Top 10 steps to winning more at poker

There are plenty of things you can do to improve your poker game and even gain an additional edge over your opponents that are not related to strategy. This article is dedicated to these things, and hopefully will give you a few ideas on how to improve your game and win more.

10. Set goals
Like with everything in life, setting goals is vital in poker. When you know what you are trying to achieve, achieving it will be much easier, and most importantly, you will be able to see if you are getting closer to where you want to be or not.

In poker, it is essential to make your goals specific and measurable, so make sure to follow this rule. Your goal could be to play a specific number of hands per month, to spend X number of hours studying and so on.

Never set a goal to win X amount of money. You can fall short of that just because of variance and become very demotivated to continue. Make sure the outcome of your goal can be determined by your actions and not luck. Make it specific and measurable, and you are good to go.

9. Prepare
Taking just five minutes to prepare before sitting down to play poker can make a huge difference in your results.

Learn when to quit.

Turn off all distractions, such as TV, messengers, Skype, web browsers and anything else that can reduce your concentration. When you play, devote all your attention to it, and you will be making better decisions in no time.

Moreover, you can review your mistakes before a session, which will help you concentrate on what is most important for your game and spot those areas while playing.

8. Learn when to quit
Although you may start a poker session feeling good and in a great frame of mind, you can quickly start to experience negative emotions that can directly influence your ability to win. Therefore, it is crucial to build a habit of quitting on time.

You need to learn to notice when you lose your concentration and be quitting as soon as you can. Same goes for when you get distracted and start thinking about anything else that is not related to your game.

Lack of concentration is a clear sign that you will not be able to play your best. Thus, learning when is the best time for quitting a poker session can skyrocket your results and prevent you from tilting.

7. Control your emotions
Controlling your emotions is one of the best ways to play your best and ensure you will be a consistent winner.

Tilting can hurt your win rate and, most importantly, prevent you from making correct and educated decisions.

6. Reduce variance
Variance can break even the strongest players, so make sure to follow at least basic bankroll management rules to avoid it.

The primary factor determining variance is your win rate. If you have a huge edge, you will not face massive swings and will be able to steadily grow your bankroll, which is something that everyone wants. Thus, make sure to do everything you can to increase it and learn to reduce for poker variance in your games.

5. Read your opponents
Poker tells can give you a lot of additional information about the strength of your opponent's holding, both live and online.

I recently wrote an article about the top 10 poker tells, so you should read it and take that knowledge to the table next time you play.

Set goals

4. Know poker odds
Even experienced players leave some basic poker math behind. That's ridiculous, since poker is a game of probabilities. You should know the odds very well.

If you are not sure how likely you are to win a preflop confrontation with A6 versus JT, or the probability of improving your gutshot, I highly recommend reading my article about poker odds and finding the most relevant information in one place.

3. Understand poker stats
If you are playing online, you can get a lot of information from the stats on your HUD. Learning to use it effectively can help you make better decisions and find mistakes in your opponent’s strategy.

Honestly, I know very few players who can use it to the fullest, and if you become one of them, you will increase your win rate at once. Therefore, build or buy a good HUD, include most vital stats and learn how to use it to exploit your competition.

2. Avoid big mistakes
Some players get so carried away with fixing small leaks and polishing ranges that they forget to fix big mistakes that really matter.

Your win rate will not change much if you include ace-10 offsuit in your early position opening range or not, but it can change a lot if you miss profitable spots to bluff or play too passive postflop.

Therefore, concentrate on fixing big mistakes, and only then go to small ones. If you are not sure where to start, consider getting some coaching or at least database analysis to identify your leaks and move forward in the right way.

1. Study poker
The initial idea was to list the 10 most important non-strategy concepts that can help you to win more. However, I just cannot leave this one out, because it is one of the biggest mistakes you can ever make.

After getting reasonably good and learning the fundaments of poker strategy, some students stop improving, and they quickly fall behind their competition. You will never reach a point where you know everything, so just keep learning new concepts, studying your game and you will have a chance for huge success.

These simple tips will help you gain an additional edge over your opponents and be prepared no matter what comes up in the session. Follow this list and you will be able to win even more without making additional changes in your strategy.