Five Poker Strategies to Master

When playing community poker games like Five Card Draw, you need to master some of the most common strategies associated with the game. Most of them are easy but some require a little more practice than others. You need to be able to read your opponents to be successful at poker and these moves will help you gain an advantage.

Aggressive play – poker move where you put down an opening bet or raise an opponent’s wager. Do this with a strong hand and don’t overuse it because your opponents will take notice and use it against you. It’s kind of like the boy who cried wolf and you will be labeled as a loose player.

Bluff – common move where you deceive others by betting with a bad hand. Your goal is to get other players out of the hand by betting big. The less players in the hand, the smaller the chance of high cards left in the hand.

Check-raise – risky move that pays off big if used right. You have a strong hand but don’t bet (check, which is a pass to the next player) hoping that other players will make the opening bet to start off that round of wagers. The check-raise is similar to a bluff or slow play. When the action comes back to you, you raise and confuse your opponents.

Protection play: opposite of a check-raise. Do this with a strong but vulnerable hand like a pair of Jacks when a flush or straight is possible on the board. It’s a safe move that protects your hand. Use the strategy by betting high early to scare off your opponents.

Slow play: the opposite of bluffing. This is another poker strategy to protect your hand. Unlike a protection play where you scare off opponents, you are aiming to keep opponents in the hand and increase the pot by slow playing. Start with a small wager to keep players with average cards in the hand. Players on the fringe will stay in just to see the cards. This gets them pot committed and then they are yours. You want to be perceived as weak and then strike when their guard is down.