Poker is a high-risk, high reward game, so it often demands the player to make an extreme decision to win big or even to just stay in the game. Over the years, players and strategists have come up with different playing tactics that they believe helps them to win a game of poker. Of course, not all of these strategies work. But they can often help players get off to a good start and help them get on their way towards winning more games and maybe even establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with within the poker tournament community. The drama associated with poker has made it one of the most popular casino games, gaining fans all over the world.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at five of the world’s craziest poker strategies to help you decide whether you should use them in your next poker game or not:
- The Poker Shove Strategy
The shove strategy in poker refers to when you move all-in and put all of your money or chips on the line. It’s a powerful move that could you win you the pot if done at the right time. Reasons to shove include becoming short stacked, not having enough money to make many moves or knowing you’re about to leave the game so you give it one last shot in the dark and hope it pays off.
You can shove as a bluff or semi-bluff if you can, but your success depends on how well you are at making your opponent think you’ve got a better hand than you actually do. You can also shove for value, which is a good way to steer your opponent’s off and convince them to fold. The Poker Shove Strategy is incredibly effective, but it’s important not to overdo it. The more you shove, the less likely it is that the other players will believe that you have an outstanding hand. Choose your time to shove wisely and make sure you don’t do it too much, or you’ll not have the desired results you are looking for.
- Pot Odds: Knowing your Odds
Working out the relationship between pot odds and your chance of winning is a vital part of playing poker to win. It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to work it out either. All you have to do is put your thinking cap on and think about it logically. For instance, let’s say you’re playing a game of poker. The adrenaline is running through your veins, and you’ve got four hearts. All you need is one more heart, and the game is yours. You know that there are 13 hearts in a standard deck of cards and since you’ve got four of them, all you have to do is discount the ones you can visibly see to know how many are left and could help you win.
These cards are your “outs”. So, if you know there are 9 hearts that could make you win, the odds are 38/9, which means you’ve got a 4 to 1 chance of getting the flush. If you can figure out the math, it can help you to make more informed decisions that will help you win the game or know when to fold at the right time.
- Bluff like a Pro
When it comes to playing poker, you’ve got to learn how to bluff like a pro. Remember, the more players around the table, the more likely it is that one of them will have a winning hand. So, how are you going to compete if your hand is a little lacking? The answer is to bluff. The aim is to convince your opponent to fold. It gives you the chance to win, and if your bluff is convincing, you could take the pot despite having the weakest hand at the table.
However, there are times when you shouldn’t bluff at all, especially if you’re in doubt about the situation. Someone could call your bluff and raise the stakes. This could lead to you having to fold as a result and thus, revealing your bluff.
- Raising the Stakes
A common poker strategy to increase your winning chances is to simply raise the stakes. The two main reasons why anyone raises is to either increase the pot or reduce the competition by eliminating other opponents. Raising the bet is an excellent way to get more money into the pot and call someone’s bluff. If your opponent has a lousy hand and bluffs about it, you could raise the stake to put them under pressure and convince them to fold before the bet gets too high. It’s also a great way to block, which involves putting a blocking bet against players.
Raising also helps you to learn more information about the strength of your opponent’s hand. If the bet is too high and your opponent’s hand is too weak, they’re likely to fold. But if they call your bet or raise it again, it’s a good indication that they’re either confident with their hand or they’re very good at bluffing.
- Position
The position refers to the order in which all of the players are seated around the poker table. You need to make sure you have the best possible seat at the table. The worst positions are known as “the blinds”, which means that the rest of the players will act after you and you’re the one with the least possible information. The best seat at the table and the one that every player wants to grab is the one that makes you the last player to act in the hand.
There are many benefits of playing in position including the fact that it gives you more information than other players and it also makes bluffing so much easier. Playing last gives you more accurate value bets, helping you to decide how much you want to bet and whether you want to go all out. Using this strategy also gives you control over the size of the final pot.
