In poker, as in life, there’s never any guarantee of winning a hand, however you can maximise your profits by carefully weighting your chances. Being confident enough to take risks will often get you ahead of someone with a more impressive CV, however there are times when it is best to simply walk away from a hand.
A player must place a bet, called an ante, into the pot before being dealt cards. Depending on the game, this may be in addition to, or replace, an additional forced bet called a blind bet. Some games also have a bring-in option where players can add money to the pot before betting.
When you have a strong hand, it is often worth raising to give yourself a better chance of beating an opponent’s weaker hands. The alternative is to limp, which gives a low return on your investment.
Throughout the game, it’s important to pay attention to your opponents and their actions. This is easiest to do when you’re not involved in the hand, as it allows you to take a more detached approach and notice small tells that might be missed when you’re actively playing.
Top players fast-play their strong hands because they know that doing so builds the pot and chases off other players waiting for a draw to beat them. You can calculate the probability of improving your hand by working out how many cards would have to come up for you to win (e.g. an extra spade to make three of a kind beats five spades).
