Tips on How to Win Money Playing Poker
It is the Holy Grail for every poker player on the planet; being able to make enough money to give up your job and play poker online. Whilst that’s only ever a reality for a small percentage of players, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still make decent money from playing cards.
In fact, there has been no better time to turn a poker profit with land-based casinos in almost every town and great online poker sites available at the tips of your fingers. Availability might be you one thing, but how do you take advantage and actually start turning a profit?
Well, luckily for you we have put together a great guide full of tips and tricks designed to help you maximize your poker profits.
Educate Yourself
Poker is a game of skill, not one of chance and blind luck. That’s why the World Series of Poker is dominated by men and women who take poker seriously and treat it as a job. They put in the work and then reap the rewards, and you can do the exact same; all it takes is discipline and diligence.
What is the first thing you would do if you wanted to improve at anything? Research it. Which is what you should be doing with poker to make yourself into a better player. Treat it like a subject at school and research the heck out of it.
There is no element of poker that hasn’t been written about so start out by reading some of the best books on the game. The following three will give you a good, solid footing:
Applications of No-Limit Hold ‘em: A guide to understanding theoretically sound poker Matthew Janda
The Mental Game of Poker Barry Carter
Super System Mike Caro
Eat, Sleep & Breath Poker
Malcom Gladwell once said that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become world-class at anything. Whilst that statement has been rubbished by many scholars, the premise of the idea still remains the same; practice makes perfect. Whether it’s learning a new job like online proofreading or learning a new hobby.
If you want to become better at poker you need to practice playing it and spend as much of your time as possible thinking about it. World-famous comedian Steve Martin said that when he was starting out in a comedy stand, he spent every second of every day either thinking about jokes or telling them.
That dedication helped him to the top. A similar level of dedication to poker will do absolute wonders to your bank balance. Don’t go over the top though and play high-stakes cash games every day of the week.
Utilize free poker apps to spend your time practicing out tactics that you have researched and thought about.
(If you really want to get better at poker it could be worth investing in a Masterclass subscription to learn from Daniel Negreanu.)
Eliminate Alcohol
Tom Brady didn’t watch online videos of his highlight reels on YouTube before the American Football 2021 Super Bowl. Michael Jordan didn’t prepare for Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals with Old Fashioned or other bourbon recipes. Nor did Fabio Grosso sink a cocktail before his 2006 World Cup-winning penalty.
Why? Because alcohol plays absolutely no part in performing to your very best. Just because you play poker sitting down in the comfort of your own home, don’t be tricked into thinking that you can sit and have a drink whilst you play.
Alcohol clouds your judgment. It impairs your decision-making. It makes you prone to impulsive moves and betting patterns. In short, alcohol effectively guarantees that you’ll lose money at the poker table.
Eliminate the alcohol altogether or look for a non-alcoholic alternative to drink whilst you play.
(What your brain looks like on alcohol, not ideal for poker right?)
Review Your Game
The vast majority of online poker providers have some form of poker calculator app that their customers can use. These apps allow you to input certain in-game scenarios whilst showing you what the exact mathematical probability of each hand is.
This makes them great tools for learning. Whilst you play write down the cards that you have and the community cards. Afterward, you can use a poker calculator to go back and review all of your decisions throughout the game.
Were there possible hands you didn’t spot? Could you have been a bit more aggressive at certain stages or were you too full-on? Whatever you find make sure you learn from it and come back to the table a better player the next time around.
Explore Probability
There is a school of thinking that marks poker down as a game of mathematics study above all else. Proponents of this thinking believe that success and failure at the game often come down to a player’s understanding of probabilities and statistics.
Whilst it would be foolish to write off the influence of psychology and strategy, it is hard to disagree that probabilities and statistics don’t play a massive role in poker. So why not take advantage of that and start learning hand probabilities with online mathematics?
If that seems too confusing at first, don’t be afraid to humble yourself and go over some of the school guides to the probability that you can find online for free. Winning at poker is all about stacking the odds in your favor and mastering probabilities and statistics will tip that balance firmly in your direction.