There are plenty of people, who learn the rules of No Limit Texas Hold'em in a few minutes, enjoy playing but never go deep into poker theory or strategy. And that's completely fine. If anything, poker should be mainly about having fun.
But there are many of us, who simply can't be satisfied with answers like "some people are just luckier than other" or "who is lucky in love can't be lucky with cards". They're eager to learn, why the best players always seem to get away with huge bluffs, while they always get a call in a similar spot.
As poker is a game of skill, in the long run, people, who are dedicated enough to put time and energy in, do emerge and can count on their passion as a good source of income.
The best players learn the nuances between a winning and a losing bluff, call or lay down. They know which hands to choose to bluff with, which hands to make huge calldowns with and which hands to bet for value even when there aren't many worse hands that can call.
This is far beyond simply learning the poker hands rankings, and the best starting hands even though that's inevitable.
If you want to become a champion, if you want to experience what raising the trophy at the end of a poker tournament, you should stop playing. As strange as it sounds, this is the most important rule. The most successful players all agree, that beginners should work on their game just as much time off the tables, as they spend playing.
Learning a solid, fundamental strategy is key to success. You need to get familiar with the correct preflop raise ranges and sizes, the post-flop bet sizing, and the advantages of position.
You need to learn what is the difference between single raised pots and three-bet pots and how to play accordingly.
Yes, this takes time and energy, but if you want the gold, you need to dig deep. For starters, there are several useful poker cheat sheets, which will give you the general guidelines to avoid big mistakes.
With these, you can know how to play in the most frequent situations, which can earn you (or burn you) the most money.
Other than becoming the master of Texas Hold'em, it can be a good idea to learn other games, where the playing fields are even softer, so you can create an edge in several games, which allow you to have a more steady income.
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