A Beginner’s Guide to Poker Strategy

When you’re new to poker it can be difficult to know what to do. Once you’ve learned the basics such as how poker hands rank and how to bet, it’s time to start thinking about your strategy.
Here are a few simple tips about poker strategy for beginners to the game:

To play or not to play?
The first thing you need to decide after receiving your two cards is whether or not to play. It can be tempting to play every hand as there is always a chance that the cards dealt on the table could give you a winning hand, but it’s advisable to be more selective. Some combinations of cards have a better chance of winning than others. A pair obviously has you at an advantage from the start, but statistically speaking the best hand is an ace and a king of the same suit. This gives you a chance at high pairs, a high straight, high flush or even a royal flush! On the other side, a two and a seven of different suits is the weakest combination as they are the lowest cards that give you no chance of getting a straight or a flush.

When in doubt, ‘check’ it out
Don’t be too quick to rush in and bet when you’re still getting used to the game. If you don’t know what other people have got or you’re unsure of your hand, ‘check’ instead of betting to see what the other players do. This will give you a better idea of who has a good hand and could also let you see another card without betting more money.

Hand to hand
Don’t just think about the hand that you have, look at the cards on the table to give you an idea of what other people could have and whether their hand is better than yours or not. For example, if there are four spades on the table and you have the two of spades, then you’ve got a flush. In a lot of situations this would be a winning hand, but in this case, if anyone else has a spade in their hands, they’re hand is stronger than yours since they’ll have a higher spade.

These are just a few basic tips to get you started. Keep practicing your strategy to develop your own style of playing.