressions as well as the way they interact with each other.

Let the masters teach you the way to success!

Without a doubt, the best way to learn the ins and outs of a Poker game is by taking notes from the professionals – yes, literally taking notes, since plenty of them have displayed their experience within various interviews or even in autobiographies.

For instance, Daniel Negreanu’s book ‘Power Hold’em Strategy’ is reckoned as one of the top guides in the entire gambling industry, which teaches you various strategies to beat a Poker game.

Masterclasses

While some prefer to write about their gambling experiences, others would rather appear on the big screen and give you on-point structured hints to improve your Poker skills.

From hand ranges to high-limit matches and even the well-known flop and preflop strategies, you will surely get to learn a lot of new concepts to put into practice later on.

GTO strategy – Hit or Miss?

If you’re in for deconstructing every piece of a Poker game, specifically learning the behaviour of your opponent, the GTO (or Game Theory Optimal) strategy could lead you to a successful path.

It’s well known that each and every gambler keeps a close look on the rival’s manoeuvres and seeks to notice a particular pattern: when he bluffs, when he calls, etc. This strategy implies subtlety because the end goal is to make yourself unexploitable and dismiss the other’s own moves against you.

However, the downside is that you highly depend on your opponent’s own strategy.

GTO and exploitative

In this case, there are two concepts that great Poker players employ when talking about strategies:

With each at the opposite end, it may be quite tricky to know which one to choose. While the first revolves around finding faults within the rival’s moves (specifically if he bets only when it guarantees him a win), the latter focuses on your own game through variation (consistent betting, regardless of your possible win or loss).

Many experts go for the GTO approach since it provides a more balanced Poker gameplay, which means that you are not restricted to merely counteracting your opponent’s strategy but make use of all possible ranges at the moment.

Use Poker software to your advantage

There are plenty of online programs you can use to train your gambling skills. And the best part is that they provide multiple functions such as:

  • Observe your gameplay and bring you stats on how to play better;
  • Offer extensive training;
  • Analyse your rivals’ strategies.

There are other various programs you may employ, but these are the most common types. Seek reviews on each and test them (some even offer a free trial) in order to see which one suits your style.

Bottom line: Is it worth employing these strategies?

Short answer: YES!

First of all, studying the game independently will improve both your overall Poker knowledge and observational skills. As you sit back and watch every move through the lens of a connoisseur, you will be able to gradually predict the behaviour of your opponent and resort to the right strategy to beat him.

Besides, this exercise will make you more acquainted with the Poker atmosphere so that, when you get to play, you already know what to expect and will remain composed.

The path to success is through trial and error

One thing you must remember: there’s no definite success to any of these strategies. The only way to find out what works best for you is through trial and error. And we also mean that within the Poker game itself: each strategy comes with a risk of loss and a chance to win.

Either way, it is a chance for you to learn what worked and what didn’t and bring your aces to the next game!