by Gary Cartlidge

Created on: August 19, 2010   Last Updated: August 20, 2010

How to win at Texas hold'em poker: Skills versus luck

There is an old saying “ it is better to be lucky than it is smart” although true in many ways of poker and life this is true, with Texas hold’em it is better to be smart than it is lucky on a long term basis. Texas hold’em poker enables you to outplay and beat your opponent even if you have the weaker or loosing hand, this means you can make your own luck.

Texas hold 'em is a game of math, reading your opponents moves and being able to remember past hands. Understanding your opponents choices is the alternate way to win at Texas hold’em, other than playing defensively you can also go play offensively.

Developing skill is the only way to change poker from gambling into a business, using bank management and keep a record of everything you do is a skill you control unlike luck which is almost like it is given you and you have no control over.

Skill

Attacking your opponent and always keeping them on their toes is one of the key skills of a great poker player. The only way you can understand and develop this skill is to play continuously until you begin to feel your opponents methods and know roughly how strong or weak they are. Usually online poker is much harder than face to face because you cannot get any tells on the person such as a twitch or itching themselves. The skill with online poker is to be able to calculate your odds of wining and keep track of your opponents past hands, the math online is the key to wining when in person bluffing is fare easier to fool a person by looking comfortable when you may be scared or nervous.

Lets face the fact that you cannot beat a person that is lucky no matter how tight, consistent or aggressive you play however luck never lasts forever. Nobody is lucky enough to play Texas hold’em and not use math playing purely on instinct is going to turn $100 into $1,000,000. Developing skills such as bluffing at the right time, reading your opponent's betting patterns, timing between raising/calls, remembering your opponents showdown value to their betting on the flop, turn and river and most of all your math.

Overall Texas hold’em is a game of math, memory and patience, if you are missing any of these then don’t plan to make much money or win many tournaments because statistically luck will not take you all the way.  

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