Bluff Sensibly, not Recklessly

Bluffing is the most exciting of all Poker strategies. It is an audacious move, when done rightly. Otherwise, it can turn out to be an extremely stupid tactic. You need to attain absolute perfection with this art if you are looking to use this to gain an edge over your opponents. If you never got caught bluffing, it is almost certain that you have never bluffed. It is always good to get caught bluffing once in a while. However, bluffing too often can lead to worthless bankroll swings.

A player, who plays two hands and wins one and loses the other, will most certainly be on a lower psychological level than a person who has played neither hand. Losing money is definitely as unpleasant, if not more, as winning the same amount of money is pleasant. A $20/40 player who loses $1000 in a single day will surely be more annoyed compared to his feeling of happiness when he wins $1000 in a day. It is a natural tendency among players to try to ‘get even’ if they are losing four or five bets. They might even risk all their winnings to get those five bets. On the other hand, if they are winning five bets, then winning another five bets would not make much of a difference to them. It is quite strange to see how people have different perspectives for two things of equal value.

Before you decide to bluff, you must take into consideration the psychological effect that might be caused by the bluff. Bluffing can be a dangerous move and if you can’t handle loss sensibly, it is better not to bluff at all. There is hardly any doubt about the fact that bluffing is a good tactic. However, going overboard with your bluffing is definitely not good. A person who bluffs actually tries to compensate for the lack of objective assets of his cards with his boldness.

When your bluffs earn you money, it is good. When you realize that you are not getting anywhere by doing it, there is no way people are going to appreciate you for your audacity. Reckless or foolish bluffing is a strict no-no. Do not do it because you enjoy doing it. Do it as an effort to increase your chances of winning.

Bluffing is a good tactic as long as you do it well. Bluffing can win you games. At the same time, you are risking losing the game. So bluff sensibly.

Avoiding Poker Tilt

Poker is a high stakes game – there’s no doubt about that. However, when you allow yourself to be caught up in the rush of emotions of bluffs and bad calls, you’re playing with what’s called a tilt.  Maintaining a calm, cool composure when you’re playing poker can be difficult, but it’s this rational thought that will allow you succeed when other players falter.

So what’s the problem with being on tilt?  After all, isn’t a little passion and excitement what makes the game of poker so much fun? Well, succeeding at poker requires calculated risk and clear thinking, and you can’t do that if you’re on edge. Think about the last time you got into a fight with a friend or family member. Did you say things you didn’t mean to, or things that you wish you could have taken back after the argument is over? In fact, some scientists have estimated that your IQ drops as much as 10 points when you’re agitated or upset – and this can definitely have a negative impact on your poker game.

The following are some instances when you might experience tilt during a poker game:

• if you’ve lost a few hands in a row – especially if you’ve lost due to mistakes you’ve made.  It’s natural to get upset after losing repeatedly, so try to remember that even the best poker players have bad days. If you let yourself get upset over a few bad hands, you’ll fall deeper and deeper into a tilted state of mind, making it less likely that you’ll be able to recover your composure and get back on track.

• if you’ve lost more money than you intended to - let’s face it – we all go into poker games expecting to wind up the triumphant player with towering stacks of chips.  But if you’ve dropped a few hands, you could be out quite a bit of cash or even your entire bankroll.  If you find yourself in this situation, leave the game immediately – don’t throw more cash at a bad situation.  You won’t be able to make good decisions, so the odds of recovering the money you’ve lost are pretty bad.

• if you find yourself getting frustrated with one player in particular - if you’ve ever played against someone on a lucky streak, you know how irritating this can be. It’s tough to watch someone else get all the good hands, and even more painful when that player seems to be immune to your bluffs. If you find yourself singling out another player as your nemesis, take a step back from the situation. If you’re able to bring your focus back to the game as a whole, that’s great.  But if not, it may be time to call it quits for the day.

Of course, tilt isn’t always so clear-cut. You might notice an increase in your blood pressure or in your frustration level after just one off hand or after a single bluff of yours is called. Or it could be that you’ve had a stressful day at work and you’re letting your feelings bleed over into your poker game. Try to remember how you feel when you’re playing at your best – you’re cool, calm and in control of the game. Work on getting back to this rational state of mind when you’re on tilt and you’ll be well on your way to winning at the game of poker.

Positional advantage in different poker games

A lot of players underestimate the value of position in Poker. Positional advantage is an important factor that helps you win games.

In Texas Hold’em, the value of position is quite obvious. As a player, you want your opponents to decide before you, so that you can have the final say. In Hold’em, no player has an absolute advantage over the rest. The decisions you take are based on any little advantage that you get to outplay others to win the pot. Although a superior position by itself can’t help you win a game, it can certainly help you make better bets. It is the familiarity of the situation that gives you the edge over your opponents.

Position in Texas Hold’em is a simple concept. If there are two players in a pot, you would want to be the last. You always have a positional advantage when you are seated first or second behind a maniac, or in front of him. All good players have the tendency of playing more hands in the late position and far less hands when they are in an early position.

Position in Seven Card Stud and Stud High-Low is different from Hold’em. Here, positional advantage tends to vary. The highest board showing acts first, starting from fourth street. Hence, if a king high bets first on fourth street, another player with an ace or pairs deuces might act first on fifth street. You might still have an advantage over the player to your immediate right. However, positional considerations in stud games are not as simplistic as in Hold’em. Some hands are more playable if you are not the high hand, while representing a hand is a lot more important when you act first. Certain hands can be played more aggressively if another player shows a king or ace, which means they are more likely to be forced to act first all through the hand.

The greatest difference in positional advantage is between Omaha Hi-Lo and Hold'em. If you are seated last you have some general advantages, but there are certain disadvantages too. For example, if you are bluffing from the last position, you are committing suicide against good players. You just cannot bluff when you are in the last position. Middle position is the most important bluffing position in Omaha, but it is rarely advantageous in Hold'em.

Positional advantage is a key skill that Hold’em players need to develop when they are looking to move to other games. Position offers you significant advantages in a game, so do not trivialize it.