How to Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance Against a Top Poker Player

Poker is a game that involves luck, as all forms of gambling do, but also a considerable amount of skill. It is a game where it is possible to heavily influence the outcome through the clever use of poker strategies.

That is why the best poker players are able to make a professional living playing the game. It is also why many people find it a daunting game and it is not always the best choice if you are new to casino gaming.

On the other hand, if you have a bit of skill and knowledge of the game and its different tactical moves, you can go up against the really top poker players. Read on to learn how to give yourself the best shot in that sort of scenario.

Most of the top professionals play one of the following types of poker:

Texas Holdem
Five Card Draw
Seven Card Stud
Pot Limit Omaha

Five Card Draw and Seven Card Stud are poker games where players take their cards directly from the deck. Omaha and Texas Holdem are ‘community card’ games where each player has two ‘hole’ cards that only he can see and there are five ‘community’ ones in the centre of the poker table.

Because of those differences, not every tip will work for all poker games. Our first piece of advice would be to learn the rules of the game you are playing. Texas Holdem is one of the more popular versions of poker these days, but draw games have simpler rules and structure overall.

Play Less Hands in an Assertive Fashion

The next tip when you are up against the best players is to restrict the number of hands that you bet on, but wager aggressively on the few you do play. This applies to all forms of poker, but especially Texas Holdem where it can be tempting to bet a lot before the flop.

Really good players only bet on passable or very strong hands, but play both equally assertively, to convince opponents that middling hands are better than they actually are. Follow that strategy yourself when playing against them.

Do Not Bluff Too Often.

This is another pointer for community card games such as Texas Holdem and Omaha. Bluffing is an important poker tactic, but it loses effectiveness if deployed too often.

The best way to know when to bluff in community card poker is to consider whether your existing hand can be made stronger in upcoming streets. That would mean a hand like a flush or straight draw.

If it can, then you can try a bluff, because you have a backup strategy should it fail. If there is no real potential to improve the hand of cards you have, bluffing will be a high risk move.

Shake Up Your Raises

Beating really skilled and experienced poker players often comes down to knocking them off their stride. One useful tip for achieving that goal is to shake up the way you raise on hands that you have chosen to play.

That means raising on a wide range of post-flop hands, rather than just on predictable ones like a set or a two-pair hand. The top players know the patterns of these games by heart and if you fall into predictable beats they will be able to see through you very easily.

You have to really make them guess what cards you are holding.

Get Rid of Tells.

There is no way that you will stand a chance against the best players if you are giving off noticeable ‘tells’ during the game. Tells are unintentional ways in which people signal to others what strength of hand they have.

They can be visual things like touching your face when you have a good hand or they can be actions taken during the game. For example, betting big sums every time you have a strong hand will quickly become an easy tell for good players.

Equally, placing bets very quickly on weak or middling hands can indicate to other players that you are not in a strong position, if you do it all the time. The key issue with any kind of tell is that it is a predictable physical thing you do or pattern of behavior during the game.

People who are really good at poker learn to watch the other players closely and will pick up on those physical responses or behavior patterns. They will then use them against you, so try to cut them out.

That applies to all versions of poker.

These are some pointers that you should bear in mind if you find yourself playing poker against the cream of the crop.

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Tags: #Gaming, gambling, poker

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.