Many people see poker as just a game of chance and a good way to blow off some steam. But for many, it’s a very viable way to make money—one that takes a lot of skill. If you fall into the latter category, consider following the below tips for more success.
Always, always, always manage your bankroll. All winning players start there. Whenever you leave a winning session, take a tenth of what you walked away with and use that for your next buy in. Keep the rest so you’ll always have a shirt on your back.
If you’re going to approach poker like a game of skill then you’re going to need to learn the skills that are involved. One of the main ones is being able to quickly size up the risk involved with any given hand. This is easy to do if you apply flash cards in your spare time.
However, objective analysis of the cards in play is just the half of it. You need to always be scanning the table and making mental notes of who does what. Combine these last two skills and you’ll go a long way in seeing results.
You also have to take time to learn how to bet. This means more than just looking at your statistical advantage. It means knowing how to leverage each bet to affect the outcome of the hand. Larger bets may intimidate some players enough that you can steal a pot. For other players, you’ll want to limp in and wear them out.