SPORTS N STUFF

Basic Poker Strategy

When you play Texas Holdem it can be very easy but also extremely complex, and all at the same time.  Poker is very easy to learn, but you never truly master the game.  There are many facets to playing poker but lets keep it simple and look at basic poker strategy.

Knowledge
The first key to having a successful poker strategy is to have a solid working knowledge of the game.  There are two main ways of acquiring this basic poker strategy, reading and experience.  There are a lot of great poker books on the market and some of them have excellent tips for learning basic poker strategy. While reading about the game is a great place to start, there is no substitute for experience.  Developing your own basic poker strategy takes time, and the great thing about doing it today is that it is much easier than in years past.  The Internet is a great learning ground to gain experience.  You can try out numerous poker strategies either for free, or for a very small amount.  There are poker games running right now at Betonline where you can test out your skills.

Decisions
The next big key to a solid poker strategy is making smart decisions. This all comes down to experience and is probably the biggest key to playing good poker. Every decision you make should be thought out before it is made and that is easier said than done.  The more situations you face, the better you are at analyzing them the next time they come up.

Feel
The final tip in basic poker strategy we are going to talk about today is how to develop a feel for the game you are in.  This is where the great players excel and where the average players fail.  It is laying down a great hand when you know youre beat.  You have a great hand that you definitely want to call with, but somehow you feel that you are beat.  For example, lets say we have a set of Kings in No Limit Holdem and the river card is a third club.  It is so difficult to lay down a set of Kings, but sometimes you just have the feeling that your opponent hit the flush.  Those are the tough lay-downs that come with having a feel for the game. 

As you develop your own basic poker strategy try and remember the tips we discussed.  Learn the game, practice as much as possible, make good decisions and develop a feel for your table.