I really work hard to discover new ways to help our website members improve their poker game and make more money at the table.
Some of my advice comes from my own personal experiences at the table. Other columns result from questions posed by our members. You can be sure of one thing -- I never ignore a legitimate question and all of my advice comes from the heart.
When I find myself losing money...
I try to figure out why it's happening. When I get that resolved, it generally helps improve my game and I share my findings with the members. Here are three rules for you to follow in order to enhance your chances of ending up a winner in your next poker session.
If you are seated at a table where players call with almost any two cards to see the flop, there is only one thing you have to do on every conceivable hand --- and that is to raise before the flop with any reasonable raising hand.
True, you will miss the flop on many of those hands and it will cost you money. But you will make more money than you will lose over the long haul.
And really, you have no choice...
...you must protect your good hands with a raise. Otherwise, that pair of jacks or queens will be overtaken by someone who makes two pairs with their nine-five offsuit. And that is a bummer in any language. Some players, of course, will ignore your raises and still call with their poor hands. But after a while, they will learn their lesson and will start to avoid their expensive habit. That is to your advantage.
Rule number two to help your bottom line goes like this:
Say you raise with A-K or some other solid raising hand and hit a king on the flop along with two small cards. You bet after the flop and bet again on fourth street.
But on fifth street, regardless of what card comes, check. This gives a bluffer a chance to bet into you. And if by chance somebody has made two pairs, it saves you the embarrassment and cost of being raised. Betting on fifth street after being the initial raiser has cost me a lot of money. Checking is a far better play.
Remember in limit poker if you have a calling hand, that is a raising hand and you will make far more money by raising than simply by calling.
Rule number three: if you are an older player, you probably have a problem with your eyesight. Be sure to take a seat at the table where you can see the flop clearly. Otherwise, you are in danger of misreading the flop.
There are few things worse than mistaking a club for a spade because you are seated too far away from the flop. I have misread more than a few flops and the misreading has cost me money. Don't let it happen to you.
Poker is a game of common sense. Let it always prevail in your game. It will save you those costly journeys to the ATM machine and will make your game a lot happier.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
