Poker Strategy

Poker strategy is all about the art of deception, the better you are at convincing your opponents you have a strong hand, the greater your chances of winning! There are several methods of misleading plays which we have briefly touched on in this section such as Bluffs, Tells and Slowplaying.

It’s important to be unpredictable with your style of play, as opponents will notice if you make the same moves repeatedly. With this advice in mind practice your deception skills as often as possible and your confidence will soar. As your poker strategy skills improve you might want to learn more about these invaluable tools.

Bluffing

Bluffing can be a very effective tool in poker. However, mastering the art of bluffing can take a lot of time and practice. A bluff is a bet or raise when you have little chance of winning the pot if called. The only way you will win is if your opponent folds.

Semi-Bluffing

A semi-bluff is a bet made when you have more cards to be dealt, and although you don’t have a good hand now, with the next round you could have a strong hand.

Tells

A tell is any habit, behaviour, emotion, or physical reaction, that gives other players information about the strength of your hand. While attempting to conceal the strength of your hand it is important to watch the other players for clues to their hand. Tells exist in both live and online poker games. Here is a list of some common ones to watch out for.

• If a player stares at his cards for longer than usual this could mean he has been given a good hand.
• Facial expression and body posture can indicate how confident a player is feeling about the game he is playing.
• Trembling hands could mean a player is nervous. However, this can also mean he is bluffing and that he may have a very strong hand.
• Neatly stacked chips usually imply that a player is conservative with their betting, while sloppy chip stacks are more typically loose aggressive players.
• A player who is bluffing may exhibit signs of anxiety such as flexing of muscles, dilated pupils and increased heart rate.

• The speed of play can be a good tell. Typically a quick bet is a sign of weakness and a delayed action is a sign of strength.
• Over the course of several games you can determine the strength of a players overall game. If he folds a lot of cards, beware. If he stays in almost every pot, you have a good chance of beating him if you play good cards.
• A slow approach to the auto buttons lets a player slip into a set pattern of play. Any breaks in this pattern are clear tells.

Slowplaying

Slowplaying is a strategy used to deceive your opponents into thinking that you have a weaker hand than you actually have. By initially playing your hand weak, you are giving confidence to your opponents that they may have the stronger hand. This will encourage your opponents to bet more, producing a much larger pot for you to win.