Poker Strategies the Pros Use
When it comes to poker, there is more than one way to skin a cat. There are many different strategies you can use in many different situations. A good poker player learns to identify these situations and adjust his strategy accordingly. This is the secret to becoming a pro poker player. Playing one strategy or doing things a certain way may work one time at one table against certain players, and it may be disastrous against others.
First of all, every likes to play aggressively. Raise, raise, raise. This will work in many No Limit Holdem games. However, you will have to scale back if you are playing Limit Holdem for example. What I think works and what many pros do is take that aggression and use it selectively. In other words, the old 'start and stop' tactic. Play very aggressively until someone shuts you down. Then back off the accelerator until you have a chance to step on it again. Here is what I mean:
Let's say you make a pre-flop raise of 4x the big blind and get a call from the button. The flop is of no help. An aggressive player bets here. You get a call from the button. The turn gives you a middle pair, so you bet again and you get a call from the button. At this point, many amateurs will keep betting and really finish putting the nails in their own coffin. But, the pro will probably back off. The button player has proven that he has something and is sticking with you. Do not keep trying to pound a square peg in a round hole here. Back off and learn to fight another day.
Small ball. You here that term in poker a lot and it originated with Daniel Negreanu. This is another strategy employed by a lot of pros, especially in tournament play. All it entails is playing for small pots and not becoming entangled in large ones. In other words, if you raise with pocket Q's pre-flop and someone re-raises you all in, you are folding. You do not become involved in anything that could cost you too many chips at one time.
Your bets are also meant to keep the pots small. Instead of making huge raises to try and scare someone off, you scale it back just in case they have something. Instead of raising when you 'think' you have the best hand, you just call in case your opponent hit a monster.
This is the essence of small ball. Combine it with playing aggressively and you will take down a lot of smaller pots without putting your entire chip stack at risk. This is a tough strategy to master, but one that has worked well for countless pros to win a lot of money at the poker table. Just watch footage of the WSOP and you will see it in action.
When it comes to poker, there is more than one way to skin a cat. There are many different strategies you can use in many different situations. A good poker player learns to identify these situations and adjust his strategy accordingly. This is the secret to becoming a pro poker player. Playing one strategy or doing things a certain way may work one time at one table against certain players, and it may be disastrous against others.
First of all, every likes to play aggressively. Raise, raise, raise. This will work in many No Limit Holdem games. However, you will have to scale back if you are playing Limit Holdem for example. What I think works and what many pros do is take that aggression and use it selectively. In other words, the old 'start and stop' tactic. Play very aggressively until someone shuts you down. Then back off the accelerator until you have a chance to step on it again. Here is what I mean:
Let's say you make a pre-flop raise of 4x the big blind and get a call from the button. The flop is of no help. An aggressive player bets here. You get a call from the button. The turn gives you a middle pair, so you bet again and you get a call from the button. At this point, many amateurs will keep betting and really finish putting the nails in their own coffin. But, the pro will probably back off. The button player has proven that he has something and is sticking with you. Do not keep trying to pound a square peg in a round hole here. Back off and learn to fight another day.
Small ball. You here that term in poker a lot and it originated with Daniel Negreanu. This is another strategy employed by a lot of pros, especially in tournament play. All it entails is playing for small pots and not becoming entangled in large ones. In other words, if you raise with pocket Q's pre-flop and someone re-raises you all in, you are folding. You do not become involved in anything that could cost you too many chips at one time.
Your bets are also meant to keep the pots small. Instead of making huge raises to try and scare someone off, you scale it back just in case they have something. Instead of raising when you 'think' you have the best hand, you just call in case your opponent hit a monster.
This is the essence of small ball. Combine it with playing aggressively and you will take down a lot of smaller pots without putting your entire chip stack at risk. This is a tough strategy to master, but one that has worked well for countless pros to win a lot of money at the poker table. Just watch footage of the WSOP and you will see it in action.
