The smart way to play poker: A beginner’s guide
It is now possible to play poker at any time of the day or night on sites like skypoker.com, as long as you have internet access and a debit or credit card. While this ease of access is in many ways a welcome development, allowing new groups of people to play poker who would otherwise struggle to gain access to a physical game, there is also the potential for beginners to lose a lot of money, if they bring a rash attitude to the game. Here we look at some of the basic tips for beginners that can help you play poker the smart way.
The overarching theme of this advice is to start slowly, and be patient when you are new to the game. Patience is vital to success when you play poker in a variety of ways. Taking the time to learn the rules, read up on strategy, and then practice in free games before committing any money all take patience when you are keen to get going and win some cash. However, this cautious and steady approach is a sound principle that many top players continue to apply when they play poker over a career spanning years, and indeed many attribute such tight play to their ongoing success.
Firstly, it is important to start to play poker in low limits games, and to stick to this level until you are winning regularly for two important reasons. Low limits games naturally mean that you are not risking large amounts of money while still a novice. Equally as important is the level of skill of the competition. Most players in low limits games will have the same rudimentary skill set as you will when starting out, giving you a fighting chance of winning. The appearance of the odd ‘shark’ can also provide some salient lessons in how to play, and more importantly how not to play poker. As in many things in life, you will often learn more from your mistakes when you play poker than you will from a run of success, and the small stakes of low limits games mean that such lessons need not cost you too much.
As soon as you start to play poker for money you can put the principle of patience into good effect. In practical terms, this means being prepared to fold time and again when you are dealt mediocre cards. You can often watch the opposition take each other out with aggressive and risky plays, during which time you can both gather information on the style of other players, and bide your time waiting for the right hand on which to stake significant money.
This last point is crucial, and is one of the key dichotomies when you play poker. Recognising a good hand is key, but should be within your powers, thanks to the time you have spent researching rules and tactics. When you are dealt a promising hand, it is time to abandon caution and back the hand aggressively. Patience and caution should be applied when selecting which hands to back, but the return on good hands should be maximised, and this takes the courage to see it through and trust the odds, or in other words take the risk if you want the reward.
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