Think For Yourself

Many Poker players like to think that they can follow a strict statistical formula and win as if there was always the perfect mathematical play in each situation in the same way that there is in Blackjack.

This may well be satisfactory in the early days but ultimately Poker is a game played against other people and in varying situations. It is therefore necessary  to alter your play according to the situation and your opponents. If you play to a set of rules your game will become predictable by the other players who will adjust their game to out manoeuvre you.

Learning to adjust your play is a lot to do with practice and reading people and situations. You must learn to put yourself in your opponents position, figure out what they may have and get them to think your hand is either better or worse than it really is.

Poker hand histories are a good way to get an understanding and appreciation of the plays people make when they have certain hands in certain situations and why. If you can learn this you will recognise these patterns of play and be able to  judge what cards the player may be holding. Many poker rooms will show the hands of the losing players at the end of a hand. The word muck will appear with the hand history.  Party Poker, Paradise Poker, and Poker Room all have this feature. After you have been in a showdown all the way to the River use this feature to check what they had and think about why they made the plays that they did throughout the game.

Although it is essential to learn the basic guidelines and do the maths of outs and pot odds you must also use your understanding of the situation and the other players to make your final call. This will refine your play to account for the human dimension of Poker and stop you becoming predictable.