Play Tight
Playing tight or conservatively is an important aspect of poker. It trains you in maintaining patience at the time when cards do not fall in your favor. If you do not hold a strong hand or picture cards, you should fold it. If the cards that fall on the board during flop does not match your hole cards, then fold the hand. You should not play those hands in which odds are in your favor.
Get Caught Bluffing
While playing poker, it is good to be caught bluffing at times. If your opponents get to know about your bluff, they will tend to call your bets in future. And, if you choose to play and show only your strong cards, then your opponents will either bet less or fold their hands.
Avoid Bluffing a Group
Bluffing is an integral part of poker. It works effectively only when you are playing heads-up game, thus you should avoid raising if holding a weak hand and if there are more than two opponents in the pot.
Use a Check-Raise to Keep Your Opponents Guessing
It is good to bet when you are dealt good hands but it is not good to get predictable. Hence, you should follow a check-raise play sometimes in between the games in order to make your game unpredictable and keep your opponents in doubt about the cards you are holding.
Fold Low Pocket Pairs
Pocket Pairs are the best hands to hold in poker but this applies only to high or medium pocket pairs. If you hold a low pocket pair, it is always advisable to fold the hands, i.e, you should not call the blinds just to see the flop. If you have a strong bankroll, only then you should wait to see the flop.
Never Treat Chips as Money
In poker, you buy chips for money, and chips are the game pieces to play the game. So, treat them as chips and not money. Treating poker chips as money will affect your playing style and game decisions. Therefore, you should only concentrate on winning chips and not money.
Don't Bet to 'See It'
Don't keep calling bets with a dead hand just because you want to see what the other person is holding; if you don't think you can win a hand then stop betting. Instead of buying information, save your chips for another hand where you can take down the pot.
Stay Away from Hard Drinks
If you are playing poker in a casino or on your laptop sitting at home, stay away from beers and cocktails. If you plan to have a drink, keep to your limits and don’t over-indulge. Hard drinking can affect your poker game play and you may end up losing more than winning.
Don't Get Personal
Poker is a game and treat it like a game. If at anytime your opponent gets lucky on the river and takes away you pot, just overcome it. Never think of taking revenge or taking your money back from that opponent, as this will push you to make bad moves and lose more money to them.
Have Fun
Poker is a game and you should enjoy playing it. Though you are playing poker to make and earn money, people who enjoy playing it tend to be better players. Playing poker with fun keeps you motivated all the time and also, helps in controlling tilt.
