Poker Talk

It’s not exactly a secret that online, the vast majority of players suck at poker. Not only do they suck at the game itself, they pretty much suck at everything connected to it. Take rakeback for instance. While deals like the ongame rakeback and the rakeback Full Tilt Poker offers give players a handy advantage over the house rake, the vast majority of them never even consider signing up for such a deal. Some of these guys do realize they’ve made a mistake by signing up without rakeback, but they only do so when it’s already too late and they have an account opened. Most online poker rooms won’t allow those who already have a rakeback-less account to open a new one for rakeback.

Anyway, learning about the advantages of rakeback and signing up for a deal is only a matter of some reading up. Most of the factors that will differentiate you from suckers at the poker table are similarly “insignificant”.

The truth is, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist and you don’t even need to be extremely skilled in poker to beat 95% of players out there. Just master a few basic concepts and you’ll be amazed at how big an improvement you’ll show at the table.

One of the most common mistakes rookies make is that they play way too many hands. Every time they pick up their two pocket cards, they start seeing all sorts of dreamy flops that will hit their hand dead on. Then they build on the weak starting hand mistake by chasing it way too deep into the hand.

There are several reasons why beginners act this way, not the least of which are the “strategies” they pick up watching televised tournaments. Guys on TV seem to be raising and shoving on almost any two cards, and professional players openly advocate that real poker is about playing the player and not the cards, and therefore they can win pots on any two cards.

First of all, professionals are correct about the importance of playing the player over playing one’s cards, but you have to bear in mind that these guys don’t play on the same thought level that you do. On the level where they play, starting hand selection takes a back seat to playing the player, but on your level (which is most probably the first or second level of poker thought, where you only consider your cards and maybe the board texture), proper starting hand selection is vital.

Add to that the fact that the hands you see on TV are specially selected ones (they’re not going to show you the hundreds of hands that were folded before because it’s just too boring for TV) and that you may have seen action from the closing stages of a high buy-in tournament where starting hand values change radically.

The bottom line is, as a rookie you should exercise proper starting hand selection. There’s no shame in learning starting hand charts. After all, if you do not consider the suits, there are 169 possible two-card starting hands, and some of those hands win a much higher percentage of the time than others.

The premium starting hands are the AA,KK, QQ, JJ and AK suited. These hands are not guaranteed winners, but they do offer you a serious edge over the suckers at your table. Don’t lose sight of the fact that real poker begins after the flop, however, by selecting your starting hands well, you’ll make it much easier on yourself to play after the flop and you’ll simplify the decisions you’ll be forced to make.

Besides the starting hand selection, keep an eye out for your table position as well. The same starting hand will have a different value depending on whether you’re in early or late position and depending on the information you collect on your opponents before you act.