The 5P’s Of Playing Better Poker

March 20, 2007 by ozpoker
Filed under Poker Strategy

The 5 P’s of Poker - Basic Poker Strategy

Obviously there is much more to winning at poker than just playing your own hand. That would make the game a pure game of chance and luck, just waiting for big hands to land in your lap. One of the true attractions to poker is that the game is so much more than that, demonstrated by the fact the best players consistently make final tables at major events.

So what makes these players stand out from the crowd. Five factors can be found at the basis of all good poker play. They are Patience, Perseverance, Psychology, Position, and Practice - The 5P’s of Poker.

Patience

In the game of poker you must have patience to win. You have to wait for good hands to play, If you don’t have patience and you play every single hand you can be assured that you will not be a winning player. You need to wait for good hands, wait and make the right moves, and wait to make the right bets.

Perseverance

This is very important in poker. You cannot give up, and you must always play your best game. If you hit a losing streak and get beat with bad cards or bad play you cannot give in and start playing bad hands and making bad moves. Do not give in to tilt and stick to your normal strategy.

Psychology

Poker is a people game played with cards, not a card game played with people. You must always be thinking about the other players. How have they played in the past? Why would they make that bet? What do they think I have? How do they view me as a player? Always try to get inside the other players head, try and put yourself in their position to figure out what they have.

Position

This is the most critical and also the most obvious factor. For some reason it is also the most easily forgotten. Always be aware of your position on the table. Be aware of other players positions. You get to choose the cards you play and when you play them. In early position only play very best hands. Do you really want to raise in early position and give someone acting after you the chance to re-raise you? If they flat call your raise, how will you get a read on their hand ? Playing out of position presents many problems for all but the best poker players. You have a huge advantage if you are the last player to act in every round.

Practice

Nothing worth winning is easy and like most things the harder you work…the luckier you get. To be a winning poker play you have to play….a lot. The more you play the more experience you will have. Keeping yourself informed about poker strategy is also important and sites like Oz Poker not only allow you to obtain a constant feed of poker strategy and discussion though their poker forums, they also regularly host private games, so you’ll have no shortage of opportunites to practice your new skills.