Tower Gaming's Poker Basics

Your main objective in learning the game of poker should be to learn as much about the game as possible. However, choosing where to begin can be difficult. Here are few basic tips to get you started:

1. Patience

In the game of poker, patience EQUALS money. Patience in poker means waiting to get a good starting hand before putting money in the pot. A good rule of thumb is that a good poker player plays approximately 20-30% of their dealt hands. This means that 70% of the time you are folding. During this time you may observe your opponents to try and pick up on their tells and betting habits. If you cannot stand the waiting game, you may be interested in playing another game. Play one of our online casino slot machines for more action. Alternatively, some players choose to play more than one table of poker at a time, so that they will not feel the need to play too many hands at any one table.

2. Know when to Fold'em

Odds and opponent's play should determine whether or not you should stay in the hand. A beginner mistake is to keep betting regardless of the board or what the other player's actions suggest about what cards they hold. Folding at the right time is key to building your bankroll because you no longer "leak" money to the pot that you likely will not win back. Beginning players have a tendency to assume their opponents are always bluffing, and so develop the ‘leak’ of being a ‘calling station’, that is, someone who rarely folds or raises, but always calls. Even beginners need to be disciplined and try to understand the difference between a bluff and a bet made for value.

3. Observe Your Opponents

When playing poker, do not make the mistake of being so caught up in your own cards that you fail to observe your opponents. What are their starting hand requirements? Do they bet aggressively or typically call, even with strong hands? Do they ever fold when bluffed? What kinds of hands do they overplay, as in, do they like to play a lot of pairs too long, or do they prefer suited connectors? In certain games, these powers of observation will win you serious money.

The most important thing for a beginner to learn is how to identify the four basic types of players: tight/aggressive players (who fold most of their weak hands, and raise their strong hands), tight/passive players (who fold their weak hands and don’t always raise their strong hands), loose/aggressive players (who play like maniacs, raising a wide range of hands), and loose/passive players (who call a lot and rarely raise). Learning how to identify and play against these four types of players is a big step toward being able to read your opponents.

If you fold at least 70% of your starting cards you will have ample time to study and observe your opponents. Don't sit back and zone out; take the time to observe and see what you can learn about other players that will help you when it's time to go head to head.

4. Play Strong

When you finally get the cards that you were looking for, play aggressively! If you have the best hand, bet it for value. While you shouldn’t always be looking to bet so much that everyone else will fold, you should be getting the value of your hand by betting it aggressively. Make draws and second best hands pay to see the showdown.

Sometimes, you might not want to lead strong, such as when you know you have the best possible hand, and there are no real draws or likely second-best hands to call you. In such a situation, you will want to entice the other players to stay in the hand and call you on the last couple of expensive 'streets'. To do this, you will ‘slowplay’ the flop and sometimes the turn, before coming alive and raising on the turn or river. Note that you want the best possible hand when using this ploy, or at very least an almost unbeatable hand - do not overestimate the strength of your hand and allow people to draw cheaply to hands that can beat you. It is much better to pick up a small or medium sized pot, than lose a large one because of overly fancy play. Besides which, making draws pay to see the next card builds the pot at the same time that it protects your hand – killing two birds with one stone!

If you're pretty sure you have the best hand on the table, and there’s a reasonable chance you’ll get called, raise it. If you think you're beat, fold it. Usually, the only time you should be calling or checking is when you're drawing to a flush or straight; or you're calling what you think might be a bluff when you hold a hand that can beat a bluff, but isn’t worthy of a value bet on its own.

5. Play YOUR Game

Choose the appropriate game and table for your skill (and bankroll). The ideal situation is a table where you are comfortable with the betting limits, and you have reason to believe you're one of the top players sitting down. If you think for a moment that you're the weak link, do not hesitate to get up and find another table with easier competition. It is never advisable to play at a table you don’t think can be beaten!

6. Play as your Bankroll Dictates

How much money you have determines where you should play. Note that your ‘bankroll’ is not just how much money you have on a site at one time, but how much money total you have set aside for poker. Also, these numbers are safe, general figures, and certainly not the maximum you should ever want to have in your bankroll. As you play more, you’ll likely want to increase your bankroll relative to the stakes in play.

For limit Texas Hold'em you should have at least 20X the big bet on the table, and 60-80X in reserve so you can play strong when a big hand comes along, and you can ride out the rough patches. That means around 100X total - so if your bankroll is $100 you should play no higher than the $.5/$1 limit table. For no-limit Texas Hold'em, you want to have at least 5 buy-ins for your level (and the more the better), so if you have $125, play $.10/$.25 no-limit.

For 7-Card Stud, you should have at least 20X the big bet on the table, and around 40X in reserve. This means around 60X the big bet total.

8. Be in the Zone

You should only play when you feel ready! Like all games of skill, you need to be in top form. If you are unable to play a good game, get out of there! Maybe you are tired, frustrated, or distracted - these are all good indications that you shouldn't play. You need to be focused and sharp when at the table, otherwise take a break or call it a night. A lot of good players have lost a lot of money because they hung around too long when they were on tilt!

9. Take a Long-Term Approach

Like all other games of skill, poker should not be measured by a single game. You might lose today, and then win tomorrow. This is why you need to keep a decent bankroll. Losing and winning streaks happen to everyone, but keep track of how much you win or lose so that you can work to improve on your long-term results. If you track your results by levels (eg. $.50/$1 limit Texas Hold'em versus $1/$2 limit Texas Hold'em) you’ll be able to find out what your most profitable playing level is, and focus your play there.