| 23 Oct | Poker SkillsPosted by PokerBarney on 7:03AM, 23rd Oct 2008Permalink |  Send to a friend |  RSS feed |
Poker Skills
The really good players of poker will tell you that one of the must haves for being a good poker player is patience. Patience is required to hang around in a game until you get just the hand you were waiting for. A good player also needs to be disciplined enough to know which games he can play and which he should quit early. A disciplined player will quickly realise when the edge is lacking, would bother to take notes of how each hand transpired and would take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated. When you have both of these almost half the skills required to be play poker is acquired.
When you are playing poker for money and there is lot of it involved it is imperative that your mind is sharp and thinking is lightning fast. Learn to think on your feet, take mental notes, and use the data in a statistical sense to make each hand as effective as possible. One another very important aspect or skill that is required in a poker player is the ability to keep emotions under check. Your face should not give away what you are feeling. Keep what is called a “poker” face. Seasoned players will tell you that they have won matches when they have read the expression on their opponents faces. If you have a bad hand do not let the whole table know of it. The same applies even when you think your hand is unbeatable. Let the cards talk not your face.
Watch your opponents closely. A lot of players after their game will tell what hand they had and what they were waiting for. Learn to take in such information as it will help you to know how all the player is likely to play. You also need to learn to reflect on what you say while at the table. Make sure that you are not giving away much even if it is an after the game comment. Remember you are likely to play the same opponents sooner or later.
A good poker player will always be a step ahead of the opponents. Poker is a lot about bluff and if you have been playing your hand right the chances of you getting caught bluffing is very little. Use bluff sensibly. It is important to play against the tide. If your opponents are playing a very loose game it is at such times that you need to tighten up your game. When your opponents are playing a very tight game play a loose hand. This approach will unsettle your opponents and give you an edge over them. As a player always remain unpredictable do not develop a routine to how you play, remember that others at the table will be observing you. Once in a while show your opponents the hand you have, call it quits saying you would not usually play with such a hand. The next time or in the next game continue to play with a similar hand and make the most of it.
Poker players have to be disciplined with the way money is handled. In poker there are bound to be times when hand after hand, money is lost no matter how good a player you are and the good hands you have may have got. Be ready for such instances. It is important to know the limits of your bankroll and to play well within them. Before playing a game a player should learn how much can be won, decide whether it is affordable and then take a call on whether to play or not.
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