Poker Strategies

While you can’t influence the hand that you receive in Poker, there are some aspects you can influence with the right strategies, including taking a more structured approach to playing, and these strategies can vary depending on the version you are playing.

Implement a Poker Strategy

There’s a lot that goes into devising game strategies for poker that suit you. At the end of the day, this isn’t a case of a one-size-fits-all approach that you can apply across the board. Everyone has different ways of playing, different tells, and even different outcomes that they might want to get out of their strategies.

Each different strategy will have its own pros and cons and you will have to assess your own feelings around them when selecting them. Not only that but as this is a game that has spawned a lot of different variants, not all strategies will be able to be applied to each one. Some might not be suitable for three-card poker because that is played against a dealer and not against other players. Because of this, you will need to take each game and strategy type on its own merit and try to evaluate which will work best for your chosen game and playstyle.

Checking the Odds of a Poker Strategy

When you’re picking out your chosen approach, the one thing you are likely to be focused on is the odds.

This is where you need to take into account what you have in your hand, as well as what you have seen in the flop. For example, say you need any two cards from the hearts to complete your flush, and you have seen that there has been one laid out in the flop, that means that there are three that you can see when you include the two already in your hand. If there are 13 of any one suit in the deck, that means there are possibly another 10 that could be dealt to you.

This gives you a good chance of receiving your “out” - that is the cards that complete your hand - and you could calculate your odds based on the likelihood of you receiving two of those 10. In this case, it’s around 2 to 1, and you would need to consider your options appropriately.

Three Card Poker Strategy

As we mentioned, in the three card poker variant, you are playing against the dealer instead of other players. Because of this, your strategy will likely be based on the odds of your hand being successful and the bet that you choose to play. For example, a pairs plus bet is one of the options here and requires you getting pairs or higher. Here, the house edge is slightly lower than the main bets at just over 2%, which could make this a popular conservative strategy.

Five Card Poker Strategy

In five card poker, though, there are more elements you need to consider. For one, this is a game in which you are pitted against others. Because of that, strategy comes from both being aware of the strength of your hand, as well as observing the behaviours of others. In this variant, you can draw three cards from the deck in order to complete your hand, and you’ll likely be aiming for a high pair or more, as the odds of this winning the round are high.

High Card Rules Poker Strategy

When playing poker, there are hand rankings that every player should be aware of. The high card hand is the lowest of them all and, as such, is the least likely to lead to a player winning with it. A player who finds themselves in the unenviable position of being lumped with one only really has one way of winning. Bluffing. The important thing to note here is that this is not an option when playing online poker, so you need to be aware of your options.

Single Deck Poker Strategy

Above all, the important thing to keep in mind when forming a poker strategy is to be informed. It’s no good coming into a game with only half the knowledge that you need. Be sure to know the rankings of each individual poker hand so that you don’t sabotage your game by folding early or raising on a weak hand. Any good strategy will be underpinned by in-depth knowledge of the game, including the stages, the action, and your probability of winning.