Few poker players in 2022 are able to sit and dominate easy peasy. The winning players take Texas Hold’em seriously and not faffing around like they could in the poker boom. If you are a recreational player trying to bridge the gap and become a regular winner, you must take poker seriously. Fortunately for you we have some helpful tips to help you achieve this. We are confident if you follow the tips in this post, you will have better success at the tables in the future.
Set Goals
Taking poker seriously means recording performance, treating bankroll management seriously and monitoring your results regularly. That’s why recommend having some poker goals set so you can take stock of how you’re doing at regular intervals. Otherwise, you are just aimlessly playing poker, hoping to win more than you lose and not moving forward. By having goals, you will have something in front of you to go after. It’s incredibly motivating too.
No Distractions
A problem recreational players have is that they aren’t able to play at their best regularly. A lot of this is down to focus, they are doing too many things at once. Does this sound like you? Do you play when you have company or the TV or music on? Poker is a mentally taxing activity and requires full concentration. Therefore, we suggest learning how to reduce distractions when you play. This is a great way to treat poker seriously and will surely help you play at a higher level as you will be able to think clearly.
Get a Heads-Up Display
Otherwise known as a HUD, a heads-up display is software that enables players to view key stats on their opponents. At a glance, you can see how many hands your opponents are playing and what degree of aggression. Even the most basic high-level stats are essential to the modern player and something any serious player should be investing in. There are some sites that ban HUDs so this tip is only for those sites that still allow HUD usage.
Don’t Play on Mobile
As much as we all love our mobiles; they can be a pain too. Playing poker on mobile phones is extremely convenient but also tedious. Mobile traffic is growing every year but remember, you are more prone to misclicks due to the smaller screen. You can’t multi-table effectively as you miss the action and you can’t have a poker stat tracking software running either. As such, we advise you to only play poker on laptop, PC or perhaps an iPad. A larger screen will enable you to see the action clearly and also run HUDs (where permitted).
Study Regularly
Our final tip is easy to understand but hard to implement – studying. Few gamblers have the time or inclination to want to study in their free time but for winning players, it’s a necessity. Unlike other forms of gambling, poker is layered and complex. It takes years to master even the fundamentals. That’s why we suggest dedicating some time each week to studying strategy. By spending time studying important poker concepts and ideas, you will be expanding your arsenal at the table and become a tougher opponent to beat. In short, studying is what serious players do to improve so you should too.
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