There are 169 unique poker starting hands in texas hold'em.
That means there are 169 unique strategies to know about.
Not really a favorite but J-4os has become my 10-2 in my monthly home game. Was shortstacked and decided to go all in with any two cards and was called by pocket K's. Hit a Jack on the flop and a 4. Poker Pros Daniel Negreanu And Doug Polk To Start Grudge Match With Live Poker First 200 Hands Of Match Will Be Played Live And Streamed From Aria.
But don't worry!
In this article you will learn about the best poker starting hands and how to play the rest.
I have a friend, following one of Tom Dwan's plays, who would fight ‘til the end his King-Nine suited.
Whatever happens, my friend would bluff his way with this hand even if he didn't hit anything on the board.
He believes that this is his lucky poker starting hands.
Each time this hand of his wins, he'd say 'I told you so', but more often than not he'd remain quiet if his favorite poker starting hands is beat.
Luck is present in poker, but the game is about probability.
If you're like my friend who largely believes in a lucky poker starting hands, then there seems to be a problem with your game.
But this one friend isn't the only one.
I have loads of friends who have 'carved in stone' favorite hands and would play crazy just to prove theirs are the lucky one.
Having played with my buddies many times I could tell if they're holding their favorite cards, which is a good tell for me. Bad for them. Good for me.
But what are my favorite hands in poker?
Truth be told – 'nothing.' Yes, nothing.
However.
I do have specific plays and strategies for hands dealt to me.
I'll list them down one by one and explain why.
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Here are my favorite poker starting hands
I learned about these hands after reading Phil Helmuth's book 'Play Poker Like the Pros'.
Fair warning though, I believe that Phil's advice on how to play these hands are only apt for beginners and novice players.
I play these hands strategically from time to time especially when I play with loose players with a wide range of playing
Or Bullets as it's commonly called in the poker community.
It's the best opening hand in Hold'em.
It's statistically the most powerful hand in poker and even if your game is down to who has a strongest pair (meaning you or your opponent didn't hit anything on the community cards),
Aces will play strong and straight up.
Show me a poker player who hates Aces and I'll run up to him and punch his nose.
Aces can be played well especially during heads-up matches because it's a slated favorite, mathematically speaking.
However, it's drawback is when there are too many players in a hand and your opponents have powerful draws.
In situations like this, your bullets will often be at risk of getting outdrawn.
Here is a play by Daniel Negreanu when he is delt a pair of american airlines. You think we wun or lost?
The second best starting hand in poker.
You couldn't go wrong with this hand, except, well, for obvious reasons, when there's an Ace on the board.
Just like Aces, though, Cowboys stand their ground in heads-up matches and are statistically favored second to Bullets.
poker starting hands
Again, the downside to this favorite hand is when it's either outdrawn or when there's an Ace on the board.
Just a segue, my favorite experience with Cowboys and how this poker hand made me start winning more was when I've outdrawn an opponent with Pocket Rockets on the River.
I promise you, the look on my opponent's face even Picasso couldn't paint.
Watch how Phil Ivey play with his pocket kings.
Sadly, nicknames for pocket Queens are very derogatory, but that's how majority of poker players labeled it.
Personally, I can't help calling pocket Queens Bitches because I lost half of my stack during a tournament I played in many years back.
My Queens were no match against my opponent's rockets in what I considered one of the most important tournaments of my life. I was looking for a draw, but I didn't get any.
Will I completely despise pocket Queens and fold it immediately if dealt with it?
Of course not!Queens are still powerful and no amount of bad beat or two-cards above can stop good poker players from playing them aggressively.
This guy was very happy to get pockets queens while playing Governor of Poker.
Ace-Kings are recently labeled Anna Kournikova after the gorgeous tennis player.
During an episode of WPT, commentator Vince Van Patton called Big Slick Anna Kournikova because the hand 'looks great, but never wins.'
The reference is understandable because Ace-Kings, although they look good, are drawing hands.
Even lower pockets could beat Big Slick if the latter didn't hit a pair or draw on the board.
I prefer playing Big Slick usually under the gun (the position after the big blind) and bully my opponents to fold right in the onset.
The nice thing about Ace-King is when you hit top pair and you have a strong kicker or when you hit a good draw.
Big Slick is one of those poker hands that made me start winning more at poker.
Here is what happens when big slick meets big slick.
Don't be fooled by this face card.
It looks really good to have pocket Jacks, but they're really tough to play.
Why?That's because three higher cards already had it beat assuming your opponent has one high card that hit the board.
Just the same, and since we categorized J-Birds as a monster hand, you should play it like a monster hand.
With pocket Jacks, I always play strong.
But when there's a threat on the board, I find Hooks much easier to fold than Bullets or Cowboys.
Pro poker players consider pocket Jacks as the highest medium pair in Hold'em.
Get more insights on how to play pocket jacks in this video.
This medium pair is the most difficult to play when dealt with.
According to poker probabilities, Tens have a higher chance of getting into trouble with 70 percent of overcards being dealt on the flop.
But between Tens and Big Slicks, I prefer Tens because it's easier to fold; when my Ace or King hits a card on a board ;and later outdrawn in the River.
Here is how Phil Hellmuth likes to play his pocket tens.
My final thoughtsThe starting hands I brought up in this article is based on Phil Helmuth's monster starting hands.
In fact, Phil suggested ten monster starting hands, but I've only included the six best.
The good thing about using these starting hands is that they're straight up and very simple to execute.
You can crush any average game if you play them by the book.
Phil would even go another mile and would suggest that you play these hands from any position while scaring your opponents with raises and re-raises.
Personally, I wouldn't go that far, but it's up to you if you want to try it out.
For beginners, playing these hands will help them develop the mental discipline needed.
A good and strong fold is always better than going gung-ho about a particular play.
Once you get your game together, you'll develop your own style and strategy and you would realize that these hands are as boring as they could get.
But just the same, with enough mental discipline coupled by a straight up strategy, these poker hands made me start winning more.
Wait… There is more!
This will be a bit technical and for the advanced players.
Still here?
Great!
I have put together a spreadsheet with the most played starting hands and their expected value.
But hold on a bit, what is expected value?
Well, based on hundred of thousand of plays some smart guys calculated the expected value of playing a specific hand.
For example if AA has an expected value of 2 and the big blind is $6, then the expected value of playing would be 2*$6= $12.
Here is a screenshot of the spreadsheet and you can download/view the whole thing here.
As you can see your table position has quite a big impact on the expected value of your hand.
Now when you have learned so much about poker starting hands why not head over to our mega post about the best poker sites online?
Table Of Contents
Are you struggling to turn a decent profit at the poker tables on a consistent basis? Are your results best described as 'somewhere around break-even'?
First off, don't worry because you are not alone. This describes the results of the majority of poker players.
Often, however, it is just a few small poker strategy adjustments that can take your game from mediocre to amazing — from break-even to crushing it.
In this article, I am going to provide you with seven subtle but highly effective poker tips to take your game to the next level.
While I can't promise you'll win a lot of money with these beginner tips, you should add everything you find on this guide to your poker strategy if you really want to improve your poker games.
Continue reading to discover poker tips like:
I've also added something about pocket aces because you should be always careful when you get them. I have seen so many people play them the wrong way...
1. Think About Ranges, Not Hands
It doesn't matter what type of casino poker you play: one of the easiest ways to spot average and beginner poker players is to look at how they think about what their opponent has.
- Beginner poker players try and put somebody on a specific poker hand.
- Advanced poker players think in terms of ranges. This type of thinking that can be extremely important when calculating pot odds.
A range is the entire spectrum of poker hands somebody can have in a specific situation. For example, player X can have a flush, top pair, middle pair, bottom pair, a draw, ace-high or a complete air-ball bluff.
Good players who have already gone through a few poker strategy articles understand that player X will show up with this entire range of hands with various frequencies. They don't focus on identifying a single winning hand, but they try and figure out those frequencies and then make the best play.
Average players try to put an opponent on exactly (or some other specific hand) because that's 'what their gut tells them.'
If there's one thing you need to know when you learn the game, this is that poker strategy tips and 'gut feeling' don't go well together. Basing your tournament strategy or cash game play on what you 'feel' is never a good idea.
In the first video of this beginner's guide to poker tips for beginners, poker pro Jason Wheeler explains how uses every possible information available to understand his opponent's cards and choose his play.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Realistic
Don't put your opponent on a single hand but think about ranges. Nobody has a specific hand in poker — they only have a range.
If you are in still the process of learning the game and you need some help, have a look at the complete poker hands ranking.
2. Ditch Your Favorite Hand
A lot of people have a favourite hand. I know that every time I get dealt the old -suited my eyes light up and I want to play it so bad!
However, in reality, I know that -suited is a mediocre hand. Definitely not one of the best starting hands you can hey in a game of Texas hold em.
Free Poker Odds CalculatorCalculate your poker odds FOR FREE with the PokerNews pot odds calculator!
It makes sense to play it in some spots — late position, for instance, in an unopened pot. But it should almost always be folded in early position.
If you currently have some favourite starting hands, that's fine — most people do. But don't give them preferential treatment and make bad plays with it.
Winning poker is about math and cold hard logic, not superstition.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Smart
Playing too many hands is a widespread mistake (see: Five Common Mistakes New Poker Players Make).
One of the best ways to avoid it is to introduce range-based thinking in your reads.
3. Adopt a Consistent Strategy
Another big key to becoming a great poker player (and perhaps one of the most important poker tips on this strategy guide) is to consistently apply a winning strategy.
It is not okay suddenly to change things up (e.g. to open with -suited from early position or turn yourself into a calling station) just because you are bored or tilted.
All of your learning, experience and study over the years has given you a body of knowledge telling you how to play Texas holder poker profitably.
But your poker strategy only actually matters if you apply it at the poker tables all the time. Every hand counts and every session counts.
The best poker players, those ones who know how to win at poker, apply the same winning strategy over and over again, no matter how they feel or what their recent results have been.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Consistent
Poker is a long-term game. You need time to build your bankroll and find the right cash game or poker tournament strategy that works for you.
You should not change your strategy after a big win or a big loss (here's why).
If you really feel like your approach needs to change, make sure you read this article on Handling the Ups and Downs of Low Stakes Poker first.
4. Always Have a Reason
Big-time winning poker players will sometimes break from their standard, successful strategies, but always for obvious reasons.
An average player might start raising -suited in early position because he is bored or wants to make something happen.
An elite poker player will raise with this hand in this position on occasion because he notices the table is playing passively and there are a couple of recreational players in the blinds.
There is a clear reason then to believe that raising -suited in early position (typically a fold under normal circumstances) might be a profitable play in this situation.
If you can produce a well-reasoned argument why deviating from your regular strategy might be more profitable, then it is okay. It is the 'because I feel like it' or 'I am bored' reasoning that has to go.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Reasonable
Think. Use your experience to analyse the situations, and then understand 'why' you would take one road and not another.
If you don't have enough experience to evaluate different situations yet, you better go back to the free games and grind.
5. Know When to Fold Your Aces
Another clear difference between average poker players and great poker players is the ability to fold an overpair.
Do you know that little sick feeling you get when you have and a tight opponent raises all-in on the turn? You make the so-called 'crying call', and he turns over the set yet again.
Free Beginner Poker SitesPlaying online poker for free is the best way to hone your poker skills and practice with no risk.
You need to start paying attention to that feeling a little bit more often.
Certain patterns are easily recognizable at the lower stakes — especially when you play online poker — where it is 100 per cent the correct play to fold your overpair.
Good players can let go of any emotional attachment to their pretty-looking hands. Average players get married to their aces or kings instead, and can't let them go even when they know they are beat.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Aces Lose Too
Starting with the best of all poker hands isn't enough to guarantee you a winning hand.
Ask anyone for good poker pro tip, and they will all tell you the same thing: sometimes, you'll need to fold those Aces.
For more info on this specific topic, have a look at this article on How to Play Pocket Aces.
6. Realize Tilt Only Hurts You
Tilt is a destroyer of bankrolls, dreams, and poker careers.
I can't tell you how often I receive emails or comments from people who describe to me how they've tilted vast amounts of their bankroll away when things went badly at the poker tables.
The reality of poker is that sometimes things will go badly for you, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it.
This is what you sign up for every time you sit down to play card games.
There's always the possibility you might run terribly. You might run lights out as well, though.
When you allow yourself to lose control of your emotions and throw your strategy out the window, the only person you are hurting is yourself.
All those hours you've spent trying to learn and improve your game were basically wasted because you decided to choose your emotions over reason when it mattered.
Respect the work that you have done. You owe it to yourself to maintain more composure and stop throwing away money when the cards go south.
Poker Pros Favorite Hands Ever
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Relax
The psychological side of poker can be overwhelming, and you need to be ready to deal with it.
Swings happen and bad beats will come. If you don't know how do deal with this, have a look at the poker tips Italy's poker pro Rocco Palumbo shared with PokerNews at the PokerStars Championship in Prague.
If these poker tips work for Palumbo, they may as well work for you!
7. Don't Play Bad Games
One more way beginner poker players can sabotage their poker results is by stubbornly playing in games that are full of decent-to-good regulars.
If you can't find somebody at the table who is playing very poorly, then you have to ask yourself why it is that you are even there.
Poker Pros Favorite Hands Games
If you only play poker for the mental challenge or recreation or pleasure, then this is fine. This poker tip doesn't necessarily apply to you.
Play Online Poker with Your Friends!Use this guide to set up your next home game online and play online poker with your friends for free or real money.
But if winning real money or chips is at all a priority for you, then you need to remember you don't turn a significant profit in poker by pushing tiny edges against good poker players.
You win big by playing against players who are making significant fundamental errors and giving away their money over the long term.
As the classic movie Rounders reminds us, 'If you can't spot the sucker in your first half-hour at the table, then you are the sucker.'
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Choose the Right Games
Don't sit with the pros if you can't beat them. Selecting the right games is key to your successes in poker — one wrong move, and you are out.
Again, there's no shame in playing free poker games or in looking for the best freeroll poker tournaments to play online if that's what you need.
Final Thoughts
The divide between break-even beginner players and big-time winners is not as wide as many people think.
It is often just a few simple little adjustments you can learn over time that can carry you over to enable you to start winning at a higher clip.
A lot of it has to do with starting to view the game in a much more cold, detached, mathematical, and logical way than you presently do.
Emotional and/or superstitious poker players almost always lose or struggle to remain even.
Elite poker players, meanwhile, know they are in it for the long haul and don't get overly wrapped up in each hand or moment. They continue to make the most profitable play again and again, no matter what.
Free Beginner Poker SitesBut when there's a threat on the board, I find Hooks much easier to fold than Bullets or Cowboys.
Pro poker players consider pocket Jacks as the highest medium pair in Hold'em.
Get more insights on how to play pocket jacks in this video.
This medium pair is the most difficult to play when dealt with.
According to poker probabilities, Tens have a higher chance of getting into trouble with 70 percent of overcards being dealt on the flop.
But between Tens and Big Slicks, I prefer Tens because it's easier to fold; when my Ace or King hits a card on a board ;and later outdrawn in the River.
Here is how Phil Hellmuth likes to play his pocket tens.
My final thoughtsThe starting hands I brought up in this article is based on Phil Helmuth's monster starting hands.
In fact, Phil suggested ten monster starting hands, but I've only included the six best.
The good thing about using these starting hands is that they're straight up and very simple to execute.
You can crush any average game if you play them by the book.
Phil would even go another mile and would suggest that you play these hands from any position while scaring your opponents with raises and re-raises.
Personally, I wouldn't go that far, but it's up to you if you want to try it out.
For beginners, playing these hands will help them develop the mental discipline needed.
A good and strong fold is always better than going gung-ho about a particular play.
Once you get your game together, you'll develop your own style and strategy and you would realize that these hands are as boring as they could get.
But just the same, with enough mental discipline coupled by a straight up strategy, these poker hands made me start winning more.
Wait… There is more!
This will be a bit technical and for the advanced players.
Still here?
Great!
I have put together a spreadsheet with the most played starting hands and their expected value.
But hold on a bit, what is expected value?
Well, based on hundred of thousand of plays some smart guys calculated the expected value of playing a specific hand.
For example if AA has an expected value of 2 and the big blind is $6, then the expected value of playing would be 2*$6= $12.
Here is a screenshot of the spreadsheet and you can download/view the whole thing here.
As you can see your table position has quite a big impact on the expected value of your hand.
Now when you have learned so much about poker starting hands why not head over to our mega post about the best poker sites online?
Table Of Contents
Are you struggling to turn a decent profit at the poker tables on a consistent basis? Are your results best described as 'somewhere around break-even'?
First off, don't worry because you are not alone. This describes the results of the majority of poker players.
Often, however, it is just a few small poker strategy adjustments that can take your game from mediocre to amazing — from break-even to crushing it.
In this article, I am going to provide you with seven subtle but highly effective poker tips to take your game to the next level.
While I can't promise you'll win a lot of money with these beginner tips, you should add everything you find on this guide to your poker strategy if you really want to improve your poker games.
Continue reading to discover poker tips like:
I've also added something about pocket aces because you should be always careful when you get them. I have seen so many people play them the wrong way...
1. Think About Ranges, Not Hands
It doesn't matter what type of casino poker you play: one of the easiest ways to spot average and beginner poker players is to look at how they think about what their opponent has.
- Beginner poker players try and put somebody on a specific poker hand.
- Advanced poker players think in terms of ranges. This type of thinking that can be extremely important when calculating pot odds.
A range is the entire spectrum of poker hands somebody can have in a specific situation. For example, player X can have a flush, top pair, middle pair, bottom pair, a draw, ace-high or a complete air-ball bluff.
Good players who have already gone through a few poker strategy articles understand that player X will show up with this entire range of hands with various frequencies. They don't focus on identifying a single winning hand, but they try and figure out those frequencies and then make the best play.
Average players try to put an opponent on exactly (or some other specific hand) because that's 'what their gut tells them.'
If there's one thing you need to know when you learn the game, this is that poker strategy tips and 'gut feeling' don't go well together. Basing your tournament strategy or cash game play on what you 'feel' is never a good idea.
In the first video of this beginner's guide to poker tips for beginners, poker pro Jason Wheeler explains how uses every possible information available to understand his opponent's cards and choose his play.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Realistic
Don't put your opponent on a single hand but think about ranges. Nobody has a specific hand in poker — they only have a range.
If you are in still the process of learning the game and you need some help, have a look at the complete poker hands ranking.
2. Ditch Your Favorite Hand
A lot of people have a favourite hand. I know that every time I get dealt the old -suited my eyes light up and I want to play it so bad!
However, in reality, I know that -suited is a mediocre hand. Definitely not one of the best starting hands you can hey in a game of Texas hold em.
Free Poker Odds CalculatorCalculate your poker odds FOR FREE with the PokerNews pot odds calculator!
It makes sense to play it in some spots — late position, for instance, in an unopened pot. But it should almost always be folded in early position.
If you currently have some favourite starting hands, that's fine — most people do. But don't give them preferential treatment and make bad plays with it.
Winning poker is about math and cold hard logic, not superstition.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Smart
Playing too many hands is a widespread mistake (see: Five Common Mistakes New Poker Players Make).
One of the best ways to avoid it is to introduce range-based thinking in your reads.
3. Adopt a Consistent Strategy
Another big key to becoming a great poker player (and perhaps one of the most important poker tips on this strategy guide) is to consistently apply a winning strategy.
It is not okay suddenly to change things up (e.g. to open with -suited from early position or turn yourself into a calling station) just because you are bored or tilted.
All of your learning, experience and study over the years has given you a body of knowledge telling you how to play Texas holder poker profitably.
But your poker strategy only actually matters if you apply it at the poker tables all the time. Every hand counts and every session counts.
The best poker players, those ones who know how to win at poker, apply the same winning strategy over and over again, no matter how they feel or what their recent results have been.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Consistent
Poker is a long-term game. You need time to build your bankroll and find the right cash game or poker tournament strategy that works for you.
You should not change your strategy after a big win or a big loss (here's why).
If you really feel like your approach needs to change, make sure you read this article on Handling the Ups and Downs of Low Stakes Poker first.
4. Always Have a Reason
Big-time winning poker players will sometimes break from their standard, successful strategies, but always for obvious reasons.
An average player might start raising -suited in early position because he is bored or wants to make something happen.
An elite poker player will raise with this hand in this position on occasion because he notices the table is playing passively and there are a couple of recreational players in the blinds.
There is a clear reason then to believe that raising -suited in early position (typically a fold under normal circumstances) might be a profitable play in this situation.
If you can produce a well-reasoned argument why deviating from your regular strategy might be more profitable, then it is okay. It is the 'because I feel like it' or 'I am bored' reasoning that has to go.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Reasonable
Think. Use your experience to analyse the situations, and then understand 'why' you would take one road and not another.
If you don't have enough experience to evaluate different situations yet, you better go back to the free games and grind.
5. Know When to Fold Your Aces
Another clear difference between average poker players and great poker players is the ability to fold an overpair.
Do you know that little sick feeling you get when you have and a tight opponent raises all-in on the turn? You make the so-called 'crying call', and he turns over the set yet again.
Free Beginner Poker SitesPlaying online poker for free is the best way to hone your poker skills and practice with no risk.
You need to start paying attention to that feeling a little bit more often.
Certain patterns are easily recognizable at the lower stakes — especially when you play online poker — where it is 100 per cent the correct play to fold your overpair.
Good players can let go of any emotional attachment to their pretty-looking hands. Average players get married to their aces or kings instead, and can't let them go even when they know they are beat.
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Aces Lose Too
Starting with the best of all poker hands isn't enough to guarantee you a winning hand.
Ask anyone for good poker pro tip, and they will all tell you the same thing: sometimes, you'll need to fold those Aces.
For more info on this specific topic, have a look at this article on How to Play Pocket Aces.
6. Realize Tilt Only Hurts You
Tilt is a destroyer of bankrolls, dreams, and poker careers.
I can't tell you how often I receive emails or comments from people who describe to me how they've tilted vast amounts of their bankroll away when things went badly at the poker tables.
The reality of poker is that sometimes things will go badly for you, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it.
This is what you sign up for every time you sit down to play card games.
There's always the possibility you might run terribly. You might run lights out as well, though.
When you allow yourself to lose control of your emotions and throw your strategy out the window, the only person you are hurting is yourself.
All those hours you've spent trying to learn and improve your game were basically wasted because you decided to choose your emotions over reason when it mattered.
Respect the work that you have done. You owe it to yourself to maintain more composure and stop throwing away money when the cards go south.
Poker Pros Favorite Hands Ever
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Relax
The psychological side of poker can be overwhelming, and you need to be ready to deal with it.
Swings happen and bad beats will come. If you don't know how do deal with this, have a look at the poker tips Italy's poker pro Rocco Palumbo shared with PokerNews at the PokerStars Championship in Prague.
If these poker tips work for Palumbo, they may as well work for you!
7. Don't Play Bad Games
One more way beginner poker players can sabotage their poker results is by stubbornly playing in games that are full of decent-to-good regulars.
If you can't find somebody at the table who is playing very poorly, then you have to ask yourself why it is that you are even there.
Poker Pros Favorite Hands Games
If you only play poker for the mental challenge or recreation or pleasure, then this is fine. This poker tip doesn't necessarily apply to you.
Play Online Poker with Your Friends!Use this guide to set up your next home game online and play online poker with your friends for free or real money.
But if winning real money or chips is at all a priority for you, then you need to remember you don't turn a significant profit in poker by pushing tiny edges against good poker players.
You win big by playing against players who are making significant fundamental errors and giving away their money over the long term.
As the classic movie Rounders reminds us, 'If you can't spot the sucker in your first half-hour at the table, then you are the sucker.'
Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Choose the Right Games
Don't sit with the pros if you can't beat them. Selecting the right games is key to your successes in poker — one wrong move, and you are out.
Again, there's no shame in playing free poker games or in looking for the best freeroll poker tournaments to play online if that's what you need.
Final Thoughts
The divide between break-even beginner players and big-time winners is not as wide as many people think.
It is often just a few simple little adjustments you can learn over time that can carry you over to enable you to start winning at a higher clip.
A lot of it has to do with starting to view the game in a much more cold, detached, mathematical, and logical way than you presently do.
Emotional and/or superstitious poker players almost always lose or struggle to remain even.
Elite poker players, meanwhile, know they are in it for the long haul and don't get overly wrapped up in each hand or moment. They continue to make the most profitable play again and again, no matter what.
Free Beginner Poker SitesPlaying online poker for free is the best way to hone your poker skills and practice with no risk.
Nathan 'BlackRain79' Williams is the author of the popular micro stakes strategy books Crushing the Microstakes and Modern Small Stakes. He also blogs regularly about all things related to the micros over at www.blackrain79.com.
This article was originally published on Feb. 13, 2017. Last update: Oct. 12, 2020.
Tags
cash game strategytournament strategyonline poker.live pokerstarting hand selectiontiltmental gameno-limit hold'emgame selectionpremium handsrange readinghand reading