For many new players to the game of poker, its daunting and exciting at the same time. Regardless of how experienced you may be, whether you just play poker for fun with your friends or are a seasoned poker professional, losing a big hand can hurt. In this article I will cover a few tips to help you make decisions better when you are dealt a big hand.
If you are holding a good hand, you should play it tight. Protect your hand and push out any drawing hands that may give you the best hand later.
If you are holding a bad hand, than don’t put all your chips in. Even if you have top pair, there is typically nothing you can do after seeing the flop. So, if your hand is poor, so what? You can certainly wait for better hands to play, and a free card or two to improve your hand.
Call the big blind. If you notice players going all in with bad hands, or even some who seem to hold good hands yet go out rather quickly, this is what you need to see. Be patient, it will not always work to your benefit to wait for a good hand to play. Sometimes the play will be perfect and you will go out as a winner. What I like to do is to set aside any money I have into the pot before the flop and forget about it. Whether I hit a pair, a set, or anything else, I just let the hand go out without looking at it. Sometimes you will be dealt a great hand, but most times you won’t and you will still be able to get away from the hand without stressing yourself.
Do not stress yourself out if you are not dealt anything good. If you are not going to win the hand, than you should fold, but stress yourself if you have any kind of decent hand, because that is when you can play your opponent at his own game. Knowing when to play and not to play is a skill that a lot of players have to learn, but you can’t gauge it by the amount of money you have in the pot.
Many times I am in a hand with a player who has bad cards and I will have to help the player to fold his hand, but there is nothing I can do about it if the player is not folding. However, there are some situations where I might stress a player out just by showing strength. I can take a good read on a player during a hand, and if I think there is a good chance of him having a hand, I might try to trap him into thinking I have a monster hand. But, his poor play makes that task easier.
When you are not sure about the strength of your hand, you should not bet. Save yourself the trouble, the energy, and the chips by not betting. Sure, you might try to steal the blinds or steal the pot, but if you do, then you are not playing poker to win. If you are playing mindful poker, that task will be easier and you will be winning bigger pots.
When are the last times you have won a pot without being in late position?