How to get an edge playing poker?

Sucker said:
Game selection.

Fact of life: If there are NO bad players at the table, you CANNOT make money. Even the best poker player in the world would not make enough money to make it worth his time.
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Yep. Any game above like 3/6 online or 10/20 live has pretty much been reduced to levels upon levels of bumhunting. This is only true for no limit FWIW.

Sucker said:
And at the same time, an objectively good TAG will be picking off the LAGs for about the same amount of money. This idea is probably the most common misconception that you will find among pro poker players, including SOME of the top pros. IMO, it comes down to one word: Pride. Poker players like to think that they're the best player at the table and therefore they can beat ANY game. Especially when they can spot a weakness in their opponent, but don't realize that that same opponent notices the holes in THEIR game. The LAG will capitalize on the inherent weakness of the TAG style of play, and vice-versa! Most of the very TOP players understand this, and will avoid a tough table at all costs - unless of course they're getting paid by the television producer to play!

FWIW - On several occasions I have personally heard the late great Chip Reese state that game selection is by far the most important tool in the pros' bag of tricks. I'm merely repeating his very solid advice.
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I think the entire concept of "lag vs tag" is a fundamentally poor way to think about the game. There's such a wide range of opponents that you'll be playing against that one set "style" isn't going to cut it.

With that said, I'm pretty certain that the very good aggressive players are taking the most money out of the game by far.

Standard ABC tags really aren't beating the game anymore. There's not much money left in no limit hold'em.

I should note that when I say "beating the game" I mean earning enough to make a living. Beating 1/2 live or 25c/50c online doesn't count.



BrianCP said:
Fish trying out poker online don't play 1 dollar two dollar. 1 cent 2 cent, maybe even .25 .50, but not 1-2. Most people playing that earned their way there.
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Tons of random fish will deposit 1k on a Friday and heave it all off playing many different limits depending on how much they're up/down or how hard they're tilting.
 
aslan said:
If we're talking about NL hold'em, you can gain your largest advantage by playing aggressively IMO. That, in a nutshell, is why I have not yet entered the fray. I come from a very conservative school of stud and draw poker. Playing only strong hands can work in those two types of poker, but it's disastrous in hold'em, where you can easily ante yourself to death.
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Aslan is 100% correct. That is the single biggest way to gain an advantage in poker, however few can do it well.
 
Sounds Fun

Seems like poker has a lot of hurdles in order to be a pro?

:joker::whip:
I would add good cards, but it appears it's the least of a poker players worries?
 
blackjack avenger said:
Seems like poker has a lot of hurdles in order to be a pro?

:joker::whip:
I would add good cards, but it appears it's the least of a poker players worries?
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Yeah, cards break even, coolers are balanced by heaters, suckouts are balanced by sucking out, skill alone determines who profits!

So in other words, there is a ton of basic stuff to learn, that is followed by slowing learning through experience how to be profitable. Branching out from the basics takes a lot of time, about twice as much as mastering the basics.
 
mjbballar23 said:
The bumhunting at midstakes and higher these day online is pretty ridiculous.
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Wow. Never heard the term "bumhunting" before :).

I've certainly done it, though. There was a guy in a live game 1-3 game who would come in and make $50 bets in the dark. Allegedly he went through over $10k in one night a few times.
 
Of course, Kenny Rogers said everything that needs to be said about Poker:

"Every hands a winner, and every hands a loser."
 
Meistro said:
One edge is by folding a lot before the flop. This means you will on average have stronger hands than your opponents, which is a strong edge. Another edge is by playing hands you choose to play aggressively. Instead of calling bet or raise if you decide to play.

Another edge comes from studying your opponents. Holecarding is also sometimes possible, although frowned upon and not generally that useful.

How else can one gain an advantage playing poker?
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Read / study the game, be good at math and know the math of the game, be good with reading people and experience.
 
Meistro said:
Holecarding is also sometimes possible, although frowned upon and not generally that useful.
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:confused: :confused:
Google "Ultimate Bet cheating scandal". A former WSOP champion cheated the online poker community out of more than 60 million dollars doing exactly THAT. Try telling his victims that hole carding is not useful!
 
Being a superuser online is a far cry from holecarding live poker games, where you'll generally only know one or two opponents' hands (even though that's of course a massive edge, as well). I've been in a few live poker situations where holecarding was easy enough, but I always point out flashes. To me, it's a totally different issue from house-banked games, and as foolish as some people may see it, I won't use that kind of info in a poker game.
 
Lonesome Gambler said:
Being a superuser online is a far cry from holecarding live poker games, where you'll generally only know one or two opponents' hands (even though that's of course a massive edge, as well). I've been in a few live poker situations where holecarding was easy enough, but I always point out flashes. To me, it's a totally different issue from house-banked games, and as foolish as some people may see it, I won't use that kind of info in a poker game.
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If someone flashes their hand to me and I'm in a hand with them, I would check it down even if I know I'm beating their hand. Then after the hand I'd tell them I saw their cards and didn't want to take your money because of that mistake, but other people aren't as nice.
 
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