Poker Strategy: More Complicated than Chess or WarAs a mathematician I value theorems and proofs and expect this in poker strategy since it is a probabilistic game. Although, theorems and proofs are hard to come up with in games of uncertainty like poker, there are still fundamentals at the basis of poker strategy. Strategy also includes reading people, poker tells , etc. For now let's focus on poker theory.
The fundamental theorem of poker states that every time you play your hand as if you could see your opponents cards, you gain. And every time your opponent plays his cards differently from the way he would play them if he could see your cards, you gain. This was developed by David Sklansky and a lot of poker strategy draws upon this. For example techniques are used to deceive your opponent to try and make them play differently than they would if they saw your hand, for example bluff, slow play, etc ( see poker terms ). Now, this theorem always applies when playing against one opponent, but when playing against multiple opponents another theory is important to take into account. The multi-opponent theorem is called Morton's Theorem and it says that in multi-way pots a player's expectation may be maximized by having a player make the correct move. This can be illustrated by one player with the best hand and two other players with draws. On average it could be better for the players on the draw to fold because they do not have the best hand. We could get into the mathematics, but I will save that for now.
One of the most important things in poker is deception. If you can be read easily then you will not succeed in poker. More importantly if you can deceive your opponent, then you can be very successful in poker. There are several ways to deceive players. There is bluffing, slow playing, random play, and check-raise ( see poker terms for definitions of these terms ). All of these should be used and they should not be used in any predictable way, but they should be added in to play with intent.
Another important part of poker strategy is recognizing what position on the table you are at. Depending on where you are you have different advantages. If you are in an early position (first to act), then you need to have a stronger hand to stay in the game because more people can raise behind you. In late positions you get to see how other players act and this becomes an advantage. Raising a pot in a late position could be a good way to get more money in the pot or get people to fold out of the hand. To be a great poker player you need to understand position and how to use it to your advantage.
Knowing Pot odds and Implied odds ( see poker terms ) is another fundamental property that a player must know to be successful.
There are no exact rules on when to fold in poker strategy -since you want to switch up play- but fold if there is no way to win. If you have horrible cards fold. A lot of people throw good money after bad. If you went in and did not get the draw you were looking for, or if you did not complete your hand, then it is time to let your cards go. No matter how much money you put in previously, you do not want to put in any more money. It is not just $1 more. The key to winning in poker is minimizing losses and maximizing wins.
If it is relatively cheap to see more cards. It is also good to just call if you are fearful of a re-raise. This is important if you are on a strong draw or have a middle ranking hand. Remember the average winning hand in a 12 handed hold'em table is three 9's. You may want to just call to conceal the strength of your hand: slow play. Calling can be a way to manipulate pot odds. Think about how you want your opponents to act. Also, a strong call could set you up to bluff in a later round of betting.
If you have the best hand and want more money in the pot, the only way to do it is to raise. Although be ready for players to drop out if it is an early round. Raising can also help with Morton's theorem by trying to drive players out of the game. Raising can also be a way to bluff or semi-bluff. A raise may also yield a free card in the next round. If an opponent calls the raise, they may check in the next round because they don't want you to raise again. Therefore you would get a free card on the next round. You can gain information by raising and seeing how players react. A raise is a good way to try and make an isolation play. Raising can also be a way to manipulate pot odds and this is a good poker strategy.
There are two types of play which people fall into: Loose and Tight. A tight player is one that plays few hands and waits for good ones. A loose player plays many hands. If you play against a loose player you want to play only strong hands and avoid bluffing. Staying in on a draw could be more lucrative because the loose player is likely to stay in with an ok hand. Against a tight player you want to do the opposite: play a lot of hands and raise often to scare them out of pots. Do not stay in on a draw if they are continuing to stay in the hand. Also, be sure to bluff with tight players because it works a lot more.
Make sure to be an aggressive player. This means doing a lot of betting and raising. Do not be a passive player. Aggressive players are ones that win the world series of poker.
You want to try and put a player on a hand. Maybe not an exact hand, but narrow down the possibilities. You can do this by how they are betting, the way they have played in the past and by their tells. I will have a whole page dedicated to tells because they are very interesting and can give you a huge advantage!
Be sure to change up play and try not to develop a tell yourself. This is extremely important. I have touched on basic poker strategy. If studied in depth the strategies discussed here could be practiced and used for a long time before perfected. More advanced poker strategy will be written about shortly and strategy for particular games of poker. It is important to practice these techniques before moving on to more advanced poker strategies. You can practice these techniques
in free poker games (click here)
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