Proffesional poker player's rules !!!

Hey cc fellas, after searching a lot through internet about pro players strategy, i got this somewhere on googling about pro stategy...
Thought this might help you guys in adopting to pro style...
Take a look...


1. Don't play every hand! "The chips you lose (words by Chris Feruson) Are worth MORE than the chips you win".

Everytime you lose chips you short stack yourself more against player you build up. Example you have a 1k stack and your opponent has a 3k stack. You bet 500 on a silly 10 5 offsuit to risk it and the flop comes AAK and your opponent goes all in for you to fold. Now the stack you have a 500 chip stack and your opponent has a 3500. Aka you just set him from a 2x chip lead to a 2.5 chip lead over you. Better to wait for a good hand and protect your stack then to push yourself into tilt. The only time this rule doesn't apply is when your down to final heads up against a bigger stack. Then you need to "push" as you can't wait for every hand to be a good hand. At this point it comes down to having some major cahones and knowing when to bluff your opponent.

2. "Only play suited cards when looking for a flush if you prefereable have Ax or Kx."

If you hit a flush draw with something like 7 4 in your hand and call/all-in against multiple opponents you're likely to lose to someone else who has it with a higher kicker. Now on the other hand if your low cards are suited connectors you might place a small bet in hopes for a straight flush.

3. "Fold any face card with a kicker of less then 10."

While you might end up with a good flop you don't have the odds. Someone will almost always have a face card with a better kicker. A2, and A5 (only when suited is it worth the risk) can be great cards but only to bet in small with. An exception to this is face card with a lower kicker when you hold suited cards. It can then be beneficial to bet in SMALL to see the flop if you are looking for a potential flush (see above commandment). Generally though its best to fold any hand including your a2's and a5's and wait for a better hand. It becomes a judgement call.

4. Use the blinds to see where your opponent is at!

Big Blind: If your hand is crap FOLD better to lose your blind then trying to protect it and taking a bigger loss. Always take a free check though if able.

Small blind and The button: You get to see how everybody else bets. Make a judgement call on folding, calling or raising. Even if you hold a hand like KQ or QJ or a low pair like pocket 7's if 2-3 people before you have raised/re-raised it's likely you're already beat. In pot limit it's not so much a problem but in No Limit the more hands involved in the pot the lower the odds for your big hand of winning becomes.

5. Read your opponents!

Sure an opponent can bluff, but they can also hold a great hand. If you hold A5 and the flop comes J 10 5 and your opponent bets 500+ in blinds of say only 5/10, FOLD. It could be a bluff but is more likely they have the higher pair. The best way to decide to call a bluff is to think to yourself "is my hand the type of hand I'd go all in with?". In most cases it's not so you should fold instead of call. If it was a bluff you still managed to protect your stack (see rule #1). If it's a small raise like 75 you might smell something fishy and try a decent re-raise like 150 to try and scare them away or check the real strength of their hand. But if they re-raise FOLD! If they call if you don't catch another 5 and your opponent does anything but check FOLD! you were beat before the turn and probably should not of been involved that far to begin with.


6. "Don't bet your life on the river."

There are only so many outs in a poker hand. If your amount of outs is fewer then 10 FOLD. If your outs are 10-13 possibly call or raise Minimally, if your outs are 13-20+ it might be worth going for it if you feel your opponent has a weaker hand. If you decide to bluff with very few outs and make the call thank God for it. However you should never do it in the first place. It tells your opponents you are a loose-agressive player (which you probably are) and you'll find yourself with people raising against you alot. You'll basically have made yourself the tables "mark".

7. "Table Image is everything."

If you lose because you didn't get your 2 outer you're probably in a hand you never should have been and should have folded on the turn. Congratulate the winning player on a "good call". This tells the table you were bluffing even if you weren't and can save you from looking like a donkey/mark. It will also give you respect and people will think you have major cahones and have people questioning whether you're bluffing or hold a good hand in the future which is great. If you whine, kick, scream and bitch you tell the table you were just being a donk and lose all respect. Plus you'll find yourself never able to bluff in the future as everybody is going to call you a easy money.

8. Slow play against 1 player but be agressive against more.

So you're holding A10and the flop comes A108. Congratulations you possibly hold the best hand. But how you play it should depend on how many people are in the pot. If it's you against 1 or maybe 2, you could check and make a big raise on the turn. Never wait on a hand like this to bet at all on the river unless your fishing with your check/raises. If 2 or more people are in the hand it's better to make a bet the size of the pot or bigger to scare away some of the fishes. Remember (commandment 4) that for every hand involved your monster hand becomes weaker. While you may hold a big hand every card you let an opponent see past the flop is a card that could better their hand! The bigger your hand the fewer players you want involved.

9. "Any two cards can win, but any two cards can lose"

I like to stick to the original saying but tag on the other side of the coin. While it's true (especially in the world of online poker and the many uber donks playing) any two cards can win, any two cards can also lose. The lower your cards the less likely you are to win. It's not worth the risk and is best to wait for a bigger hand. Never go all in with low cards or pairs like pocekt 2's or 4's preflop. You'll most likely lose to a bigger pair unles you hit your trips. At best you can check/call for a small amount but they are hands better off left unplayed.

10. "Never Stop Learning"

So you think you're as good as Chris Ferguson, Daniel Negreanu, or even Phil Hellmuth? Well there is a golden rule thats been around forever that is you never stop learning. No matter how good of a poker player you think you are you can always get better. Reading articles and strategies can improve even the best poker players ability. For example I think of myself as an ok player, but just learned about floating by reading an article. Floating is a bluffing strategy where you check ir min call on the flop (instead of folding) when you have NOTHING (example you hold 7 5 offsuit and the flop comes ak10)
with the intention of making a big raise on the turn. Even if your opponent has a big hand they are likely to think you were slow-playing a monster hand and will usually fold. Did you know this? Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. The point is theres always something else out there that can improve your play! p.s. there are two majore rules for floating, do you know what they are? if not go out there and LEARN!

Nice read. Thanks for posting it.

I've seen this before somewhere...

Very basic stuff but its all very true and a lot of players would do good to apply some of those rules.