When you first learn how to play poker you learn that you should always raise with good hands and fold bad hands. Things seem quite straight forward until you learn that opponents are watching your every move. Because opponents are watching what you do and how you play you notice they are beginning to adapt to your style and the better players begin to beat you. So you loosen up again and try to be deceptive, but being too loose is a bad thing! Winning poker consistently is quite complicated! What is the best way to play?

If you are looking for the best way to approach poker then there is not one style that wins. Every decision you make depends on what is happening in the particular game that you are playing. What has gone before in terms of action, luck and profit helps determine your approach around the broad fundamentals of optimal poker playing.

If you have been running over the table with a huge run of good luck then your opponents may be inclined to classify you as a lucky bad player and become looser against you. Pre-empting this change in your opponent’s style should lead you to tighten up and only play hands where you are probably ahead right from the pre-flop point in the hand. If you notice any change in how the table is playing against you then you need to adapt as this change opponents are making is designed to beat your current style.

Your poker strategy should be constantly evolving. Once you understand that strong hands should be raised and what constitutes a strong hand and when that hand might be vulnerable because of flop textures or betting action you can start using this solid base of poker knowledge to interpret things based on the action. For example, you hold pocket aces in a real money cash game and you are three bet raised by a player who you know is very aggressive. Rather than shoving believing you are up against Kings you may flat call knowing this player could be making this raise with a wide range of hands that would fold to a shove. Rather than broadcasting your hand by shoving you are using your information to play the hand in accordance with your opponent’s game. This is good poker playing.

Against a good player in the same spot you may shove all-in believing he would not re-raise without Kings or the other two Aces. Along with what you believe you know about your opponent also think what your opponent knows about you and try to work out how they will interpret your prospective next move. If you think your bet may look reckless and get called you will know your own hand strength and whether that is a good move to make or not.

You can gain a lot of good advice from poker podcasts discussing poker strategy where professionals discuss at length detailed spots and hands where they faced a big decision. Most professionals are honest enough to discuss hands where they lost as well as when they made a brilliant call. Studying how effectively you change your style of playing in relation to your opponents ensures you work to maximise your winning spots and minimise the losses suffered when you are beat or make bad moves. Plugging these gaps leads to increased poker profits in all disciplines of poker.

If you enjoy poker podcasts then visit the bwin poker blog because they have a new podcast show to listen to and also information on the winners of their biggest tournaments. The blog also includes information of who the lucky winners are who will be playing at the Aussie Millions courteously of bwinpoker.coms satellite tournament packages.

By Malcolm Clarke

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