G
gofish
Rock Star
Silver Level
The mistake I see most beginners make is they only rely on the strength of their hand to determine whether they should check or raise. In my experience most fail to look beyond this and consider their position and ranges of their opponents.
You are playing the game all wrong if you are only relying on hand strength. If you're losing a lot then this maybe the reason why.
First and foremost, whether it is a cash game or tournament, always start out playing really tight for a while and only play monster hands, unless you're big blind where you can always loosen up your range a bit. Instead use this time to focus on observing your opponents at the table. Look for their betting patterns, their ranges, are they aggressive? etc. It is really important to understand what starting hands they min raise, 3 bet or 4 bet with, that way when you have a strong hand like AK+ you will know if you have their range beat.
Secondly, using the above knowledge make sure to take advantage of that when you're 'in position'.
For example let's assume a 9 seat table. You're big blind and player 3 has min raised on the button.. from observing his previous hands you know this min raise is most likely a hand like Q10. You have KQ, which means you can feel safe raising here with a 3 bet. Now if player 3 just calls you can put a bigger percentage on a hand like Q10 for example. On the other hand if player 3 has a really tight range and play then this min raise maybe AKs+, so you should only call this bet with KQ and then proceed very cautiously.
Believe it or not hand strength is actually a small part to play. The most profitable players will always use the above knowledge to their advantage.
Good luck at the tables.
You are playing the game all wrong if you are only relying on hand strength. If you're losing a lot then this maybe the reason why.
First and foremost, whether it is a cash game or tournament, always start out playing really tight for a while and only play monster hands, unless you're big blind where you can always loosen up your range a bit. Instead use this time to focus on observing your opponents at the table. Look for their betting patterns, their ranges, are they aggressive? etc. It is really important to understand what starting hands they min raise, 3 bet or 4 bet with, that way when you have a strong hand like AK+ you will know if you have their range beat.
Secondly, using the above knowledge make sure to take advantage of that when you're 'in position'.
For example let's assume a 9 seat table. You're big blind and player 3 has min raised on the button.. from observing his previous hands you know this min raise is most likely a hand like Q10. You have KQ, which means you can feel safe raising here with a 3 bet. Now if player 3 just calls you can put a bigger percentage on a hand like Q10 for example. On the other hand if player 3 has a really tight range and play then this min raise maybe AKs+, so you should only call this bet with KQ and then proceed very cautiously.
Believe it or not hand strength is actually a small part to play. The most profitable players will always use the above knowledge to their advantage.
Good luck at the tables.