Few things to remember for the beginners !!!

Point 1 - Know the odds. This involves simple Math and can be the difference between winning and losing.

Point 2 - Never play in a game or hand you cannot afford to be in (one of the best money saving tips)!!

Point 3 - Always change your playing style. Switching habits and patterns will disguise your cards from other poker players.

Point :4 - Try and think like your opponent play with understanding, do not be blinded by ego or competitiveness.

Point :5 - Memorize the Hand Rankings one of the most over looked tips. Full House beats a straight, and a flush, but not a straight flush!

Thanks for the important points! LoL I like Point 5. =) I hope these points help improve my game. I would like to start making dollars instead of cents! haha..

Good tips though I wouldn't recommend 3 for beginners. Changing your playing style requires that you need to know how to play both/all of those styles effectively. At the micro stakes, people will not notice this enough that it won't matter nearly as much. Most beginners will lose more from playing styles different than their norm than from the gain they get by their opponents having to react to your change. Its generally much better to learn very tight strategies before you learn anything else.

^^you do not need to change in micro or free, like wurlyq said. you could only play AA...and raise 5xBB in a fr and you will still get a caller or two. not many ppl are picking up on much...someone actually noticing much of anything is the minority.

Well. number 3 is more complicated...but they are all very good points.. number 5 is for my grandma but that's ok. hahahaha
I recommend for beginners to play tight, and sometimes bluff (with a lot of chips) try to bluff and see what happens.
Good luck!

I just copy pasted this from elsewhere, kinda fits with the theme of the op though.



The First Golden Rule of Poker
Maximize the size of the pots that you win; minimize the amount of your money in the
pots that you lose.


The Second Golden Rule of Poker
When deciding whether or not to call, factor the amount of money being asked of you
in relation to the amount of money in the pot.


The Third Golden Rule of Poker
Avoid playing too consistently; take note of the consistencies in your opponents.


The Fourth Golden Rule of Poker
Know the players at the table; adjust your playing style accordingly.


The Fifth Golden Rule of Poker
Be aware of tells in yourself; be aware of tells in others.


The Sixth Golden Rule of Poker
Utilize bluffing; bluff with the best-balanced frequency to maximize its usefulness.


The Seventh Golden Rule of Poker
Practice inexpensive advertising to create false impressions of your playing style.

Thats very good tips...I think I have problems with tip number 2 and 3, but I am always trying to make room for improvements

i will say, there are times to bluff in micro stakes sng's, which is somewhat less relevant in mtt's...but still somewhat pertinent. i don't know about cash games, but i would think probably not....but they depend on your reads of who you're playing against. obviously, you're looking for them to fold...and they have a lot to do with blind play. you're shortstacked and you have xx crap that will more than likely lose but you have one or two opponents who have a chronic limping problem. you haven't played many hands and you've won most of them...they're pretty much only going to call any bet you make post flop if they hit top pair...and sometimes they'll fold and show they did hit top pair but folded out of fear of whatever monster you "checked" with. most bluffs are going against the guy you know is just going to fold though. i don't consider it a bluff to shove any two cards when you're really short though...and i will, and if you call with K9s to my 47o and lose, it's your fault...i had to shove, you didn't have to call. just be sure to jot down notes on people. tonight, i was stuck in a sng that just wouldn't end. 3 ppl left, bb is 200, 300, 400, etc, still 3 ppl left. ugh. i shoved pure crap plenty...and this one guy limped twice with QQ on the button...the first time doubled me up with my J4o...he limped and i checked. my 4 hit...and i tried to get him off my ass with about a half pot sized bet...he calls...and my J hit on the turn...where i would have probably otherwise given up....so i bet again and he put the hammer down, i guess trying to be tricky...but he only had one pair at that point so...he ends up getting eliminated what seems like days later, and it was his fault for limping QQ. i can't remember now what happened but he limped QQ on the button again and lost to the other guy.

so that brings up another tip or golden rule or whatever...do not try to be tricky in micro stakes, you're letting ppl see cards you shouldn't let them be seeing

And never show your cards if you don't have to.

I would like to add one more important point which is strictly for beginners i.e. - "Don't Bluff Just For Bluffing's Sake".

I only bluff in position when everyone else shows weakness. Sometimes I'll take a stab at the pot from early position after the turn comes if everyone checked post flop, though it works better if a good scare card comes. I guess thats more of a semi-bluff because I'm looking for information on the remaining players in the hand.

I'm a beginner though.

Helen Thomas said:

I would like to add one more important point which is strictly for beginners i.e. - "Don't Bluff Just For Bluffing's Sake".

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LOL . That one is a good one. I just wish most free rollers on FTP can follow that rule. I am not a fan of the continuous all-ins, but I am getting more used to it as days go by. lol. it's so annoying! =) Especially when they do get a caller with an actual hand and they turn over trash like J3....and to make it worse, they WIN! lol poker.

The Seventh Golden Rule I found most interesting. It is also the part of my game i need to enhance. One way I find you can do this is showing cards every once in a while especially with sick bluffs. Ive found that this makes especially messes with your opponents hands because then they never really know what to expect. I find this works especially well in cash games since players pay more attention to each other since your at the table with the same people.

doops said:

And never show your cards if you don't have to.

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that's really a very good point. never show. never. i might tell if someone actually types in chat to ask. when someone shows, i'm taking notes...that's a hint to how they're playing their cards. if i fold AA on the turn, i'm not showing i folded AA. if i got 35s and i called your min-raise and i hit a pair of 3's and had a flush and a straight draw, and i made you fold...i'm not showing you i called with a 35s either. ppl that sit there and show off their cards just don't seem to understand how much they're telling me. i don't know how many times someone over the course of a sng has raised my blind when they're on the button or sb with crap, i fold, and they show a 47o, then an orbit or two later do it again and show a 52o. and go "lol"...depending on my stack, i'm raising or shoving anything next time...several times i've sucked out on a monster and they call me a donk...i just wasn't giving them any credit anymore

and that brings up another point. if at any time preflop or on the flop you're pretty sure you're stronger and have this idiot beat...raise...and re-raise. don't hand out free or cheap cards, make them suck out on you. a little confidence goes a long way. make other ppl make the tough decisions and get your chip's worth from it...its a major opportunity to get your chips in and win

spiderman637 said:

Point 1 - Know the odds. This involves simple Math and can be the difference between winning and losing.

Point 2 - Never play in a game or hand you cannot afford to be in (one of the best money saving tips)!!

Point 3 - Always change your playing style. Switching habits and patterns will disguise your cards from other poker players.

Point :4 - Try and think like your opponent play with understanding, do not be blinded by ego or competitiveness.

Point :5 - Memorize the Hand Rankings one of the most over looked tips. Full House beats a straight, and a flush, but not a straight flush!

Click to expand...

Point :6 - Your hand is not a monster just because your cards are suited. Suited cards only improve your chance of winning by 4%. Remember this.

Think about each and every bet you make. What hands will call, fold or raise and what will you do in each situation.

Everyone is already subconsciously doing this, but if you stop to think about your logic every now and again you may improve your value bets (and minimise losses).

I follow most of those rules. I just go broke too fast.

Knowing the odds and knowing the hand rankings are by far the most important for a beginner. As others have said, switching up your betting patterns for beginners is useless. Just play a very tight game in micro limits and you will win a lot more than you lose. Even try experimenting at low stakes is good for learning aswell.