1. Poker Strategies For Advanced Players Scoring
2. Online Poker Strategies
3. Tournament Poker Tips For Advanced Players

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We all acknowledge that poker is a game of skill, but because of the uniqueness of each situation, we can often miscalculate our own skill when self assessing. I'm sure you have seen a bad player turn his hand into a bluff with no real idea why he's betting, have it work out, then pat himself on the back for his great play because it worked out in his favor. When the circumstances are right, turning a marginal hand into a bluff can be a very effective, high-level play. However, it can also be done randomly in spots by a bad player who doesn't know what to do. Without knowing what to do, he then bets or raises as a default.

So what is the difference between the skilled player that turns his hand into a bluff and gets his opponent to make the tough laydown and the bad player that accidentally wins the pot? If you guessed 'intention,' then you are correct.

The skilled player made an assessment of his opponent's range, analyzed how he would react to aggression, and then acted in a manner to get the desired result. The bad player acted on his emotions. He wanted a certain result to be achieved, didn't know how to achieve it, and reacted according to his feelings, which can result in any number of ways.

Let's look at an example so you can see what I'm talking about:

Advanced Poker Common Advanced Mistakes Mistake #1: Missing Value Bets. Value betting is what seperates a great player from just a good player. Obviously, any person knows to bet when he or she holds the nuts. However, getting maximum value out of marginal hands is much trickier. Value betting is highly situational and game dependent.

Hero opens to $30 at a $5/$10 table with an effective stack of $1,000 holding pocket sixes in middle position. Villain calls in the cutoff. The flop is . Hero continuation bets $40, and Villain calls. The turn is a . Hero checks, and Villain checks behind. The river is a , and Hero decides to turn his hand into a bluff and bet three-quarters of the pot. In this example, Hero is putting his opponent on some type of one-pair hand no better than tens. Hero realizes it is easier to represent a broadway combo that improved than it is for Villain to do the same. So, Hero took the opportunity to bet in order to get those one-pair hands — the ones that beat his pair of sixes — to fold.

On the flipside, a bad player could actually play his hand the exact same way, but his thought process would look something like this in his head: 'I have pocket sixes. That's a pair, so I raise.' The flop is . 'I don't think he caught any of that. I'll bet $40.' The opponent calls. The turn is a . 'That's another overcard. There are so many hands that beat me now. I'll check.' The opponent checks. The river is a . 'He checked, so I can win if I bet. I'll bet $110.' The opponent folds. 'I did it!'

Poker Strategies For Advanced Players Scoring

As you see in this example, there were a few flaws in the bad player's thought processes, but it did not hurt him in this hand. The over card queen on the turn was not a scare card because it hits very little of his opponent's range. He also did not think through what his opponent's range on the river was. He just simply reacted to his opponent checking back on the turn. Had the opponent bet the queen against the bad player, he would've been able to win the pot (especially if he was willing to follow up his aggression with another bet on the river) even though his line represents only a small range in reality.

Now, let's take a look at an example that shows how these leaks could cost money.

Hero opens to $30 at $5/$10 with an effective stack of $1,000 holding pocket threes from middle position. Villain calls from the cutoff. The flop comes . Hero continuation bets $40. Villain calls. The turn is an . Hero checks, and Villain checks. The river is a . Hero checks, and Villain checks. Villain shows pocket fives and beats us.

For the bad player, his thought process is as follows: 'I have pocket threes. That's a pair. I raise.' The flop comes is . 'I don't think he caught any of that. I'll bet $40.' The opponent calls. The turn is an . Now stop the tape.

From here, I have seen this play out two different ways. Either the bad player bets the turn because they think, 'I still don't think he has any of that, and I want to find out where I'm at.' And then the bad player will check the river when they realize they're probably beat. Or instead, the bad player will check the turn, and if the opponent checks behind, the bad player will bet the river. The reasoning for this river bet will be similar to the reasoning in the first example. The bad player is unable to see the differences in board textures, which affects the opponent's range in this situation. As you can see, either way the bad player is going to lose an extra street of value because of these flawed thought processes being exposed.

Everyone has tendencies similar to the 'bad player' I've talked about, and I made these examples extreme to highlight my point. Sometimes you can get away with flawed thought processes, but over time, it will cost you money. Make sure that when you are self assessing, you do not place too much stock in the end result. Remember, poker is a game for the long run, and making the correct decisions over time will turn you into a profitable player. Being results oriented in the short term will do the opposite.

David Randall is an instructor for Pocket Fives Training and has shot over 100 hours of instructional video and coached over 120 students privately. His most recent project is called 3D Poker Training, which is centered around hosting poker camps in Europe alongside, Sorel Mizzi. The next camp begins October 1st in London. The 3D Poker Training method teaches players to develop adaptive thinking using interactive questions and examples from actual hands students have played. If you are interested in learning from Randall, you can contact him via 3D Poker Training's Facebook page or at the 3D Poker Training website.

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Common Advanced Mistakes

Mistake #1: Missing Value Bets

Value betting is what seperates a great player from just a good player. Obviously, any person knows to bet when he or she holds the nuts. However, getting maximum value out of marginal hands is much trickier.

Value betting is highly situational and game dependent. For limit hold'em, you should be quite aggressive with betting. Since the bets are so small in relation to the pot, people will often call your value bets with extremely weak hands.

For no-limit hold'em, the situation is much trickier. First, you must get an accurate read on what the other player has. Putting an opponent on his cards is not only useful in determining if you have him beaten, but it is also helpful in determining how much you should bet.

Furthermore, consider what type of player your opponent is. A casual player will tend to call bets that are about as strong as his hand. So if you think a player has a weak hand, make sure the bet is not too large because you want your opponent to call.

However, if your opponent is a strong player, then you must take into account what he or she thinks you have. A casual player only thinks about his own cards, but a strong player is also thinking about your cards!

A strong player has probably put you on a hand. Therefore, you not only want to bet based on the strength of his hand, but you want to bet based on what your opponent thinks you have. For example, if you think your opponent can only beat a bluff, then you should make a bet that would seem like a bluff. This bet may be large or small, depending on the game situation.

Value betting is so situational and complex that it can never truly be taught. It is something that great players learn themselves, and it is what gives them a sizeable portion of their edge against just 'good' players.

Mistake #2: Not Paying Attention

This seems like a beginner's mistake, but it is actually quite common among good players. Experienced poker players have played thousands upon thousands of hands and know what to do in almost any situation. Because of this, they sometimes do not pay too much attention to any one game.

Often, they will still win due to their experience. However, failing to paying attention is a negative expected value move. Your situational decision-making skills go down the tubes, and it is much tougher to learn and improve your game if you are playing three games at once, checking your email, and chatting on an instant messaging program all at the same time. Failing to pay close attention will not always turn a winning player into a losing player, but it means that a winning player will not win as much as he or she could.

Mistake #3: Poor Game Selection

As important as game selection is, many good players neglect it. This is because their egos get to them. They think they can beat any game. They sit in the biggest game they can find because they figure this is where they can make the most money.

Simply put, these people need to keep their egos in check. Choose a game that has the highest expected value for you. Keep track of your statistics using a program like Check Your Bets. Play in the games that you excel at the most, not just the games that are the highest your bankroll can handle. Look for the soft games and pounce on them.

Mistake #4: Playing Too High at Newer Games

Most advanced poker players tend to experiment with different forms of poker. A good limit hold'em player will generally give no-limit hold'em a chance, as well as perhaps pot-limit Omaha. While there is nothing wrong with experimenting a little, advanced players tend to make the major mistake of playing limits at these new games similar to the limit they play at the game they have mastered.

For example, suppose you are a $5-$10 no-limit hold'em player. You are a winning player, even at this fairly high-stakes game. You want to give pot-limit Omaha a chance.

You shouldn't start with the $5-$10 pot-limit Omaha game. This is clearly a mistake, since you do not nearly have the type of edge at this game that you would at the no-limit hold'em game. You need to be cognizant of the fact that you need to work on your skills at this new game. Diving into a new game at a limit similar to your best game is almost a sure-fire recipe of losing because there is a high likelihood that you will not be good enough at first to win at the new game.

Working your way up the limits at a new game is often a good idea. This is how you probably learned the game you play best, so it's generally a good way to learn how to play new games as well.

Mistake #5: Mishandling Free Card Plays

Free card plays are advanced moves that good players sometimes make. These moves are almost always done in late position. One of the most basic examples is raising with a flush draw at the flop in a limit hold'em game. When you do this, you hope your opponent just calls and checks to you on the turn. This way, if you miss the turn, you end up seeing the turn and river cards for just two small bets, instead of one small bet and one large bet.

Knowing when to make a free card play or attempt to re-raise your opponent to break his free card play is highly situational. It is the type of play that frequently even good players mishandle because of improper reads or tactical errors.

Online Poker Strategies

Tournament Poker Tips For Advanced Players

Mistake #6: Extended Tilt

Good poker players can generally prevent themselves from going on tilt or limit the damages from a tilt. However, every now and then a good poker player will have such a bad streak that it will break their confidence in themselves. These players will go on an extended tilt where they start playing poorly session after session, and they often almost forget how to play poker well in the first place.

Furthermore, these players will often start to play in tougher, higher-stakes games that they may not have been able to beat even if they were playing at the best of their ability.

In short, some circumstances may set even a good poker player on an extended tilt. While this sort of tilt is rare, it can last for months at a time, draining a good poker player of his bankroll.