Poker Tactics - Bad Cards equals Bad Bets

There is no other way to say it, bad cards equals bad bets.  There is a big difference between playing aggressive and playing cautious.  But in the end, the good players start only when they have good cards.  And bluffing won't stop a good player stop from betting more and trying to take as much from you as they can.

I have done it, tried to stay in too long on a bad hand, and I have done it enough to write this all down. I lost worst trying to protect bad cards with a bluff.

So I have a new rule; one bet after the flop with a bad hand and then out.

I believe after losing some bad hands that there should be a rule for new players that the don't try bluffing at all.  You won't be good at it and a good player won't stop if they do have a good hand. So I would recommend that you don't play bluffing - at least not off the first turn - the flop - so you can concentrate on the good hands.

I would guess that the good players are like lions in the weeds.  They wait for bad or aggresive players to make an ambitious move and then they pounce by meeting your bets with more bets.  And they are returning the favor for the time when they were new players and they were pounced on again and again.  So if you do try to get better the only way is through patience and timing.
Good players want you to be vain and try and bluff them with bigger bets - that's how they make money!!! Everyone has this idea from TV, sonething that Daniel Negreanu talked about in his book, that every hand is a winner and an exciting affair.  But actually if you sit in a long game at a casino or online and even in your local game you will find that the most of the action is dull and predictable.  Good players fold out quick and try and keep their winnings. Some good players wade in with a soft bet on the flop and try and win a sleeper had from players holding onto aces and kings. Bad players have a streak of good luck or a streak of bad luck and they come and go.  And so the cycle of poker continues, all day long, day after day with winners toasting their good fortune and losers borrowing money from their landlords. There is a simplicity to it all.


That does not mean to say you cannot try to win hands with oddball cards like 7-2 off suit, it just means that you need to know when to say when.

Decide to bet or fold based on the strength of your cards, and if you need to get out fast. It doesn't matter that you could have won the hand after you see the cards.  The good players are factoring in their odds of winning to what you bet.

Instead of using bets to try and win a hand, when you are starting out, just use the cards to do it.  That will make you a more feared poker player than bluffing tactics.  You can win a couple of hands with bluffing only if that other player doesn't have a good hand.  Since that player is good, they are going to have good hands.

Using the cards to win does not mean playing only aces and kings.  It means that you should concentrate your creativity on the possible winning hands and not the bluff.