Your Daily Poker Tip

Table select: Finding the right table can make you more money than the skill you have in some cases. Often times players will just look in the poker lobby see an open table and jump right in not even thinking about who is already sitting. Next thing you know you're on the right of an aggressive player putting you in every awkward spot you can think of.

If you play often you will tend to know who the better players are learning to stay away from them. If you have no reads on any of the players, sit for a few rounds and if you notice they are tight and aggressive, sit out and search for another table. Looking in the lobby for high saw flop percentages, is a good way to spot juicy games. There's no shame in sitting out of a table full of regulars. You play poker to make, not to see who has the bigger club.

Poker Tip

Pay attention to stack sizes: This tip applies to all both tournament and cash games. You have to know what the stack size of every player at the table is before you make your decision. This is a common mistake made by all players and never ends well.

Often times we will be in a spot where we would like to raise and try to steal the blinds or have a hand that is weaker than normal but worth an open in certain situations. For example if you are the button and the big blind has a stack size that a standard raise will only leave them with little chips, its best to fold all junk hands and not even attempt a steal. Nine times out of ten they will call regardless of what they have or raise you all in and be forced to call a bet you really didn't want to. 

Todays Poker Tip

Isolate the fish: Most of our winnings will be coming from the less experienced players at the table. There are a few ways to help maximize our winnings by targeting the weak or fishy players. If you're not sure who the fish is, you can start by watching to see who limps in pots a lot and who is playing passively. Bad players usually don't play very aggressive and are often huge calling stations pre-flop.

Now that you've spotted the fish it's time to set the hook. When you have position on a bad player who limps before you, try raising and isolate them to get the pot heads up. Cards often don't matter, but ideally you'd like to have at least a high card that can make a big pair. Once the flop comes just fire a continuation bet regardless of what your hand strength is. More often than not they will just give up and you take a nice little pot with relative ease.

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Daily Poker Tip

Play short sessions: The human brain can only focus for so long. Different people will have different thresholds but for the most part, brain function begins to deteriorate after about an hour of straight work. If your decision making becomes obscured you will start to leak away valuable chips.

If you use some form of tracking software you will be able to find when you start to bottom out. Usually your graph will start going down after a certain amount of time. Use this information to set a time limit on your future sessions. Once you reach your limit, get up and take a little break. Go for a walk, do some push-ups, whatever. Just make sure you give your brain a rest so it can regain its focus. Little tricks like this can go a long way to keeping your bankroll intact.