10 Poker Tips to Use on a Gambling Trip

Hi, there poker lovers. Spring is coming bringing the season of holidays and fun trips with it. Let’s imagine you have already packed your bags and chose an ideal poker destination for a weekend getaway with friends. No matter where you’re headed for a little gambling adventure, Las Vegas or Atlantic City, this list of valuable poker tips will help you rule poker games you play. What’s more, you will feel like your fun trip paid out in the end.

#1 Don’t Mess with Your Budget

When you finally start touring casinos looking for ideal poker games to play, always keep your bankroll in mind. When you are finally at the poker table and you are on a winning streak, don’t get too carried away with your instant success. You should always remember that tables can turn pretty quickly and leave you completely broke. Don’t make irrational moves and raise aggressively just because you’re winning at one point. This is something serious poker players would never do. You should always plan your bankroll in advance and treat it responsibly all the way through the game.

#2 Chose Poker Games You Can Handle

Okay, we know that you are on your holiday and that you want to let loose and have some fun, but this is one of the most valuable poker tips you can get. Choose the poker games and tables that best suit your skills and bankroll. It is always better to play several low stakes games against weaker opponents and win some money than to burn your bankroll in no time playing poker with sharks at high stakes table. Serious poker players can’t stand overblown egos. Remember, you’re there to play some poker and have fun, you don’t have to waste all your money “proving” that you can compete with sharks.

#3 Feel Free to Play Loose at the Opening Stages of a Tournament

We are still talking about the bankroll because great bankroll management is an essential component for having a solid and confident performance at a poker table. If you are a fan of tournament poker, and you reserved your seat at one of those, this poker trick will be invaluable to you.

One of the best poker players nowadays, Doug Polk, has a poker tip for you; so, you better listen up. When you’re in a poker tournament, try to think of its opening rounds as a single cash game. That way, you focus on your individual hand and make the best of it. If you hold a strong hand at the beginning of the tournament, don’t be shy to play aggressively and bet more money than you’ve originally planned only because you want to save your bankroll for later phases of the tournament. Simply put, don’t think so much in advance, overthinking can only distract you. Stick to the hand you are currently playing and make the best of it.

#4 Don’t Be Afraid of Bluffing

Bluffing has to be one of the oldest poker tricks in the book. This is a situation where you play aggressively and raise constantly like you have a winning hand, even though that is not the case. The aim of bluffing is to intimidate your opponents with an aggressive playing style and get them to fold preemptively. Although bluffing is a poker skill that requires a lot of practice to perfect, you shouldn’t be afraid of using it in your play. You can profit from bluffing when you’re playing against weak rivals that are prone to folding.

#5 Play 3 Bet Pots Whenever You Hold a High Hand

This is one of the poker tricks related to playing aggressively. Most of the players play it safe in the pre-flop stage of the game and start to raise later on in the game. You should always play a 3 bet pot in case your starting hand shows a pair of face cards; especially the Ace/King combination. Starting the game by re-raising the initial bet without seeing the flop is a demonstration of power that will intimidate your rivals at the poker table. If you combine bluffing with this move, you can be sure that you will take that pot home as all the others will fold before the showdown.

#6 Don’t Go Over the Top with an Average Hand

While you should try bluffing to get weak rivals out of the game, you should never force raises when you hold an average hand in a poker game. If your hand is merely good but not great, you should check and follow others as much as you can. When you check to stay in the game with good hands like a low pair, for example, your rivals will have a hard time bluffing you.

#7 Play Your Big Hands Fast

This is yet another set of poker tricks winning poker players use fairly often in their gameplay. Every time you have a strong hand—that can easily turn into a winning one—raise your bet and try to make a massive pot to take home.

But if you want to build up a huge pot, you don’t want to scare your opponents off the table too soon. Try to make your gameplay less predictable by checking. You should check in the following favorable situations

• There’s no chance in hell that you will be overplayed
• There is a  small number of “scare” cards left in the deck that can possibly ruin your winning combination
• You can see from the way your rival plays that his hand is too weak to reach the showdown round.

These were some poker tricks you can use to improve your gameplay at the table. Now we are going to pay more attention to the psychological side of poker playing. Here are some poker tips to help you keep your head at the poker table.

#8 Devise a Strategy and Stick with It

Good players will often tell you that you need a good poker strategy before you start the game. What this also includes is the betting style you want to apply in your game. Additionally, you should never abandon your prepared strategy in the middle of a game because you feel like it. At the same time, you should observe other players, and make quick decisions based on their gameplay.

We know this is not an easy thing to achieve, but if you want to play poker for real and earn some money along the way, you should spend some time learning and applying these strategies in your gameplay.

#9 If You Feel Like Tilting, Take a Break

There are some points during the game when you can feel anxious or frustrated. The game doesn’t revolve as you planned, or you busted your bankroll by making stupid decisions. Whatever the causes of your tilt might be, when you feel the tilt is coming, just take a break. Go eat something or catch some fresh air. In other words, clear your head before you return to the poker table.

#10 Take Your Friends with You

Since the whole point of your gambling trip is to have fun with your friends while playing poker, you should always pick poker games you can play together. You will not only feel more confident in the game, but your friends will also give you all the support you need if things go south.

Let’s wrap this up by saying that with these poker tips and tricks in your bag, you are more than ready to go and conquer Vegas. All we can say is good luck and try to have some fun!