Poker is easy to learn and master, both because it's a relatively simple game and because it is a lot of fun. For any online poker game, there are resources to help you become a winning player. However, for you to be able to be a consistent winning poker player, you must be willing to learn how to combine the basic concepts of the game. For instance, for you to learn winning strategies of poker, you will be required to be an aggressive, tight, and creative--you need to know values, you need to spot when someone is bluffing and you need to know when to bet and when to fold.
Of course, this information won't take you a few hours or even days to learn in full. There is a reason that the same professional poker players make it to the final table each time, a reason why a small percentage of players rank amongst the best in the world. However, by starting your gambling education today you can learn enough to make a profit early on, after which you can continue to improve and become one of the best players in the world.
Set Your Mentality to "Win"
There are different types of poker players: Those who play to win and those who play for fun. You can be in both categories if you want, but even if you find yourself in the latter category, you still need to adopt a winning mindset. One of the best examples of why this mindset is important occurs during a long tournament. Many casual players will pay their money, spend several hours getting to the bubble, and then freeze-up.
They will do everything that they can to survive and walk away with some money, even if that money is only a few cents or dollars more than they bet with to begin with. The problem with this is that the best players, the ones you need to be like, are doing the opposite. They are using the bubble period to attack the weak and tight players, taking their chips, stacking their balances high, and giving them a foundation they can use to run even deeper.
If you play to survive at this stage, you may manage to do just that, but then you'll be out as soon as the bubble bursts. If you play to win, then there is a slim chance you will be knocked out, but there is a bigger chance you'll collect lots of chips and have enough to run much deeper.
Let's imagine that you bet just $10 to enter a tournament. The first "In The Money (ITM)" may offer you $10 to $12. The best case scenario, therefore, is that you walk away with a $2 profit. On the other hand, the final table could pay as much as $1,000, while the winner could scoop upto $20,000. What's the point in going all out for that $2 if it costs you a chance for the full $20,000?
Take the Bad Beats and Move on
Nothing frustrates a poker player quite as much as a bad beat. But this is a hazard of the job, something that is always going to be there. You need to have the mindset of a professional sportsman. If a boxing performs at their very best but then loses the fight because of bad judging, do they spit out their dummy and give in? Of course not. Many novice players are so scared of bad beats that they will try to get into the hand as the outsider. They will intentionally make bad decisions, shoving when they are weak and calling when they are beat, either because they want "revenge" on the player that beat them, or because they are so scared of suffering another bad beat.
This is not poker; it's not how the pros play. If you want to win, you need to always have the best hand. If you're getting involved with a pre-flop shove, then you want to have a better-than 50% chance of success. This is the main goal. Bad beats will happen and they may cost you, but if you keep getting-in when you're strong, you'll win in the long run.
If you really struggle with this and simply can't control your anger, we recommend looking away when going all-in on a poker app, or simply choosing another game. Because these really are common. Play a game of Baccarat instead.
You Don’t Need to Win Every Session to Proof that Your are Good
Like any game in the world, online poker cannot have a consistent winner throughout. This is despite the fact that we all struggle to have consistent winning sessions. Understand that even the people who have mastered the best poker basics in the world have losing streaks. Always set a goal to play to the best of your ability in every game you happen to play. This will help you gradually upgrade you poker skills as you climb up the ladder towards becoming the best player.
Never become emotional about your results because your opponents are likely to use your emotions against you thus resulting in a poor performance. Besides, an emotional player makes poor decisions thus loses money on poker. However if you find out that you are unable to control your emotions you can take a break from the game to shield yourself from losing more.
Practice is Key
Chris Ferguson, a poker player nicknamed "Jesus", one went from $0 to $10,000 playing free-rolls, small tournaments and cash games. It took him over 18 months, but he made it, providing that persistence is key. He also proved that you can start small and win big, but only if you put the time in and only if you play at the lower levels to begin with.
Free-rolls and small stake tournaments are a great way to start your online poker career as they show you all sides of poler. On the one hand, players in free-rolls tend to play fast and loose because they don't care about losing. On the other hand, those playing for several dollars tend to be casual gamblers who hate losing money and therefore play very tightly.
