Getting Good At Poker

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Relax your face. Your face is the first giveaway that could cost you a game of poker. Keeping your emotions and reactions in check regarding hands dealt to you is a key part of poker. How long does it take to get good at poker? Well it depends on what stakes you are talking about beating, your dedication to playing and improving and a whole host of other factors. But in general the learning curve gets steeper the higher you move up. You can have a good indication how likely you are to improve your hand by simply multiplying your outs by 2 if want to know an approximate probability of hitting your hand on next street or multiplying by 4 if you are looking for the number how likely you are going to improve your hand from flop to the river.

Good Poker Habits

In addition to learning poker strategy, gaining experience and developing as a player, there are some good poker habits to get into. They will increase your hourly win rate and ROI. This article will detail 7 good poker habits to take your overall game further.

Rest Well

Poker is a mentally tough game that can take its toll on you. Ask any tournament player at the end of a tournament day. They’re shattered. Getting plenty of sleep is necessary in order to ensure you’re mentally sharp so you can make good decisions. Playing tired will increase chances of mistakes, tilt and ultimately cost you money.

Track and Monitor Results

Many poker players just play. They don’t actually record keep or monitor performance one month to the next. I was like this at the very beginning. Whilst this mentality doesn’t impact your actual technical game, it is still a good poker habit to get into. You should be able to compare month on month and year on year so you can gauge progress. If you are winning less than 12 months ago, then you can look at reasons why and tackle the problem.

Tracking your results is a must for anyone playing reasonable volume. Check out my poker excel spreadsheet article. It shows how you can use spreadsheets to track results. We also offer monthly reporting as a standalone product if you’re interested.

Hand History Reviews

Most online professionals don’t sit on their winning game and assume they’re the best. They continuously review and think about their game, looking for ways to better themselves.

A hand history review is where you download hands or record a session and watch it back. It’s a great tool for improving as you see things after that didn’t come to you in real time. Perhaps you incorrectly calculated pot odds or didn’t pay attention to the flop bet from your opponent. This portion is not meant to be a plug for our hand history review service, but feel free to check it out if you are interested in discussing and reviewing hands you’ve played with Texas Hold’em Questions.

Most of the players I perform hand history reviews with record hands from a session and upload. I then watch and narrate, pause and give advice and insights to help. Check out our hand history review page for more information.

Understand Odds Better

Drill down into it and poker is a game of numbers, maths, probability and odds. You need to familiarise yourself with the odds so much that they become intuitive. There are different types of odds you need to learn (pre-flop showdowns, calculating outs and pot odds). They are all important and will help your long term ROI.

If you are interested in other forms of gambling, you should already be familiar with odds. These skills are transferable to poker. You can bone on up these skills at the most reliable and trustworthy sports betting sites according to SportsBookAudit.com.

Take Notes on Opponents

Taking notes on poker opponents is a must. We recently wrote an article dedicated to this topic. It helps you make better decisions and will undoubtedly increase your ROI. Without notes, you are playing only on memory and it’s almost like playing a stranger. With notes, you have more of an idea of how that player plays. I tend to colour tag players based on what I see. It’s a simple and effective way to categorise players. Obviously, you must be open to amending their notes as you know more.

Take Your Time Over Decisions

Online poker is very fast paced and it’s easy to play quickly. This is a blessing and a curse. Yes, you want to see more hands and earn more money, but sometimes it’s better to stop for a moment and think. When you act fast, you may miss the trees from the woods and make mistakes. If you take your time, you are more likely to give proper consideration to the situation and make the correct decision. This is an important skill to develop and a great poker habit to get into.

Think Ahead

You can distinguish the great chess players by how far ahead they can accurately predict their opponents moves. This foresight and forward thinking skill can be transferred to poker. One should already be planning ahead for the hand. For instance, you may lead out with Qs 9s on a Kd Qd 8c with intention of folding to raise on flop, betting again on a non diamond turn and giving up on diamonds or Ax turns. Notice the line of thinking. You already have a plan for most reactions from your opponent.

Already considering the next play is a great poker habit as it means you are prepared. You won’t be taking aback and will have a good idea of what to do next. This skill can really help your game.

Vivian Saliba

Being a successful poker player requires much more than learning strategy and establishing a solid theoretical base. Once you have studied the game and reached a good skill level, you will still need to work more than others — especially others who are good poker players, too — to develop an edge and be able to crush them.

Some of the habits you should have go much further than the poker tables. It is essential to have a balanced life and mind in order to achieve your goals as a poker player.

Getting Good At Poker

Here are some of my recommendations to those wanting to go further than just to learn the technical aspects of winning strategy — 14 tips to becoming a better poker player.

1. Eat a healthy diet

Eating a healthy diet before and during your poker sessions will help with your focus and your performance. Heavy food may make you feel tired and distracted. Choose options that are lighter and better for you.

2. Sleep well

A lack of sleep can cause irritation, increase your chances of being distracted, and generally disrupt your thinking.

3. Work out

Besides being a healthy habit to have, working out regularly will help you sleep better, enable you to have better control over your moods and emotions, and ensure you feel fresh during a long poker session.

4. Practice yoga or meditation

To be able to control your emotions during a poker game, you must have a well-trained mind. Yoga and/or meditation might help you to become 'tiltless' — or at least to be able to avoid tilt on a more frequent basis.

5. Take breaks

You should always take breaks during your sessions. Walk a little bit, stretch, drink water, and clear your mind. Your focus and performance when you return to the table will improve.

Getting

6. Avoid alcohol

Your thinking process will be hightly affected if you play hungover or drunk.

7. Stay off your phone

Staying glued to your phone during a session means that you are not paying attention to details such as potential tells and other information available to you as hands are playing out. Every bit of information you can gather about your opponents is valuable and will help you to make profitable decisions.

8. Review your session

Take time after you play to work on your leaks. The best way do to it is to make notes regarding any doubtful moments that come up during your session and review those decisions later.

9. Table selection

You should be thoughtful when selecting the tables before you take a seat. Don't just jump into a game without at least taking a look at who you're playing against, and try to avoid joining games in which you are going to be without too much of an edge.

10. Take a day off

The human brain is not a machine. You can't just turn it on and leave it running endlessly without fatigue setting in. Playing more does not necessarily translate to profiting more. Give yourself some free time to have fun away from the tables. That will keep you motivated and playing well when you return to the games.

11. Practice smart bankroll managment

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You must play according to your bankroll limits. It is very difficult to make the best decisions in a given hand or session when you are worrying about the possibility of busting your bankroll.

12. Don't chase losses

Getting Good At Poker Tournaments

On a related note, if you are feeling 'stuck,' remember that only means you've lost a few hands. That's all. Don't think too much about being 'down' in a given session, which really is just an arbitrary way of keeping track of hands played.

The only 'session' that really matters is your lifetime session, the one that started a long time ago and will be continuing tomorrow. You shouldn't be trying to reach some 'peak' with your profit, or to get even or play a certain number of hands before leaving. Don't stay in bad games, and don't stay if you aren't playing your A-game, either.

13. Keep a strong mindset

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How often do you think you are unlucky or that things are unfair? Don't be results oriented. A strong mindset will help you keep looking forward and be less stressed.

14. Be mindful of your table presence

You don't want to be seen as the 'reg' with whom nobody wants to play, not even the 'fishes.' Learn to talk to people and socialize. Don't come to the table all wrapped up in a cocoon like the typical poker player wearing a hat, sunglasses, scarf, and headphones. Strike a balance between being friendly at the table but still paying attention and not giving away information.

How To Get Really Good At Poker

I am sure if you follow some or all of those tips, your performance will improve a lot at the tables. Keep crushing and good luck!

Good Poker Face

Primarily an online player, 888poker Ambassador Vivian 'Vivi' Saliba has recently collected numerous live cashes including making the money in both the 2017 WSOP Main Event and 2017 WSOP Europe Main Event. Pot-limit Omaha is her favorite variant, and among her many PLO scores is an 11th place in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship at the 2017 WSOP.

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