Poker Strategy: Beginner Poker
Basic strategy concepts to teach new players how to play poker.
Whether you’re new to poker, a beginner player looking to sharpen your skills, or just new to FlopTurnRiver.com, this beginner’s section will get you acquainted with all of the above. Poker is different from other forms of casino gambling games because you play against the other players, not the house. The house takes a rake out of every pot, and that’s how they make their money. They couldn’t care less how each player plays their hand or how much each player wins or loses. Out of this unique structure, strategy is born. If you make fewer mistakes than your opponents, over the long run, you will make money. It’s as simple as that.
If you’re new, everything may seem overwhelming. But the best way to approach becoming a poker shark is to take it one step and one hand at a time. Browse all of our beginner poker strategy articles below, or signup for our poker forum and introduce yourself in the Beginners Circle. There are many winning players who are willing to give you advice to help plug your leaks and improve your game. Poker is a game of skill, anyone can get lucky in one hand or session. But it takes the people who become students of the game to become a consistent winner. Start your poker education now!
Featured Beginner Poker Articles
Playing Long Sessions
By learning how to play longer sessions at the poker tables more effectively, you can increase the amount of money you win. By carefully choosing the right tables and using lobby filters to your advantage, you can keep yourself in good +EV situations for extended periods of time.
Beginner’s List of Poker Leaks
Poker is a complex, difficult game, so it’s only natural for beginners to make a lot of errors. The problem is in identifying these errors — if you knew what they were, you wouldn’t be making them! Take a look at these common leaks to see if any of them are present in your game.
An Introduction to Game Theory in Poker
A reader-friendly, easy to understand explanation of game theory and its applications in poker. Explaining the differences between theoretical terms such as strategy, strategic options, domination and exploitation, the article teaches players how to use these principles to maximize their winnings.
Taking the Next Step
In poker, it’s important to keep improving your game so that you can move up in stakes. By carefully considering bankroll management, studying the player pool at your new level and approaching the bigger game with the right mindset, you can increase your chances for success.
Continuation Betting in NL Hold’em
An easily digestible explanation of continuation betting in No Limit Texam Hold’em. This article demonstrates which hands are ideal for c-bets, which aren’t and how, when and against whom a c-bet should be used to maximize winnings. It also explains how much you should bet in certain situations.
Most Recent Beginner Poker Articles
Bust-Out Blues
It’s happened to all of us at one point or another. Even the great Phil Ivey went bust several times before hitting his stride. Rather than beating yourself up over it, take your bust-out as an opportunity to learn. But before you leap right back into the action, take a few minutes to consider how you want your comeback to go down. Will you make the same mistakes you did the first time around?
Poker Hand Strategy | Poker Starting Hands with Deep Stacks
Deciding what range of hole cards you’re going to play depends largely on your stack size. If your stack equals 60BB or less, you should aim to hit big pairs. If it’s between 60BB-150BB, you can play suited connectors and gappers. Above 150BB, you can play cards with flush or straight potential.
NLHE Foundations #03: Calling to Close the Action in No-Limit Hold’em
This is the third installment in the No-Limit Hold'em Foundations Course. Before you read this lesson, you should have completed lesson 1 and lesson 2, and this includes doing the exercises and posting them in the forum threads for each lesson. Also make sure to sign...
Learning the Other Games
Even if you’ve never played anything but Texas Hold’em, there are universal poker principles that will make it easy for you to learn how to play other variants of the game before you master them. Your position, seat selection and bankroll management are critical when you are picking up a new game.
Playing Small Pairs in NL Full Ring
There is a tremendous sub-culture of players who see small pocket pairs and get carried away with their profit potential. Personally I play pocket pairs very sparingly in full-ring NLHE games. The modern online poker environment is getting tougher by the month and...
Tactical Thinking – Is It Enough?
Wherever you go these days, be it on poker forums, poker websites or poker magazines, you will be confronted by a myriad of information concerning how to play certain hands in certain situations. Now before I go any further, there is absolutely nothing wrong with...
How to Decide Which Hands to 3-Bet for Value Pre-Flop
If you want to learn about how to 3-bet for value before you see the flop, you’ve found the right article. This will teach you how to 3-bet and when it’s appropriate to do so. You’ll also learn about your 3-betting range, calling range, folding range and why they are critical to your success.
The Proven Best Poker Training Books of All Time
Learning how to play poker correctly is a tough enterprise. Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — by reading the tips and advice of players who have gone before you, your own learning curve can be significantly accelerated.
Online vs. Live Poker
In the past when live games became tough to beat players turned to online poker to hone their skills, get multi-table bonuses, and make money. With the games online getting harder by the day it is quite ironic the same players find themselves heading back to the live...
Pointers for Micro Stakes No Limit Holdem
(This is a post I wrote a while back which I hope will be useful for newcomers to micro-stakes NL. It should be useful up to 25NL, but it's specifically aimed at the player of a few weeks' experience, who understands the basics, but doesn't know much strategy. I hope...
Raising Behind Limpers
I'm going to try to tie this in as much as possible the points I made in my post on blind stealing, Blind Stealing 101. I think that for the people who don't already raise behind limpers often, it will be best if they think of it as an extension of blind stealing at...
Tactics vs. Strategy (Part 1): The Study of Tactics in Poker
The study of tactical play in poker is about figuring out which plays are likely to work well against certain player types and against the field as a whole.
The Essential Poker Tactics for New Players
We have four tactics here in this week’s column that all players should learn about on a very high level.
“To Check/Raise or Not to Check/Raise?” That is Today’s Question
A check/raise is a potent move at the table which should normally be used sparingly, preferably in the later stages of cash games and tournaments. This article discusses some situations when you would and would not want to check/raise your opponents to increase your winnings or cut your losses.
Transitioning from Online to Live Play
If you’ve only played poker online, you will need to make some changes to your game before you play live in a brick-and-mortar casino. For instance, you’ll need to manually track your opponents’ stacks and the pots, abide by the casino’s house rules, tip your dealers and adapt to slower play.
