This odd title points to a serious and important truism about poker. Namely, when a player is a true beginner, he or she knows very little to anything about poker. A new player has to internalize this truth because many new players think that they know a lot more than they actually know.
Here at Juicy Stakes Poker, we get players at all levels of skill and experience. In this article, we would like to speak to raw beginners. Poker is a difficult game to master and new players have to master small steps before they can master the big steps.
Learn the Hierarchy of Poker Hands
Of course, if you have played poker for even a short time, you know the table of poker hands. So, why do so many new players ask if two pair is better than three of a kind? Why do so many new players ask if a straight is better than a flush?
Knowing the hierarchy of poker hands also means understanding the odds of getting a given hand. The odds of getting three of a kind are less than half the odds of getting two pair. Both are relatively rare with no pair at all occurring in about 50% of all hands and one pair in about 42%.
That means that all hands better than three of a kind are quite rare.
If you have two pair, you have a strong hand. A lot of poker hands are won with just one pair. So, with two pair, you have a very good chance to win the hand but….having a good chance to win is often the recipe for losing a lot of money since better hands are not entirely uncommon.
Learn to Read Opponents’ Betting Behavior
We immediately arrive at one of the most important skills a poker player can develop. A lot of players never fully develop this skill so, as a true beginner, you should understand that observation is a hugely beneficial skill to learn. This skill is a lot more important than learning poker math!
In order to properly evaluate an opponent, you need to observe, concentrate, and pay close attention on every hand. A lot of new players take the time between their folding to the next deal to make coffee, use the bathroom, fix a sandwich or any other activity other than paying close attention to the hand.
M. Scott Peck in his great book The Road Less Travelled, said that paying attention is a learned skill. He referred both to paying attention to little kids and to adults. Without close concentration and attention, it is next to impossible for an adult to understand a six-year-old kid. In adult situations such as a lecture, it is hard to concentrate one’s attention for the duration of the lecture.
This same idea applies to poker! We need to develop the skill to concentrate deeply and pay attention on every hand. We will begin to see patterns in opponents’ betting. This pattern may tell us if our two pair is the better hand or if the opponent has something even better.
Play One Poker Variation before Branching Out
Some players like Omaha best while most prefer Texas Hold’em. Whichever game you choose, and there are a lot of great poker games available at Juicy Stakes, play that one variation until you have gotten so good at it that you feel you are ready to branch out.
There is never any reason to feel that you have to branch out. If you are winning consistently at low stakes, you might branch out by going to higher stakes rather than by trying out a new poker variation.
The key point here is that it might take a year or more to get good enough at your preferred poker variation to even begin considering branching out.
In poker, as in so many areas of life, patience is a true virtue.
Play Smart
There is something of a cliché in general: Work smart, not hard. In poker, playing smart is a keen virtue. There are a lot of elements involved in playing smart. There is also a lot of overlap between playing smart and not playing smart.
For example, we are told by the pros and all of the books they have written that beginning players should play only a small set of hands. This is playing smart. But we also know that the pros play a lot of hands that no beginner should play.
Between folding all but the best hands and calling with 6-4 suited, there is a lot of territory. We also have to call or raise with a relatively poor hand in order to be less of an open book to our opponents.
Understand the Importance of Position
Before the flop, if you are not one of the blinds, you have no stake in the hand. You can fold at no cost. Players in early position should fold more often than they would in later position or as one of the blinds.
If you are first to bet, you have to at least call the big blind. Unless you have a very good hand or are determined to bluff, you should fold. It is a lot better to fold a weak hand than to limp in with a borderline hand.
Always remember that there is play between folding all but the best hands and staying in to see the flop when you have a very long shot of winning the hand. Even the pros fold about 70% of all hands, especially in poor positions and when folding costs them no money.
Try to Value Suited Cards Correctly
Connected suited cards are good. They can improve to a straight, a flush, or in the rarified air of the lucky poker player, a straight flush. If you have unconnected suited cards, you will likely fold. That’s because the cards are too far apart to become a straight and a flush is a lot harder to come by than most beginning players think.
There is a reason that the flush is next before the full house which everyone knows is extremely hard to get.
Know the Basic Math before You Try to Master Advanced Poker Math
Advanced poker math requires calculation. Before going in that direction, become well-versed in the basic odds of getting a good hand. For example, well over half of the time players miss the flop. In the YouTube clips, we might see several players stick around to see the flop and then most fold because they missed the flop.
High cards are a good hand but you have to be aware of any opponent betting his or her hand. Are they bluffing? Do they have a better hand? An open-ended straight or a flush draw will hit about one-third of the time. To stay in for the river card in this situation, you need to be very confident playing a specific opponent. Does he or she bluff a lot? Are they tight players and likely to have a good hand already before the river?
Juicy Stakes Offers Great Online Poker
One of the most important tips for new players is that they will get a lot more experience playing online. They will also not give away their hands with tells nearly as much online. Online players can play for a set period of time. On land, the temptation to play on is great.
For new players, there is a definite intimidation factor when they play on land so online poker helps new players get a lot of experience in a more psychologically friendly environment.
