If you are looking to improve your poker game. Here are 7 quick tips to improving your win rate and beating your opponents at the tables. Let’s get stuck in…

Tip 1: Tight is right

Play fewer hands than your opponents, but when you play a hand, play it aggressively.
By merging premium hands and suited connectors and small pairs into your aggressive play, you will be able to bluff your opponents and be hard to read.

Tip 2: Know when to bluff

Sometimes you can win the chips in the middle with a semi-bluff, if you flop a flush draw, you could potentially play this cautiously and look to get to the river, however that means the pot will be small and you have to hit your hand. If you play this type of board aggressively and bet your draws you will build bigger pots for when you hit and you have the potential to win the pot without making it to showdown.

Tip 3: Make pots big when you are strong

This is a classic mistake made by beginner players, they hit a big hand but think they need to lure their opponents in. This doesn’t always work, if you flop a big hand against a draw and a pair, chances are you will get a bet or two paid, however, if you slow play these hands the pot will not get big and you can even get drawn out on. So the advice here is simple, make the pot bigger when you are strong, you will win bigger pots with your good hands that way.

Tip 4: Play hands in the blinds

With money already invested in these pots due to posting the blinds, taking flops in these positions with marginal holdings is good. However, look to play hands that do well in multiway pots if there are many players in the pot already. You can defend your blinds wider the later the position of the raiser and the more aggressive the player is.

Tip 5: Don’t be afraid to go broke in tournaments

Too many players are scared that they don’t want to wager all in and put their tournament life on the line, this gives aggressive players way too much of an advantage. If you have a good hand and you want to go with it just do it, if you are scared about the amount of money you are risking you should be playing smaller stake tournaments. The idea is to play with enough buy-ins in your bankroll where you are not worried about a single tournament buy-in and can play without fear of busting and simply concentrate on making the correct moves.

Tip 6: Don’t open limp

Have a balanced raising range and any holding you are looking to enter into the pot with just raise. By doing this you give yourself the chance to win the pot preflop, which a limp doesn’t achieve. Also, players can look to attack limps as weakness, even if you happen to do this with a strong holding, you may end up getting bluffed out of the pot.

There are times when limping is fine to blend into your play though, if other players have limped before you and you have a hand that plays well multiway or a pair you want to try and flop a set with, then it is fine to limp along.

Tip 7: Try and have the betting lead or position

Try and play as many pots against your opponents in position or at least with the betting lead.
So if you are in the small blind with AQo against an aggressive opener on the button, for example, it is better to 3bet this hand and pick up the betting lead in the pot, as it is hard to play pots out of position and without the lead in the betting.

Whereas if you were in position against an early position raise from a tighter opponent you could flat call with a hand like AQo on the button, as this way you may not have the betting lead but you will be in position for the rest of the hand.