Everyone who strives to get better at poker knows the drill: you read a poker guide and practice for hours on end until you master your craft. But what if we told you there is an even better way to get better at playing poker?
If you truly want to learn the ins and outs of the game, you should go straight to the source and learn some poker tips from the best players in the world. To help you on your journey, we've gathered some words of wisdom from the top poker pros out there, so stay tuned and find out how to win at poker!
3 Poker Tips from Past Winners to Future Pros
So, what can we learn from the best poker players out there about online poker strategies?
In his master class, Daniel Negreanu explains that playing online poker requires a different strategy than participating in live events. For the most part, you can't see your opponents, so you can't get a read on them and use their body language against them. However, you can look for timing tells.
If a player, who usually takes a few seconds to make a decision, suddenly makes an instant call – file that information away. He might be overexcited because he is bluffing, or he might just be that confident about the strength of his hand. Either way, when a player acts out of character, note his behavior and find out whether you can use this information later on.
Maria Ho also had a lot to say about poker strategies over the years. In an interview about low buy-in, big field poker tournaments, she gives an important tip: don't be afraid of the bubble! When people reach this critical point in a tournament, they are often too afraid of striking out at the last minute, thus playing way too carefully.
If you manage to keep a calm and fearless attitude, you might be able to win a lot of chips without much risk. Since your opponents might be unwilling to take risks at this point of the game, they probably will play only a handful of hands they feel confident about. Try to raise whenever possible to squeeze more chips out of weaker players who are afraid to take a chance, which can help you accumulate chips at this critical moment.
And last but not least, let's take a look at what poker legend Phil Galfond has to say. In an interview, he said that while you must change your strategy depending on the situation, in general, small bets are an important part of an optimal poker strategy, especially when out of position. For a while, big bets were all the rage, as this trend seemed to work its magic and scare people into folding rather quickly. But while big bets can be effective, they aren't necessarily the best move if you want to grow the pot. If you place a small bet and convince your opponent to do the same, you can hit him with a big raise, making him fold only after adding more chips to the pot.
Are You Ready to Master the Art of Poker?
Do you find those poker tips useful? Learning new tricks from experienced players is the best way to find out which poker strategies actually work in the real world and which should remain a theory. So, if you are ready to take your poker skills to the next level, learn from the best!