{"id":2349,"date":"2017-06-28T15:38:06","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T15:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beatingbetting.co.uk\/?p=2349"},"modified":"2022-04-07T12:26:45","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T12:26:45","slug":"win-at-poker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beatingbetting.co.uk\/poker\/win-at-poker\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Win at Poker: Become a Winning Poker Player Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s no surprise that you want to learn how to win at poker.<\/span><\/p>\n

Poker is a great game – it\u2019s fun to watch, read about, study and most fun to play. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s with friends casually or for serious money almost everybody has played a few hands in their lifetime and realised the excitement of poker. <\/span><\/p>\n

Stu Ungar, three-time winner of the World Series of Poker, once said \u201cshow me a good<\/em> loser, and I\u2019ll show you a loser<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

There comes a point for everyone where you want to turn a corner, take it more seriously and become a winning<\/em> poker player.<\/span><\/p>\n

There’s a big difference between winning once or twice and winning consistently for a long period of time.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s different motivations for everyone, some people just want to make money and others want to prove they\u2019re the best. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever the driving force is you\u2019ve made the conscious decision to get better. It\u2019s time for you to learn how to win at poker.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no quick trick to winning at poker, in fact it can be a long hard road. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most of this takes place behind the scenes and the strongest players make it look easy. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about learning directly through playing the game…<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about mindset, work ethic and being able to implement knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have history of winning at poker, both directly:<\/p>\n

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A small winning result from me (Luke) generated from a free satellite seat.<\/p><\/div>\n

…and indirectly; some of our closest friends have live cashes that total over $800,000 (source: The Hendon Mob<\/a>).<\/p>\n

So, using the knowledge we’ve acquired through years of playing and research, let\u2019s take a look at the most important elements to becoming a winner:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Key Skills You Need for Poker<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cI think the three most important areas of intelligence in regards to poker are logic, probability, psychology. They actually are pretty close in order of importance, and change depending on game structure.\u201d – Phil Galfond<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding the rules and basic poker strategy is just the first step, to make money you\u2019ll need to develop some specific skills and develop yourself as a person too. <\/span><\/p>\n

Turn your attention to the topics outlined here and you\u2019ll see the changes in your game instantly:<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding Poker Mathematics<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Like it or not, poker does<\/em> come down to maths. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot more to it than we discuss here, but you do need to understand at least the basics. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s pot and stack ratios, equities, EV and so on and you have to know what each of these mean and how to use this knowledge effectively. <\/span><\/p>\n

But don\u2019t worry… <\/span><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t<\/strong> need a maths degree. <\/span><\/p>\n

Have a look around the forums, any training sites or any poker material around and you\u2019ll get a crash course. Use everything you learn to determine what your opponents are doing and what you should be doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bankroll Management<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

So many times we hear of poker pros going broke that we assumed had millions in the bank. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately they\u2019ve fallen at the first hurdle and variance has chewed them up and spat them back out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just because someone wins $1,000,000, it doesn’t mean that’s how much profit they have. Far from it.<\/p>\n

Chances are, they already owe people money via ‘make up’, they will owe people percentages through ‘selling action’ (which is a great way to reduce risk and variance) and of course they will have lost money in tournaments prior to the win.<\/p>\n

You have to know what your bankroll is and what you can afford to play. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019re the best player in the world, you risk going busto<\/em> if you don\u2019t abide by the golden rules. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most commonly people advise having 50-100 buy-ins (with 100 big blinds per buy-in) for cash games and only spend 1% of your bankroll on a single tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

This means if you’re playing stakes of $1\/$2, you should theoretically have a bankroll of $20,000. Yeah, tougher than you thought, right?<\/p>\n

These are the levels of funds you need if you want to be a winning player.<\/p>\n

If you can’t afford that level of investment right now then you need to lower the stakes and grind your way up.<\/p>\n

For more information about when to move up and down in stakes then look at the Kelly criterion<\/a> which gives a useful breakdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Game Selection<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Choosing the right style or format of game is crucial for winning players. <\/span><\/p>\n

You have to work out what you\u2019re best suited for, or most comfortable playing. <\/span><\/p>\n

The main choice tends to be between cash games or tournaments, but you could look into playing pot limit Omaha or another variety of poker. <\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s true the best players in the world are generally multi talented, you really are best off focusing on one type at first and getting as good as possible in that format.<\/span><\/p>\n

Game selection does not just mean the actual game you’re playing (i.e. Hold’Em, Omaha etc.), it also means deciding which tables are profitable for you or not. <\/span><\/p>\n

For cash game players you can scout out the table before hand and see who\u2019s there. <\/span><\/p>\n

If it\u2019s 5 pros you might want to avoid it, however if there\u2019s some recreational players you\u2019re likely to see some good results. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get dragged into proving yourself by butting heads with top players as it\u2019s not likely to end very well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing Emotions, Ego & Avoiding ‘Tilting’<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

The true greats of the game are calm and composed under pressure. <\/span><\/p>\n

Poker is a pressure game. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s stress if you win, stress if you lose and your body responds in certain ways. <\/span><\/p>\n

In order to win, you have to try and put aside these emotional states and think rationally and logically. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t able to stay in control you\u2019re likely to tilt and spew off<\/em> chips to opponents. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ego has been the downfall of many good players and is often the root cause of tilt. <\/span><\/p>\n

Losing pots you should have won can be very annoying, especially if you\u2019re stuck in the session. <\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of top pros use yoga or exercise to stay balanced and calm, but the first step is accepting the variance of poker<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even the best in the world lose sometimes, it’s essential you stick to the long term thinking!<\/span><\/p>\n

Losing with aces all-in pre-flop is never a nice feeling, but it’s important you remember that if you got all the money in with the best hand at the time then you made the right – i.e. most profitable – play (with very, very few exceptions, but let’s not confuse things in this post).<\/p>\n

Ego can harm players in other ways too: <\/span><\/p>\n

You have to stay hungry to learn and stay humble. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you think you\u2019re the best you\u2019ll stop the hard work and education side. There\u2019s no quicker way to become mediocre and lose your edge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Researching Hands & Education<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Top players are smart cookies. <\/span><\/p>\n

They know more about hand ranges, equities, EV and everything poker than ever before. <\/span><\/p>\n

Top level poker is super competitive so you really have to be working hard. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully there is more information than ever before readily available. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s training sites and free content. <\/span><\/p>\n

Forums can be particularly useful for solving issues in your game.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are plenty of great YouTube channels out there too, that will walk you through hand histories that allows you to pick up new information free of charge.<\/p>\n

The best poker YouTube channels include:<\/p>\n