30 Ways To Raise Your Game

Things you will learn:

• Simple ways to improve your Hold'em
• How to avoid common mistakes

Whether you're a new to poker or not, it's easy to forget or overlook some of the most important aspects of the game. So here, in no particular order, are 30 tips to make sure you get the most out of every session you play.

Don't chase gutshot draws. You're unlikely to get the right pot odds and you'll rarely hit one of your four outs.

Don't overplay A-K! Sure, it's a big hand, but it's still a drawing hand.

Against a smaller pair, like 8♥ 8♣, you're an underdog. Against any two other lower cards like Q♣ J♠ you're 2/1 at best.

Don't push all-in with A-K just because someone has bet in front of you. Instead, put in a raise - and if an opponent re-raises you start to worry that you're behind.

Be patient. Learn to lay down hands, even strong ones, and wait for a better spot. Top pair/top kicker is rarely going to be the winning hand if someone has pushed all their chips in the middle.

Specialise in one game and one format before you try out others. Sit & Gos are an inexpensive, but realistic, place to learn and you can't blow your entire bankroll in a couple of hands like you can on a no-limit cash table.

Don't forget to cash-out. Building up your bankroll is all well and good but it means nothing if you don't enjoy the fruits of your labour. There's nothing like buying a Porsche, widescreen TV or even just a round of drinks with someone else's money.

Learn to deal with bad beats. Poker will send you into a mad rage from time to time (well, every few minutes) but the best players accept the fickle finger of fate and move on.

If you do go on tilt, get out quick. Turn off your PC, pop down the pub - just do whatever it takes to leave the game before you blow your entire bankroll.

Only play with an amount of money you can afford to lose. If you play above your means you'll be far too worried about busting out, which will interfere with your decision-making and screw up your natural game. Generally, if you sit down at a no-limit cash table your buy-in should represent no more than five percent of your bankroll. That way, if you lose it all, it shouldn't affect you too much.

Don't get attached to favourite hands. Just because you once flopped a straight flush with 3-5 does not make it a must-play hand. Similarly, ignore the hands the pros are famed for. Just because Doyle Brunson won two WSOP titles with 10-2 doesn't mean you have to play this junk holding.

Dump those small pairs. OK, that's not strictly true: if you're heads-up or short-stacked, play them hard. But if you're on a full table in early position the only way your 2-2 is going to win is if everyone folds or you flop a set, which at 7.5/1 requires a lot of limpers to give the correct pot odds.

Avoid slow-playing big hands. Bet your pocket kings and aces pre-flop and be wary of dragging trips post-flop. Every now and again it'll pay off and you'll decimate someone's stack, but frequently giving other players free cards can turn into a nightmare when they hit a backdoor straight or flush.

Long sessions are only good sessions if you're winning. If it's not going your way it may be because the cards aren't flipping for you but it's more likely that you're steaming. Have a break and stop smashing the 'all-in' button the moment someone raises you.

Don't power up your computer after a heavy drinking session. Having 'a quick game' can get expensive and will make your hangover even worse.

Concentrate as hard as you can on every hand. Play each one to the best of your ability and watch the table at all times, even when you're not in a hand, making mental notes on the other players and attempting to pick up any tells they have. And as tempting as it is to watch TV or catch up on your mate’s Facebook page when playing online, it's important you turn off the TV and concentre on the game.

A-10 under the gun on a 10-handed table is not a 'must-play' hand. Anyone firing back at you may have you dominated or be holding a pocket pair. But the problem is you won't know where you're at. You'd do better opening a pot with rags on the button.

Teach your friends how to play poker. The first few games can be a slightly painful process but once they're on their way you'll have a whole new group of people to play with. The level to which you want to fleece them depends on how good a mate they are.

Be honest to yourself. Keep a spreadsheet or ledger with your deposits and cashes so you know exactly how much you're up or down. Or you can pay for one if you sign up with someone like www.PokerTracker.com.

At the start of any Sit & Go or multi-table tournament, there are always a few maniacs looking to double or treble through by pushing all their chips over the line with small pairs and ace-rag. The best piece of advice we can give is to let someone else deal with them. Unless, of course, you pick up a big pair yourself - queens, kings, aces - where, if they bet into you, you have the weapons at your disposal to take them to pieces.

Of course, you don't want to be too conservative. Poker is a game of aggression so bully the bully. Isolate the hairy Neanderthal who's been swinging his chips around like a big club and slap them down with a meaty re-raise. It'll force them to put the brakes on and, like showing fire to a caveman, make them look at you with a newfound sense of respect.

You may think of yourself as an instinct player but here are a few key facts and figures you'll need on your way to WSOP glory.

• 16.5% - You'll fill your gutshot straight with two cards to come
• 54% - You'll make at least a straight after flopping an open-ended straight and flush draw
• 11.8% - Your pocket pair will flop a set
• 31.5% - You'll complete your open-ended straight post-flop
• 32.5% - You'll pair one of your cards on the flop
• 12% - Your suited cards will flop two or more of the same suit
• 9% - That someone will be dealt pocket aces or kings on a 10-handed table
• 35% - You'll make your flush after the flop with one card needed

When some ultra-aggressive maniac pushes you all-in for the third time in a row, don't call with a marginal hand just because you're annoyed. If you have enough chips to wait until you're in a better spot, fold and wait for that moment. There's no shame in folding (most of the time) when you can wait for them to do their schoolboy move again and take them to the cleaners. Alternatively, get your chips in first and beat them at their own game.

Use a little slice of your profits to play satellite tournaments. Do well in these and you could see yourself winning heaps of cash online or playing big name players in a TV event.

You need to have a basic idea of maths, including 'outs' and percentages, but it's important to make sure you know the exact figures of one hand against another by using an odds calculator.

Position is the most powerful thing in the game. Being last to act gives you lots of information and puts you in the best spot for every check, call or bet in a hand. Build the pot, take a free card or scare off the opposition with a meaty bluff. When you consider you get dealt junk far more frequently than you get dealt monsters, you're going to have to steal blinds and antes with something. If you can't rely on getting good cards and having chips, the only certainty in poker is that you'll have position every rotation of the table.

Manipulate pot sizes. Build the pots up when you're ahead and keep the pots small when you think you might be chasing.

Don't blame bad luck or other players when you bust out of a tourney. Look back at how you played key hands and identify any errors or situations where you could have profited or negated your losses.

Get into the habit of keeping notes on other players. If you play regularly on the same site you're going to run into the same players frequently. Jot down that they always check-raise the nuts - it could save you from getting busted.

If you're the first to enter a pot, always bet. Limping in is the mark of a weak player. Entering the pot aggressively puts your opponents on the back foot and makes the pot even juicier for when you do hit a big hand.

Don't give up the lead. If you bet or raised before the flop, most of the time you should bet again after the flop, regardless of whether you hit. Most of the time you'll take the pot down there and then, because the maths dictate that most players miss most flops. If you get heat, and don't think your hand is best, retreat. But if you think you're ahead and they're trying to represent the best hand, test them with a re-raise. Controlled aggression is the winner over the long-term.

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