Tips for Rookies

I Do not play too many hands     This is the classic mistake of the beginner. If you are playing too many hands, if effectively means that you are playing too many weak starting hands. As a result, you will often find your self having to stage come-from-behind victories to show a profit on any given night. This may occur every now and again, but over the long run, the stronger starting hands will win more often than the weaker starting hands and this is effectively why playing too many hands will cost you money in the long run.       I Do not get obsessed with pocket pairs     Many new players believe that pocket pairs are strong hands, irrespective of the board. This partly comes about by watching too much tournament poker on television, where you often see one player move all-in with A-K and another player calls with 6-6. Now it is true that, in certain situations in a no-limit tournament, this is the correct play. But in a regular cash game, you will usually have more than one opponent to contend with and on many occasions, hands like 6-6 won’t win the pot unimproved. Therefore, it is important not to get carried away whenever you are dealt a pair.       I Make oppenent's pay when you are a favourite     Most newbies will go on and on about how their opponents always seem to outdraw their hand on the river. There is a truth that is often overlooked in this assertion: if you have the best hand on the flop and still have the best hand on the turn, you will wind up winning the pot most of the time (usually more than 60% of the time)       I Don't get stuck calling raises if you have a strong hand that could easily be the worst hand     This is another flaw for beginners that must be avoided at all costs. Let’s say you have 8h-9h and the flop is 10c-Js-Qs. Everyone checks to you and you bet. Everyone calls. The turn is a Qh. Again, everyone checks, you bet and they all call. On the river, a Ks drop. One player suddenly comes out betting and then next play raises. Now in this spot, it’s true that you still have a straight. But the bettor and the raiser could have many different hands that could beat you.       I Don't decide to bluff before the flop     Most beginners attempt a few bluffs early in their playing career and there is nothing wrong with this: the earlier you perfect bluffing, the better. But many rookies fail miserably at bluffing because they approach it the wrong way, by deciding that they’ll run a bluff before the flop has even been dealt.