Top 5 Poker Tips for Advanced Players
You’ve climbed the Poker ranks and now you’re ready to take it to the next level. Here, we go beyond the basics and give you a mix of practical and psychological tips to help you get to peak performance. From working on your mindset to using blocker bets and small ball plays— we’ve got you covered.
As a bonus, we’ll also spotlight the top virtual and live games for advanced Poker players, as well as where to play them! We only included virtual titles by the best providers. And because live poker tables don’t have providers, we listed the poker sites that host them and have the best gaming software, for the most enjoyable experience.
Work on Your Mindset
Working on your mindset and understanding your emotions before, during, and after a game can help you be an even better player. A lot of things in our lives can affect the way we play, which is why the best players always take some time to analyse how they’re doing.
This goes beyond just avoiding tilt; it’s about improving your lifestyle so that you have a clearer mind when playing. For example, sleep is very important for improving Poker performance. It means you’ll have better concentration for longer and that you’ll be able to make better and quicker decisions.
Use Blocker Bets
When you’ve got a great hand, but you don’t want to risk a big bet, you can take advantage of blocker bets. These are smaller bets that are meant to discourage other players from making big bets. They should be smaller than value bets and around 20% to 40% of the entire pot should be enough for a blocker bet.
These bets are best used in situations when you’re one on one with another player in the River and you’ve had the upper hand the whole time. It’s also great for when you have a hand you’d rather not play a big pot on, but you still want to prevent your opponent from making a bet in the River. So, you just make a blocker bet in the Turn.
Build up Your Chip Stack with Small Ball Poker
When you’re playing a tournament, you might be tempted to go all in from the get-go. But, this can be quite risky and leave you out of the competition almost before it even begins. This strategy was made popular by Daniel Negreaunu and it involves getting playing a lot of cheap pots and keeping them small. You also shouldn’t get into big pots (without having monster hands) and you should try getting monster hands paid off for as much as they’re valued.
When you’re playing in a big tournament, this is an excellent way to beat weak, tight players, those who always call, and those who always raise. At the later stages of the tournament, this strategy can be used against desperate or short-stacked players.
Accept That You Can Make Mistakes
A lot of advanced players think that they can’t make mistakes now that they’ve reached this level of play. But, even experts can slip up. You won’t always make the right decision at the table; sometimes you may misjudge a situation and other times you can rush things.
Instead of giving into the frustration and feeling defeated, you can look at mistakes as areas where you can improve. The next time you play and come into a similar situation, you’ll remember what you did wrong and you’ll do better. In the end, that’s all that matters. As long as there’s an upwards trend and you keep learning, you’ll be fine!
Step-up Your Set up
When playing online Poker, you have a huge advantage— you can use more than one screen. One can be used for the game itself, and the other for useful data like fold-empty requirements, pot odds, and stack to pot ratios.
You can also use the other screen for macros, or chip and bb conversions, and even for bet sizings. When you don’t have to think about all of these things, you can focus on the action itself more and let the computer do the work!
Best Poker Games for Advanced Players
Test your skills with one of the most advanced Poker games out there. This game is played with 13 cards and the goal is to make three hands— two five-card and one three-card. You have to pay special attention to the positions (front, middle, back) as well as the rankings to avoid getting beaten by other players.
Once the betting is done, you’ll face off against your opponents one by one and compare hands in each position. For each one you win, you get a point. The player with the most points wins the game!
This video Poker game by Habanero features all the classic Poker rules but remains popular among advanced Poker players. How’s that? The thing is, Double Double Bonus Poker comes with excellent payouts for certain hands.
For example, you get 1,600 coins for a Four-of-a-Kind (Aces). That’s much more than you’d get for a higher-ranking hand like a Straight Flush (200 coins)! The game is super easy to master, especially if you’ve played other video Poker games before.
If you haven’t played PLO yet, now’s your chance. This game will be especially appealing to players who have mastered Texas Hold’em, as it follows a lot of the same rules and the hand rankings don’t change. However,things are a bit more complex in Pot Limit Omaha, since there are five betting stages instead of three.
You also can’t discard all of your hole cards when you’re making a hand. Instead, you need to keep at least two and combine them with the community cards. The variance here is higher too and the game itself is much faster than Texas Hold’em, giving you just the challenge you need.
Deuces Wild by Play’n GO is also a really easy video Poker game to master, as it follows the rules of all other video Poker games. All you have to do is make a hand stronger than the dealer’s. What makes it stand out is that deuces act as wilds. This means you can replace any card with a deuce and make a stronger hand than you thought possible.
The only thing a deuce can’t replace is any card in a natural Royal Flush. But, if you’re missing one card and you have a two, you can make a Deuces Royal Flush!
As an advanced player, you’re probably looking for something you’re not used to so that you can further test and improve your skills. 2-7 Draw fits that description to a t. In this version, the aim is to make the weakest possible hand instead of the strongest.
You’ll have to start from the basics when you’re trying out this game, as the rankings are completely different and have their own names. For example, the Wheel is the strongest hand you can make and it consists of 7-5-4-3-2!
Where to Play Poker Games Online
Spartan Poker
Spartan Poker is the home of some of the biggest and best Poker tournaments in India. You can find variations of Omaha, Texas Hold’em, and Chinese Poker. Regular players can enjoy various bonuses, and even join the VIP club if you play tournaments often.
When you register and deposit a minimum of ₹1,700 over your first three deposits, you get a total of 600% up to ₹60,000!
Poker Bet Casino
This casino is perfect for advanced players who want to play more Omaha and Chinese Poker. When you join, you’ll get up to ₹80,000 with your first deposit and a lot of welcome missions that you can complete to earn tournament tickets and bonus money. What’s interesting is that you can choose between six welcome bonuses, all of which will drop in parts during your next game.
Khelo365
Khelo 365 is the perfect place to keep honing your Texas Hold’em Poker, as they have a bunch of regular tournaments that you can participate in. This casino also has an app that you can download on your Android device if you prefer to play from your phone.
As for the welcome offer, you’ll receive 200% up to ₹1,000 to start you on your Poker journey.
Pocket 52
Join one of the biggest Poker communities in India and participate in both Omaha and Texas Hold’em tournaments. The one downside of Pocket 52 is that it doesn’t have a welcome offer yet. But, that doesn’t means that you can’t claim their other bonuses on a regular basis.
We especially like that they offer Discount Credits, which are specifically designed to lower the buy-in for tournaments. All you have to do is make a deposit and you’ll receive the same amount in bonus money that you can use for tournament tickets.
Casumo Casino
This is the perfect place to enjoy those video Poker games we mentioned, like Deuces Wild, and discover new ones. We think you’ll love Jacks or Better! The welcome offer at Casumo Casino India gives you 150% up to ₹15,000 with your first deposit of at least ₹1,000. What we don’t like is that no Poker games contribute to the wagering requirements, except for video Poker that contributes 10%.
But, you can still get more out of your Poker journey by advancing the levels in the loyalty program. This way, you’ll be able to claim rewards like match bonuses.
Advanced Poker Strategy FAQs
A lot of time, practice, and studying is needed for you to become a pro Poker player. You will need to treat the game like a business, study a lot, and learn from other players. Some people even hire coaches to help them along the way.
You can improve your Poker skills by analysing how you play and finding areas that are more difficult for you or areas where you make a mistake more often. By focusing on the weak parts of your strategy, you can hone your skills and get to the next level. It’s important to be as objective and honest as possible with yourself for this to work.
The best real-money Poker sites usually have a wide range of games and tournaments. They also have ongoing promotions and bonuses that can spice up your play. In a lot of cases, you’ll also find loyalty programs that reward you simply for playing. You can choose any Poker site we listed in this article, as they all fit this description.
Hitting the right balance between tight and aggressive is the most profitable style for most players. It’s a mix of patience, discipline, and boldness. But, keep in mind that the most profitable Poker style for you might just be the one that makes you feel the most comfortable when playing.
The best way to play Poker intelligently is to focus on the statistics, charts, and calculations. When you understand the maths behind the game, it becomes much easier to develop a strategy and win more often.
The online zone for all Poker news, reviews and guides. If Poker is your game, we’ve got a lot in common!