Strategy, strategy, strategy — that’s all we seem to talk about lately. However, if your poker resolution right now is to make more money, then it really does need to be all about strategy. You really do need to make sure that you’re really thinking about the type of strategy you employ at the poker tables. While some of you believe in just playing with your gut, it’s statistically unfavorable for you to do that. You’ll end up making bad calls and getting frustrated when you can’t seem to figure out just how to get those winnings that you want so badly. Not even rakeback can reclaim a bad strategy gone even worse, so you will need to make sure that you’re starting from the very beginning with smart strategy. The last thing that you really want to do is end up not being able to really get things taken care of because you’re so scared to make the right calls.
When you’re sitting down at a poker table, you might stop and think about the type of playing style that you want. While you might think that playing tight is always your best answer, all it really does is allow players to categorize you and then work their strategy around your game play. This is one of the more advanced topics to pull off, but people really can do it with the right amount of assistance. You have to really stop and make sure that you’re going to be able to have a profitable run in poker, and you can’t get profitability if you’re not thinking about your poker games from every angle.
The opposite of tight play is loose play, but when most people talk about loose players, they’re talking about people that just jump into any hand. You can play a lot of hands and still not wander too far away from your tight roots. The name of the game here is to throw off your opponents by mixing up your style. The last thing that you really want to do is end up being unable to make any big move son the table because everyone already knows you’ve got a monster hand — which is why they’re folding. The only pots they leave you are these weak and wimpy pots that aren’t going to do you any good — and they’re certainly not going to make you rich by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just a matter of looking at the big picture and acting accordingly — what would you rather have, consistency or failure?
If you really want to pull off smart loose play, you will need to make sure that your starting hands really do have a chance. Trying to play 7-2 off suited is only going to be a recipe for failure — it doesn’t matter that some big poker player before you won with that hand. It’s just not going to work well for you so you will want to make sure that you still employ common poker playing sense.
There’s nothing wrong with making sure that you will be able to dominate the poker board in a few different ways. Mixing up your play is the best way to go, but we do have to bring back our old friend the psychological battlefield.
Poker is also a game of the mind and when it come sot this arena, you will need to consider that other people are watching you in ways you might not expect. Ever felt it strange that your opponent seems to always know when to fold just when you get a little paint in your hand? You might chalk it up to chance, but chances are equally good that you’re silently tipping them off. Make sure that even when you decide to play online games that you’re not giving off tells through your actions. Players remember patterns — at least advanced players do!
Overall, a loose game doesn’t have to be something that you play all the time — you don’t want to turn into a calling station or anything crazy like that. However, with the right circumstances, going a little loose-aggressive can really up your poker winnings over time!