It Depends: How to Get Better at Poker

 

It Depends: How to Get Better at Poker

By Frank DiRe 

 

Poker like life gives you back what you put into it. If you want to improve

your game, you need to do more than just play the game. Obviously if you pay attention while

playing, the more you play the more you should learn and pick up things along the way.

 

Experience is a great teacher. Experience however is not the ONLY teacher. If you want to

constantly move your game forward, you should make sure to study and discuss poker even

when you are not on the felt. A great way for players to learn is to discuss 

hand specifics with someone whose game they respect. It is often even better to discuss it with

several different knowledgeable players just to get some different views. You may be surprised

on how some very good players would have played the situation in an entirely different

manner. 

 

When discussing these hands, remember to give as much information about the hand as

possible. It’s been said many times that poker is a game of incomplete information. When

making a poker decision, we need to accurately know the available information that we DO

have. 

 

Often when asked about a situation, a player usually leaves out some very important

pieces of information. Not only is it important to know stack sizes, position and type of player

in the hand, but it can also be very relevant to explain any of several different other dynamics

that may be present. Don’t be quick to discount (what you may think are) minor details. Did

someone just lose a big pot? Did someone recently re buy (in a tournament) or reload chips (in

a cash game)? I have seen some very solid players completely lose their focus when they are

on their 2nd or 3rd tournament buy in or on a cash game. Not only do you have to adjust to that 

but you also have to try to figure out who else at the table is adjusting to that…and adjust to their adjustment. The best players are usually the ones making the best adjustments. 

 

Novice players often get frustrated when they ask me a question about a hand. They

tell me their cards and what they or their opponent bet and then ask, “What should I have

done?” My answer most of the time is, “It depends.” It depends on so many more factors. 

 

One of those factors is your history with the player. Another very important factor is how that

person views you. Does he respect you as a player? Does he play the same against you as he

plays against everyone else? Some novice players may think, “All that thinking seems like a lot

of work. I like playing poker for fun”. You can play poker for fun. There is nothing wrong with

people that want to play for fun. If you want to win money (that is my idea of fun), then you

need to put in a little work. Paying attention to everything that is going on at your table is the

first step to becoming a better and more profitable player.

 

---Frank L. DiRe

Nerdthusiast Blog Writer

Twitter: @FLD15