POKER LESSON: Guru's Strategies for WINNING Poker

Posts: 2922 · Posted: 03.04.2008, 02:06

Hi Poker Crushers!

I have decided to put everything else on hold and get this lesson out to you, without letting anymore time pass! These are basic reminders and my personal strategies that have been proven and stood the test of time, altho many of them you will not have heard of anywhere else.

First. let's talk about all-ins. I could sum this up with one word: Don't! There is one exception, which I will discuss in a moment. Especially if you are playing in a tournament, the name of the game is Survival. One does not survive long by taking chances. In fact, several uneducated poker players will usually get knocked out the first third of the tournament by all-inning. Then the REAL poker players can get down to the business of playing good poker! My suggestion is: No all-ins AT LEAST the first half of the tournament, and unless your stack gets mighty short, not in the first three quarters.

Hold on to every chip you have as if it were your last! Every time you have a chance to either call, check, fold, or raise, ask yourself this: What do I have to lose and how much chance of losing it? Don't even consider what you have to gain. Do not let the size of the pot influence your good thinking EVER. If there is any question in your mind, , consider only checking or folding. It will save your stack and you will have it to raise with when you are pretty sure you have the nuts, the winning hand.

Always remember this rule: Don't ever bet on what you might get with the next cards! Always play according ONLY to the cards you already have. It is the only smart way. Otherwise you are counting on luck, and we all know what luck has to do with our poker game! The cards you want will almost never come. It would be like fishing. Fishing is considered very poor poker playing.

Now. There is one time only when you SHOULD consider going all in. Near the end of the tournament, particularly at the final table, start keeping an eye on the size of yours and every other player's stack. If your stack is shorter than half of the remaining players', now is the time to switch to a more aggressive strategy! And when your stack is among the lower third of those remaining, it is time for 2 things you should not do often: going all in and bluffing. Otherwise, the blinds will just keep eating away your entire stack. It will also be more effective for you than it would be for anyone else! Wanna know why? Because this has not been your way of playing all thru the tournament.......and don't think it has not been noticed! Therefore, they will think, particularly, that you never bluff. So if you have a decent hand and a short stack, NOW is the time to strike with an all-in. They will be shocked and think you must really have the nuts; therefore they most likely will fold. This is particularly nice if the pot (you notice after playing your hand) is a huge one! Players have often gone from the short stack to the BEST stack in just this way!

Remember "surprise" is the best weapon strapped on your hip at a poker table. You can kill off your opponents with it, if not used too often.

Another important reminder: Leave your ego at the door and don't give a thought to how your playing looks to ANYBODY! It will only distract you from the hand (a big no-no) and besides, YOU are the only one who knows how you have your strategy planned! NO distractions should be allowed until the break. Not even the distraction of a snack. That could be the one hand that you go wrong on because you were not giving it your 100 per cent attention.....and it can also be the one hand that was key to whether you survived or were knocked out.....even if the result of it comes a little later on.

This is why I advise that you, just like a pilot getting ready to take off in flight, you have a check list of things to go over just before the game starts.......like making sure you have a snack FIRST. I think I will stop here and start working on another lesson of all that should be on your check list. With such a "flight list", I will risk sounding corny and say you could find yourself flying high!

Good thinking Always!

Your Guru

Posts: 379 · Posted: 03.04.2008, 07:36

lol
well said Guru, It all sums up the best way of giving yourself the best chance.

I agree

Posts: 2922 · Posted: 04.04.2008, 02:36

Thanks, Mirrors!

PCers......no other questions or comments????

Your Guru

Posts: 108 · Posted: 04.04.2008, 05:24

I enjoyed this lesson. I need to find all the lessons and catch up with all PCers!!

I do have a motto that I have to remind myself from time to time during a tournament: A HAND NOT PLAYED IS A HAND NOT LOST

Good luck in Saturdays TPFC tournament

Posts: 1742 · Posted: 05.04.2008, 18:21

My only comment is I also enjoyed the lesson and hope I remember every word when at the table today Very Happy

Posts: 1832 · Posted: 06.04.2008, 00:03

Well I read all of the lessons and haven't commented because I just try to absorb the lesson as I know every lesson is good and important.

Some tourneys I try my best but just can't seem to hit good cards no matter what. So at these times I try to play the best I can with what I have or as you say the ante just keeps eating away what I have. Sooner or later I have to play SOMETHING.

Thanks for the lesson!

Posts: 2922 · Posted: 07.04.2008, 23:01

Just remember, Valeria, you ARE getting better and better and BETTER!

Your Guru