Play Fewer Starting Hands – How Not To Suck at Poker Ep. 1

It sucks to suck at things and poker is no different.

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In this 10-part beginner poker strategy video series PokerListings.com gives you a crash course on the finer points of not sucking at poker.

Episode 1 is an important one: Play fewer hands. Most poker players are too loose and end up losing tons of money betting or calling with the worst hand.

In Texas Hold’em there are 169 different starting hands and chances are you’re playing too many of them. When you’re starting out it’s important to keep things simple. One big way to do that is to only play when you have really good cards. Beginners often try to copy what they see on TV by raising and bluffing with any two cards but the truth is, in low-stakes poker games bluffing is no-where near as important as getting value from your big hands.

Players might be bored, or just more interested in gambling and having fun than making money, and they’re all going to be playing way too many hands. If you want to make money you have to develop some discipline. Let’s start by playing a narrow range of starting hands and giving ourselves the best chance of showing up with the winning hand at showdown. Sticking to good starting hands will also make our post-flop decisions way easier and cut down on the chances we’re dominated and putting money in the pot with the worst hand.

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