Poker Strategies: Beating Skilled Players

The time will come when you will dominate the lower limits, and subsequently want to move on to bigger higher stakes Poker games. Of course this means more challenges from tougher players, but with a sound knowledge of the facts, you will be able to make the proper adjustments to your game.

The first thing that you will have to learn is that not only are the games tougher, but the ways in which you win will be different. In low limit games, you often win pots by simply playing a straight game and letting the other players blunder and commit errors. This is not the case in upper limit Poker games.

In the high stakes games, your opponents, being more skilled, will not commit the same elementary mistakes you usually see. What this means for your Poker strategy is that you cannot wait for the opponent to hand you the game; you will have to take it.

This means that you will have to be more aggressive from the get go; learn how to raise and if necessary re raise before the flop. The act of aggression at this stage will help establish your Poker stable image as a solid player. In addition, you can also try to use the continuation bet on the flop or even a three bet.

A lot of your opponents will also be using this same Poker strategy; however, not all of them will be holding big hands, so you should learn to get a read on the players to see who raises with good hands and those that are just loose. This will help you develop the right strategies to use against particular individuals.

Waiting for the best hands is a Poker strategy that you cannot afford to do in high limit Poker games. The reason is that your skilled opponents will quickly see through this and play you like a rock, that is, they will be aggressive when they hold something strong but fold when you make a raise.

You must also learn how to protect the blinds. Although this Poker strategy may seem contrary to what you have learned, the blinds usually go up much faster in higher limit games, so they will play more of a factor. Of course this will mean playing more out of position. The key here is when defending your blinds, play with premium and marginal (not trash) hands.

Beating skilled players will of course require more effort, but it will be worth it, not just because of the personal satisfaction you will get, but also due to the fact that once you are able to beat skilled players, you will gain confidence and be able to move on to even higher and profitable Poker limits.