Free poker or buy in poker – it really doesn’t matter. The point is, you don’t want to lose! Well, here are ten great tips on how to stop losing and start winning!

1. Playing too many hands. Are you playing too many garbage hands? For eg. 2 3 unsuited, 2 7 unsuited? These hands are very likely to lose, if you got them, fold them. For a beginner, it is advisable you play good hands such as a high pair or high card connectors eg QK. They usually have a high chance of winning.

2. Playing your hands wrongly in the wrong position. Position is one of the most important aspect in poker and the most neglected. a 10 pair may be a good starting hand, but do you play them the same way in every position? Late position has an advantage over early position as you can see how your opponents react pre-flop. Rule of thumb – play lesser hands in the early position than in late position.

3. Stop playing if you are not 100%. If you are exhausted from a long day at work or had too many drinks then don’t play. Even if you are in a bad mood, don’t play. You wont play as you normally would and are likely to be wasting your time and cash.

4. Avoid bluffing more than necessary. You can get away with pulling off one or two bluffs, but don’t push your luck. Leave bluffing to the experienced players and avoid them if you are new to poker.

5. Ignoring the pot odds and card odds. These are two of the essential tools that help you decide whether to bet, raise, call or fold. Master them well! If not poker is essentially a gamble when you hope that you will ultimately get the the desired result when the river comes even though you shouldn’t get involved in the first place. Master the odds and make the right mathematical decisions!

6. Failure to read the board. It is important to know what is the best hand you have can make from the community cards. But do you know what is your opponent is probably holding? Is he holding a better hand than you? You may hit the flop when you have 2 pairs but what could your opponents be holding? Straights or flush draws?

7. Poor bankroll management. There is a term in poker called “variance”. It simply means there are times when you have a bad run or you received lousy hands. To cushioned variance, you need to have a certain bankroll before you are playing at a table. Playing at the wrong table with too high limits in contrast with you bankroll will result in one thing- your bankroll being wiped out.

8. Don’t play at high limits. The better players are normally at the high limits tables and if you are new to poker, they will literally wipe the floor with you. Keep your money where you have a chance of winning and stick to the lower limit tables. If you want to try some high limits then have a go at some free poker where you wont lose your own money.

9. Playing poker is not about playing your cards well but also your opponents! You have to adopt a different strategy for different opponents. Some players types are loose passive, loose aggressive, tight passive and tight aggressive.

10. Lastly, Complacence! After few winning rounds, you start to get excited and think that you are the next big thing and you are ready to take on the poker world. No! Don’t ever think of that for now at least. Why? Poker is a game that take minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Don’t expect you can master it overnight. Try to learn from experienced poker players, books, videos.

I look forward to seeing you at the free poker games tables soon. Good luck with you’re game with these tips!