How to start playing poker: useful tips for beginners

Poker is a card game that has interesting rules. The conditions of the game may seem complicated for beginners. There are many combinations, different card strengths, and bluffing from opponents. For beginners, learning to play poker may seem like a daunting task.

However, you can always practise your poker skills online. For example, Pokerbet Ukraine offers tables with different betting limits.

Poker rules for beginners: starting hands

Playing casino poker is even easier than playing at a real game table. Game rooms are always available even on your smartphone. However, not all beginners know exactly how to play.

We recommend that you learn the basic rules and combinations first. The starting cards in your hands are very important in the game. Analysing this factor, you can calculate the approximate chances of success.

Card combinations and their strength are something that is easy to remember over time. The best starting hands in poker are:

• A,A - a pair of aces. Having such a pair at the beginning of the game, you have a great chance of winning the pot.
• K,K - a pair of kings, also known as cowboys, is the second best starting hand.
• A,K - this pair is also called a ‘big slick’. If a player with such a hand plays aggressively and does not meet a pair of aces or kings, the chance of winning the entire pot is very high. In addition, such cards can help to collect a straight. It is especially valuable if both the king and the ace are of the same suit.
• Q, Q - A pair of queens is another strong starting hand.
• J, J - A pair of jacks also gives you a good chance of success.
• K, Q - King and Queen are a good starting hand, especially when they appear in the same suit.

Any two consecutive cards or cards of the same suit can also be a good hand, which increases the chances of hitting a straight or flush. But a strong hand at the start is not always the key to success. For example, experienced players know that sometimes it can be profitable to pass when you have two aces.

Of course, there are many other starting schemes for playing poker online. However, the above starting cards are the most valued by players.

In this game, the ability to bluff and read your opponent is also important, as they can also be misleading. However, these are skills that are improved during the game, according to the principle - the longer you play, the better you become.

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Types of bluffing

Bluffing is a key skill for experienced players. But you need to know when and how to bluff. If a player wants to succeed in the game, he or she must be able to win even with worse cards than opponents. After all, luck will not always be on the player's side, and sometimes you have to wait for a good combination for a long time.

There are two types of bluffing in poker:

• Pure bluffing. A player makes a bluff when he raises or calls a bet with a hand that has little chance of improving in the next hand. For example, after being dealt five cards, you have only a high card, such as a king. There are no combinations. With this tactic, it is expected that other players will not have strong combinations and will save.
• Semi-bluff - a player makes a bet even if he does not have the best hand, but has a chance to improve it. For example, if one card is missing to make a straight or flush.

However, you need to be able to bluff. And if the opponent can read the bluff, this tactic can lead to a loss.

Every poker beginner dreams of winning regularly and easily. But there is no such magic in poker. You have to try hard to win.

Let's leave aside the obvious tips right away. For example, the recommendation not to drink alcohol while playing for money or the advice to read special poker literature.

In this article, we'll look at a strategy that can help beginners avoid big losses at first. And slowly start winning.

What is the play-by-play style

Instead of trying to master the art of bluffing or learning complex combinations right away, start by mastering the so-called tight style of poker.

It involves playing only a small number of hands, only with strong card combinations.

In total, there are 169 variants of two-card hands in Texas Hold'em. Players who prefer the tight style start the game, as a rule, with five starting hands:

• a pair of aces (AA)
• two kings (KK)
• a pair of queens (QQ)
• ace and king of the same suit (AK)
• two jacks (JJ)

You can also consider continuing the game when you get good pairs:

• a pair of tens (10-10)
• a pair of nines (9-9)

You may also be interested in suited combinations:

• ace-queen (AQ)
• ace-jack (AJ)
• ace-king (AK)
• King-queen (KQ)
• ace-ten (A-10)
• King-Jack (KJ)
• Jack-queen (JQ)

They also include various combinations:

• ace-queen (AQ)
• ace-king (AK)

What is good about the tight style?

If you avoid situations when you need to raise without having strong cards, you greatly reduce the risk of losing in most hands.

In the end, you will have time to master the art of bluffing in poker and other complex strategies. For now, you should just start winning more often than losing.

Yes, you will sometimes have to miss many hands while waiting for a strong pair. But it's better to spend more time playing poker and still have money than to quickly lose everything and be disappointed in the game.

Are there any disadvantages to the tight style?

Yes, the tight style in poker has one small and one big disadvantage.

The small one is that the strategy does not allow you to win a lot. After all, you miss most of the hands anyway, waiting for a strong pair of cards. For a beginner player who needs to gain a foothold in the game, this is not critical. But it is worth remembering.

The second disadvantage is more serious.

Tait players are quite predictable. At least for experienced poker players.

Having noticed that you always fold weak cards and raise only when you have more or less serious cards, experienced opponents will build an appropriate strategy.

They will fold their cards as soon as they see you raise. Thus, you will not be able to win much.

In fact, some experienced players consider the tight style to be the first step to mastering the art of bluffing. They recommend sticking to the tight style, but sometimes betting with weak cards so that, even if you lose a little, you can still confuse your opponents, disrupting their perception of your playing style.

Conclusion

The tight style of poker is a very successful strategy for beginners. This strategy allows you to reduce the risk of losing and win more often than losing. But at the same time, you need to understand that the tight style is good only against inexperienced opponents. Experienced players quickly notice those who adhere to the tight style.