How to Improve Your Online Poker Results Without Studying Poker
4 minutes
Last Updated: March 19, 2024
While it is easy to learn basic rules, it is not easy to master poker and reach expert levels.
That being said, you can help yourself to have better results without actually studying poker.
Of course, you still need to learn fundamentals and constantly improve your strategy, but this article is not about that. Instead, we will concentrate on what extra steps you can take to reach better results.
These are many good poker tips for beginners, and these five simple tips might not look like much to you, but it is time-tested, and all serious players agree how important each of these is, so don’t treat it lightly.
Set Clear, Achievable Goals
When we set our eyes on major, life-changing goals, it is only natural to feel a lot of pressure – and all the following expectations can scare you away.
But if you set some short-term and achievable goals, you can focus on the work at hand and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
However, that is not enough, and just like with all other areas in life, your poker goals should be measurable and ones that you can actually control. If you decide to play free online slots, you can’t control much in these games, so your only goal should be to have some fun, but you surely can do more in poker.
For example, a goal to play 10.000 hands per month is a great option of what you can control, rather than seeking to win X amount of money, which you can fail to do even when you play at your best.
Remember that short term variance can be very brutal.
On top of that, you can frame all your studying, playing, and other poker goals in a way that is easily controlled, and it will give you peace of mind when playing.
Play Against Other Beginners
When trying to learn poker basics, it’s important that you play against other noobs and people of the same abilities as yourself.
Proper table selection is one of the key elements of success, so it is essential when you are just starting.
There is no place for your EGO in poker, so finding good games will surely help you increase your win rate and even progress through the games at a better pace.
While this might not be so intuitive, playing against a beatable competition will help you boost your morale and enjoy games much more, so you are more likely to dedicate yourself to improving further.
Suppose you jump into the games with seasoned poker veterans. In that case, your bankroll will not last long, so make sure to identify recreation players and stick to these games until you build up solid fundamentals to continue your journey.
Build A Solid Support System
All professional players say that their poker network massively contributed to their success, so don’t take this tip lightly.
If you do not have any poker playing friends, you can always turn to the twoplustwo poker forum or other communities to find like-minded players.
You will be able to discuss strategy, get your questions answered, and get emotional support when things turn south.
If you have people who can relate to what you're going through, you can reach out to them when you're feeling down and get the support you need.
Even Reddit poker can be a good place to take your thoughts of the game and maybe even find players to discuss strategy and help each other grow constantly.
I highly recommend forming a poker study group of at least a couple of players with similar skillsets and using this resource to analyze hands, break down strategies, and learn poker together.
Learn To Assess Other Players Ability
Evaluating how good your opponents are can be a little harder when you play online since you do not see the actual opponent, but with the help of tools like Poker Tracker 4, you can quite accurately put them in one group or another.
Learn to identify players based on their stats and use the most effective strategies against a particular opponent.
While it is great to know how to balance your ranges, you should concentrate on observing as much information as possible and punishing your opponents for big mistakes when you just start playing poker.
If you see someone sticking with weak holdings, just value bet more often and do not try to bluff them. Contrary to the previous example, if you see very tight players, try to push them off as many hands as possible since they will only play big pots when they have a great hand.
Identifying different types of players and adjusting your strategies to counter them will increase your results more than you think.
Look At The Bright Side
When you play poker, you can't focus on the unfavorable outcome. You can't let your losses disturb you and get your motivation levels down, so remaining positive is crucial!
Look at every session, even if the outcome isn't good, as a step in the right direction and a learning opportunity.
Your only goal is to play all poker hands to the best of your abilities and concentrate on things you can control. If you make a mistake, don’t sweat it, everyone makes mistakes, so learn from it and move forward.
Moreover, it is essential to remember that each hand is different, and your previous results do not influence what happens next, so don’t get fixated on bad beats.
If you manage to do that, you can keep playing no matter what and achieve your goals much quicker.