Asian Accomodations

There’s an old saying which will help you learn how to win at poker: “It’s better to travel hopefully than to arrive.”

This advice is all very well if you’re some kind of philospher, but really useless when you’re considering your poker career.

Sure, some hope is always needed. When you’re all-in with 55 against KK, you hope to hit a 5. That doesn’t make it mathematically more likely. If you regularly find yourself on the wrong end of such hope-against-hope situations, it’s time to consider a change of attitude. Being able to alter your worldview is the first step on the path to learning how to win at poker.

Church of Texas Holdem Psalm #1:
Hope is a weaker force than experience teaches us it should be.

Or, in other words, don’t keep praying to the poker gods for things to get better. Painful experience should teach you that your game won’t improve unless you seek to improve things actively.

So, if you find yourself making regular pleas for divine intervention, what can you do to make things easier? You can begin by eliminating just five classic ‘trap’ hands from your starting hands when a pot is raised: KJ QJ AT KT QT

Suited or not. (Sometimes you should play these hands. Never say never, especially in tournament play when the blinds get big. But for now, humour me; and if you play cash games, make a note right now to eliminate these hands in raised pots.)

Why do I advise you to junk these high-card hands? Simply because, against the average raiser, you will more often than not be dominated by his hand.

Ironically, learning how to win at poker is often about learning how to play less often. You don’t need to contest every pot to be a winning player. Ask yourself: “What’s the minimum hand I would raise with?” The answer should most definitely not be one of the hands mentioned above!

Let’s take KJ to illustrate. You call a raise and the flop is: J62

Are you winning? Does the raiser have an overpair, or AJ? Finding out is likely to be expensive. And even if he doesn’t, think of the potential cards on the turn or river that could make you throw your hand away. An A or Q would probably kill your hand. By then, you might be so pot-committed that you’re calling your way out of the tournament, or into your bankroll for another buy-in.

There are a million ways to improve your poker returns. One of the easiest is to not play cards that can get you into deep trouble, but at the same time convince you that you’re winning when you flop a piece of them.

The best advice to learn how to win at poker is, learn how not to lose!

Here endeth the lesson.