What to Know Before Playing Poker: 14 Smart Tips to Win More

Ever sat down at a poker table, looked at all those chips and intense faces, and felt like you were in over your head?

You’re not the first guy to feel that way. Poker has been around since the 16th century, and it’s always been a mix of skill, luck, and reading people.

This post is going to give you a simple, no-nonsense breakdown of what to know before playing poker. We’ll cover everything from hand rankings to a solid poker strategy, so you can start winning more and stressing less.

Ready to sharpen your game and finally take some money off your buddies?

Basic Rules of Poker

Every poker game is built on two things: knowing which hands beat which and how to bet with your poker chips. Terms like “big blinds,” “antes,” and “betting rounds” might sound like a foreign language at first, but they’re what make the game move.

What are the poker hand rankings?

The poker hand rankings are the absolute foundation of the game. You have to know these cold before you sit down for any cash game, tournament, or your weekly Texas Hold’em battle with friends.

• Royal Flush: The undisputed king. It’s the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten, all of the same suit. This hand is incredibly rare.
• Straight Flush: Five cards in numerical order, all in the same suit. Think 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of hearts. Only a Royal Flush beats it.
• Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank, like four aces. This is a monster hand that almost always wins.
• Full House: This is three of a kind combined with a pair. For example, three kings and two fives. It’s a powerful hand that often wins big pots in no-limit hold’em.
• Flush: Five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence. Five diamonds is a flush, and it beats a straight.
• Straight: Five cards in numerical order, but with different suits. For instance, a 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 of mixed suits.
• Three of a Kind: Often called “trips” or a “set.” It’s three cards of the same rank with two other random cards.
• Two Pair: Exactly what it sounds like, two different pairs in one hand, like two jacks and two eights.
• One Pair: A single pair of matching cards, like two aces. This hand wins a surprising number of pots, but you have to play it carefully.
• High Card: If nobody has any of the hands above, the player with the highest single card wins. An ace-high beats a king-high.

I learned this the hard way: nothing stings more than thinking your straight is the winner, only to have someone flip over a sneaky full house. Misreading your hand is a classic rookie mistake.

You can use free poker apps like the official WSOP Poker game, which has over 20,000 active users at the end of June 2025, to practice recognizing these hands until it becomes second nature.

How do blinds, antes, and betting rounds work?

Once you know the hand rankings, the next piece of the puzzle is understanding how money gets on the table. Blinds, antes, and betting rounds are the engine of any poker game.

• Blinds: These are forced bets made by two players before the cards are even dealt. The player to the left of the dealer posts the small blind, and the next player posts the big blind, which is typically double the small blind.
• Antes: Sometimes used in tournaments or home games, an ante is a smaller forced bet that every single player at the table has to put in before the hand starts. This builds the pot right away.
• Betting Rounds: Most poker games, like Texas Hold’em, have four main betting rounds: pre-flop (after you get your first cards), the flop (after the first three community cards are dealt), the turn (after the fourth), and the river (after the fifth).

These forced bets guarantee there’s always something to fight for. I’ve seen guys go broke in poker tournaments just by having their chip stacks slowly eaten away by the blinds and antes each round. You have to stay focused and be ready to play, because sitting back and waiting for perfect cards is a losing strategy.

Types of Poker Games

Poker isn’t just one game; it’s a whole family of them. While they share DNA, each variant has its own feel, betting structure, and requires different decision making skills.

What is Texas Hold’em?

Texas Hold’em is the king of poker games, played by over 100 million people online. Each player gets two private cards (hole cards), and five community cards are dealt face-up on the table. Your goal is to make the best five-card hand using any combination of your two cards and the five on the board.

Its popularity exploded after 2003, when an amateur player named Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event, turning a small online tournament entry into millions. That moment showed everyone that you don’t have to be a grizzled pro to win big.

The game flows through four betting rounds, which creates plenty of room for skill, bluffing, and strategy to shine. If you want to learn one poker game, this is the one.

“No-limit Texas Hold’em, takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.”

How is Omaha played?

Omaha is like Texas Hold’em on steroids. Instead of two hole cards, you get four hole cards. You still use five community cards, but here’s the critical rule: you must use exactly two of your four cards and three from the board to make your hand.

This “two-plus-three rule” trips up a lot of new players. If you have three hearts in your hand and two on the board, you don’t have a flush. You can only use two from your hand.

Because you start with so many cards, big hands are much more common. A pro tip for beginners is that one pair or two pair is often not a strong hand in Omaha, especially in Pot Limit Omaha where the betting can get huge. Players like Phil Galfond, who founded the training site Run It Once, have made a career out of mastering this action-packed game.

What are the rules for Seven Card Stud?

Before Hold’em took over, Seven Card Stud was the game everyone played. There are no community cards here. Instead, each player gets their own hand, with some cards face-up for everyone to see and some face-down.

You end up with seven total cards and have to make your best five-card hand from them. Since you can see some of your opponents’ cards, a huge part of the strategy is remembering which cards have been folded. If you’re drawing to a flush and you see three of your suit in other players’ dead hands, you know your odds just went way down.

I once scooped a big pot by paying attention to the face-up cards and realizing my opponent couldn’t possibly have the straight he was representing. Seven Card Stud is a slower, more deliberate game that rewards sharp observation.

What other popular poker variants should I know?

The poker world is huge. If you want to shake things up, here are a few other games you might run into.

1. Short Deck Poker: Also called Six Plus Hold’em, this game removes all the 2s through 5s from the deck. This leads to more action and changes the hand rankings, a flush now beats a full house.
2. Five-Card Draw: This is the simple poker game many people learn as kids. You get five cards and one chance to discard some and draw new ones.
3. Razz: A weird and fun variant where the goal is to make the worst possible “low” hand. Straights and flushes don’t count against you, and the best hand is A-2-3-4-5.
4. H.O.R.S.E.: This isn’t one game, but a mix of five! It rotates between Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud, and Stud Hi-Lo. It’s a true test of a well-rounded poker player.
5. Pineapple Poker: A fun twist on Hold’em where you start with three cards and must discard one either before or after the flop, depending on the rules.

Trying out these different poker games is a great way to keep your home games fresh and improve your overall understanding of poker strategy.

Poker Table Positions

Where you sit at the poker table might be the most underrated part of the game for beginners. Your position relative to the dealer button changes every hand, and it dramatically affects your strategy.

What is early position at the poker table?

Early position refers to the first few players to act in a betting round, including the seats immediately to the left of the big blind. This spot is often called “Under The Gun” (UTG) because you’re under pressure to act first without knowing what anyone else is going to do.

Because you have so little information, you need to play extremely tight from early position. You should only be playing your very strongest starting hands, like big pocket pairs (Aces, Kings, Queens) and premium hands like Ace-King. Playing weak cards here is a recipe for bleeding away your poker chips.

“The early bird might catch the worm, but in poker’s early seat, the bird risks getting eaten.”

What does middle position mean in poker?

Middle Position (MP) is the sweet spot between the early and late seats. You get to see the players in early position act before you, which gives you some valuable clues. If an early position player raises, you know they likely have a strong hand, and you can adjust your own decision.

You can start to play a slightly wider range of hands here than you would from early position. Hands that might be a fold UTG, like a medium pair or a hand like Ace-Jack, can become playable from middle position, especially if no one has raised in front of you.

Why are late position and the button important?

This is where the money is made in poker. Late positions, which include the “cutoff” and the “button” (the dealer position), are the most profitable seats at the table. The button is the best seat because you are guaranteed to act last in every post-flop betting round.

Acting last is a massive advantage. You get to see what every single opponent does before you have to make a decision. Did they check, showing weakness? Did they bet big, showing strength? This information is gold and allows you to control the size of the pot, bluff more effectively, and make better decisions overall.

Poker legends build their entire game around positional advantage. You can play more hands, put more pressure on your opponents, and ultimately, win more pots when you have position.

Key Poker Terms to Know

Poker has its own language. Learning these key terms will help you follow the action at the table and sound like you know what you’re doing, even if you’re just starting out.

What are the flop, turn, and river?

In community card games like Texas Hold’em, the hand unfolds in stages. These three terms represent the dealing of the community cards that everyone can use.

1. The Flop: After the first round of betting is complete, the dealer places the first three community cards face-up on the table. This is often the most critical moment in a hand, as you now have five of your seven total cards.
2. The Turn: After the post-flop betting round, a fourth community card is dealt. This card can complete your hand or a- a draw for someone else.
3. The River: This is the fifth and final community card. After this card, there is one last round of betting before the showdown. I’ve had my heart broken by the river card more times than I can count when a lucky opponent hits their longshot draw.

How do the pot and showdown work?

These two terms are all about the endgame of a poker hand.

• The Pot: This is simply the pile of chips or money in the middle of the table that players are competing for. Every bet and call goes into the pot, and the winner of the hand takes it all.
• The Showdown: If a hand goes all the way to the final betting round and there are still two or more players left, it’s time for a showdown. The remaining players turn their cards face-up, and the player with the highest-ranking poker hand wins the pot. If there’s a tie, the pot is split.

A little tip: if you get called on the river, the person who made the last aggressive action (the bet or raise) is generally supposed to show their cards first.

What do check, call, raise, and fold mean?

These are the four basic actions you can take when it’s your turn. Making the right choice at the right time is the core of poker strategy.

• Check: If no one has bet before you in the current round, you can “check.” This is like passing the action to the next player without betting anything.
• Call: This means you match the current bet to stay in the hand. If someone bets $10, you put $10 in the pot to call.
• Raise: This means you not only match the current bet but also increase it. This puts pressure on other players and builds a bigger pot when you have a strong hand.
• Fold: This is when you give up on the hand. You discard your cards and forfeit any chips you’ve already put in the pot. Knowing when to fold is one of the most important skills a new player can learn.

What is bluffing and semi-bluffing in poker?

Bluffing is what makes poker great. It’s when you bet or raise with a weak hand, trying to make your opponents think you’re strong so they’ll fold.

A pure bluff is risky. A smarter play is often the semi-bluff. This is when you bet with a hand that isn’t strong yet but has the potential to become very strong, like a flush draw or a straight draw. With a semi-bluff, you have two ways to win: everyone might fold immediately, or you might hit your card on the turn or river and make the best hand.

I once stole a huge pot with just a busted straight draw. My heart was pounding, but everyone folded. For more tips on the art of deception, you can check out these effective lying techniques.

Limit vs. No Limit Poker

The betting structure of a poker game completely changes the strategy. Limit poker is a slow, methodical grind, while No Limit is a game of explosive, game-changing moments.

What are fixed limit poker games?

In fixed limit poker, the amount you can bet and raise is, well, fixed. For example, in a $2/$4 limit game, all bets and raises are in increments of $2 for the first two rounds, and $4 for the last two rounds.

You can’t just shove all your chips in the middle. This structure keeps the pots smaller and makes the game more about mathematical decisions like pot odds. It’s a good way to learn without risking your entire stack on one bad decision, but bluffing is much harder because you can’t bet enough to really scare people out of a pot.

How do pot limit games work?

Pot limit is the middle ground. You can bet any amount up to the current size of the pot. So, if there’s $50 in the pot, you can bet up to $50.

This allows for much bigger bets than fixed limit, especially as the hand goes on and the pot grows. Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is the most popular form of this game, and it’s known for creating massive action and huge pots. Calculating a max pot-sized bet can be tricky at first, but it allows for a lot more strategic depth than fixed limit.

What defines no limit poker games?

This is the big one. In no limit poker games, you can bet any amount of your chips, up to your entire stack, at any time. No Limit Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker game in the world for a reason, it’s filled with drama and psychological warfare.

The threat of an “all-in” bet changes everything. A player can put you to a decision for all of your chips at any moment. This makes No Limit a game of both cards and courage. I’ve watched new players with strong hands fold just because an aggressive player shoved their whole stack. It’s a game that rewards guts as much as it does skill.

How Betting Works in Poker

Every hand begins with a simple question, how many of your poker chips are you willing to risk? Smart betting in a no limit Texas hold’em game is what separates the guys who get lucky once in a while from the guys who consistently win.

What happens during pre-flop betting?

The pre-flop round is the first round of betting, and it happens after everyone gets their two private hole cards but before any community cards are dealt.

• The action starts with the player to the left of the big blind. They can choose to fold, call the big blind amount, or raise.
• The betting continues clockwise around the table until everyone has either folded or put the same amount of money into the pot.
• Your decision here should be based on two main things: the strength of your starting hand and your position at the table.
• A standard pre-flop raise is typically three to four times the big blind. This size is effective because it builds the pot and often forces players with weaker hands to fold.

This is where discipline is key. You should be folding most of your hands pre-flop, especially from early position. Waiting for a good hand in the right position is the foundation of a winning poker strategy.

What are effective post-flop betting strategies?

After the flop, the real game begins. Now you have to combine your hand strength with the texture of the board and your opponents’ actions.

• Value Betting: When you have a strong hand, like top pair or better, you should bet for value. Your goal is to get called by players with worse hands to build a bigger pot.
• Continuation Betting: If you were the one who raised pre-flop, it’s often a good idea to make another bet on the flop, whether you hit the board or not. This is called a continuation bet, and it continues the story that you have a strong hand.
• Pot Control: With medium-strength hands, like middle pair, you often want to control the size of the pot. This might mean checking instead of betting to keep the pot small and avoid facing a big raise.
• Bluffing: If you sense weakness from your opponent and the board cards don’t seem to have helped them, a well-timed bet can often win you the pot, regardless of what you’re holding.

Every poker table is a new puzzle. I once lost half my stack by overplaying a top pair on a “wet” board (one with lots of flush and straight possibilities). I learned a tough lesson: pay attention to how dangerous the community cards are before you commit a lot of chips.

Beginner Poker Strategies

Building a solid poker strategy starts with the basics. Learning how to use your position and make smart bets will give you a huge edge over other new players in no limit Texas hold’em.

Why should beginners play fewer hands aggressively?

The single biggest mistake new players make is playing way too many hands. As a beginner, you should be very selective. A good rule of thumb is to fold about 80-85% of your starting hands. Stick to the strongest starting hands like big pairs (Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, Tens) and big suited cards (like Ace-King or King-Queen).

When you do decide to play a hand, play it aggressively. Instead of just calling, you should come into the pot with a raise. This shows strength, takes control of the hand, and gives you a better chance to win.

How important is position in poker strategy?

Position is everything in no limit texas hold’em. The button is the most powerful seat at the table because you get to act last on every street after the flop. This gives you a massive information advantage.

You can see how everyone else acts before you make your move. Top pros like Daniel Negreanu have built legendary careers by mastering positional play. They play far more hands from late position because they know they can outmaneuver their opponents after the flop. If you want to improve your results overnight, start paying serious attention to where you are sitting.

Why should you avoid limping as the first player?

Limping, which is just calling the big blind instead of raising when you’re the first person to enter the pot, is a huge sign of a weak or inexperienced player.

It’s a bad move for a few reasons. First, it doesn’t build a pot when you have a strong hand. Second, it invites a lot of other players to come into the hand cheaply, which makes it much harder to win. Poker legend Dan Harrington calls aggression a core weapon, by raising you take control and put pressure on your opponents. Don’t be passive, it’s a fast way to lose your chips.

How do you know when to fold?

Knowing when to fold is just as important as knowing when to bet. In no limit Texas hold’em, folding is the move that saves you money and keeps you in the game.

Don’t get emotionally attached to a hand. If you have a decent hand, but the betting gets really heavy and the story your opponent is telling with their bets makes sense, you have to be able to let it go. One of the toughest folds I ever made was laying down pocket queens before the flop, but two very tight players had already gone all-in. I knew I was beat, and folding saved my tournament life.

Pay attention to betting patterns. If a quiet player suddenly wakes up with a huge bet, that usually means they have a monster hand. Trust your gut and don’t let pride cost you your stack.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A lot of guys lose chips in no limit Texas Hold’em by making the same basic mistakes over and over. Sidestepping these common pitfalls is a huge step toward becoming a winning player.

Why is overplaying weak hands a mistake?

This goes hand-in-hand with playing too many hands. Beginners often fall in love with any pair or any ace. They can’t bring themselves to fold a hand that looks decent, even when all the betting action is screaming that they’re beat.

I once coached a friend who kept losing his stack with hands like King-Jack or Ace-nine. He would hit his pair on the flop and then couldn’t fold, even when facing a ton of aggression. Overplaying marginal hands is a fast

way to drain your chip stack. Poker pro Daniel Negreanu always stresses discipline, you have to be able to fold decent hands when you’re likely beat.

What are the risks of bluffing too often?

Poker on TV makes it seem like every other hand is a massive bluff. In reality, bluffing should be a small, but important, part of your game. Bluffing too often is a huge mistake.

Your opponents will catch on quickly. If they see you showing down bluffs all the time, they’ll start calling you with much weaker hands. This completely destroys your credibility. When you finally do pick up a monster hand and bet big, nobody will believe you, and you won’t get paid off. Good poker is about mixing up your play and keeping your opponents guessing.

Why shouldn’t you only focus on your own cards?

Playing poker with tunnel vision on your own two cards is a classic rookie move. Poker is a game of information, and if you’re ignoring what your opponents are doing, you’re missing most of the story.

Pay attention to everything: their betting patterns, their body language, and even their table talk. As the great Phil Ivey says, “Poker is a game of people played with cards.” Watching your opponents gives you clues about the strength of their hand, helps you spot bluffs, and allows you to avoid walking into obvious traps. A successful poker player is always observing the entire table, not just staring at their own hand.

Importance of Bankroll Management

This might be the most boring part of poker, but it’s also the most important if you want to be a long-term winner. Managing your poker money correctly keeps you in the game and prevents you from going broke.

How do you set a poker budget?

Your poker bankroll is money set aside only for playing poker. It should be money you can afford to lose without it affecting your real life. Never play with rent money.

1. Separate Your Funds: Keep your poker money completely separate from your day-to-day cash.
2. Follow the Buy-in Rule: A common rule for cash games is to have at least 20 to 50 buy-ins for the stake level you’re playing. So, if you’re playing a $1/$2 no limit game with a $100 buy-in, you should have a bankroll of at least $2,000.
3. Track Your Results: Use an app like Poker Bankroll Tracker or a simple spreadsheet to log every session. This helps you see if you’re winning or losing over time and identify leaks in your game.
4. Don’t Chase Losses: If you lose your set amount for a session, get up and walk away. Trying to win it back by dipping into money outside your bankroll is the fastest way to financial disaster.

Why should you avoid emotional decisions in poker?

Making decisions based on emotion is deadly at the poker table. When you lose a big pot because of a bad beat, it’s easy to get angry and frustrated. This is called going “on tilt.”

When you’re on tilt, you stop thinking logically. You start playing hands you shouldn’t, bluffing recklessly, and trying to win back your losses all in one go. This is a recipe for destroying your entire bankroll in a single session.

The best players, like Daniel Negreanu, are masters of emotional control. Jared Tendler’s book “The Mental Game of Poker” is a great resource for learning how to stay cool under pressure. A winning poker strategy is built on logic and discipline, not anger or frustration.

Etiquette at the Poker Table

Following proper poker etiquette makes the game more enjoyable for everyone. Don’t be the guy that nobody wants to play with. A little respect for the game and your opponents goes a long way.

Why is acting in turn important?

This is probably the biggest rule of poker etiquette. Always wait until it is your turn before you act. Acting out of turn gives other players information they shouldn’t have and can unfairly influence the hand. I once saw a player fold out of turn, which caused the player next to him to call a big bet because he knew he had one less opponent to worry about. It completely changed the outcome of the hand and caused a huge argument.

What are string bets and why avoid them?

A string bet is when you make a bet in more than one motion without verbally declaring your intention to raise first. For example, you can’t put out some chips to call, and then go back to your stack to grab more chips for a raise.

This is against the rules because it can be used to gauge your opponents’ reactions mid-bet, a sneaky move known as “angle shooting.” To avoid this, either say “raise” before you put any chips out or move all the chips for your bet into the pot in one single, smooth motion.

How do you show respect to other players?

Simple stuff here, but it makes a big difference. Don’t criticize how someone else played a hand. Nobody likes being told they’re an idiot, especially right after they’ve lost a pot.

Be a good winner and a good loser. Don’t celebrate wildly when you win a big pot, and don’t get angry and blame the dealer when you lose. Also, a good rule is to never discuss the hand while it’s still in play, especially if you’ve already folded. You could accidentally give away information that affects the outcome.

Where to Practice Poker

The best way to get better at poker is to play. Luckily, there are plenty of places to get practice without risking a lot of money. You can find free games on sites like PokerStars or 888poker, and local card rooms often have low-buy-in games.

Where can I find free online poker games?

Free online poker is a great way to learn the rules and get a feel for the game without any financial pressure. According to a 2025 beginner’s guide on Reddit, using play money is perfect until you’re 100% sure how the game flows.

1. WSOP.com: The official World Series of Poker site offers free play money games around the clock. Their app has a solid 4.3 rating and is one of the most popular options.
2. Appeak Poker: A simple, no-frills app that gives you free chips every day. It’s great for quick games and has a 4.1-star rating.
3. BetMGM Poker: This site often runs freerolls, which are free-to-enter tournaments where you can win real money prizes. It’s a great way to build a bankroll from nothing.
4. Clubs Poker: Another popular option with a 4.0 user rating that gives you free coins to start with.

I’ve used both the WSOP and Appeak apps, and they are perfect for getting in a lot of hands quickly and practicing the basics.

How do low-stakes cash games help beginners?

Once you’re comfortable with the rules, playing low-stakes cash games for real, but very small, amounts of money is the best next step. This is where you really start to learn strategy, because even when the stakes are small, people play more seriously when real money is on the line.

You can find online games with blinds as low as $0.01/$0.02, where you can buy in for just a few dollars. In a live card room, a $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em game is a common starting point, with a typical buy-in of around $100.

These games are filled with other beginners and casual players, so the competition isn’t as tough. Making mistakes will cost you a lot less, and it’s the perfect environment to practice your skills, learn to read players, and build your confidence before moving up to higher stakes.

The Role of Observation in Poker

Good poker players are like detectives. They’re constantly watching their opponents, looking for clues and patterns that will help them make better decisions.

How can you read opponents’ tendencies?

Reading your opponents is a skill that turns a good player into a great one. You’re looking for consistent patterns in how they play.

• Bet Sizing: Does a player bet big with strong hands and small with weak ones? Or do they do the opposite to be deceptive? I once played against a guy who always bet half the pot with his draws and full pot with his made hands. Once I picked up on it, playing against him was easy.
• Timing Tells: A quick call often suggests a medium-strength hand or a draw. A long pause followed by a check or call can also signal weakness. A player like Phil Hellmuth is famous for analyzing every little physical detail, down to his opponents’ breathing patterns.
• Hand Selection: Pay attention to what kind of hands your opponents show down. Are they playing a lot of junk, or are they very selective? A tight player who suddenly raises is screaming that they have a monster.

If you’re playing online, you can use software with a Heads-Up Display (HUD), like PokerTracker, which tracks stats on your opponents automatically, helping you spot these tendencies even faster.

How do you identify patterns and weaknesses?

Once you start observing, you’ll see players fall into predictable patterns. Your job is to spot these weaknesses and exploit them.

1. Spot the “Tilter”: Look for the player who gets visibly frustrated after a bad beat. These players are often on the verge of “tilting” and will start playing recklessly. The 2023 World Series of Poker had several famous hands where pros exploited an opponent’s emotional distress.
2. Find the “Calling Station”: This is a player who calls way too often and rarely folds. You shouldn’t try to bluff these players. Instead, you should bet for value relentlessly when you have a good hand.
3. Identify the “Bluffer”: Is there a player who seems to be betting and raising constantly, trying to win every pot? These players are often over-bluffing. Your adjustment is to call them down more often with your decent hands.
4. Note Physical Tells: In a live game, watch for physical tells. Does a player’s hand shake when they’re bluffing? Do they sit up straight when they have a big hand? I once noticed a player who would only engage in table talk when he was strong, as a way to seem relaxed.

Poker is a game played against people, not just cards. Identifying and exploiting your opponents’ weaknesses is how you turn a small edge into a big profit.

Ready to Play? A Final Word on Your Poker Strategy

Poker is an amazing game. It’s a mix of math, psychology, and gut instinct. While games like Pot Limit Omaha and Short Deck are getting more popular, No Limit Texas Hold’em is still the main event.

The core of a winning poker strategy hasn’t changed. It’s about playing good starting hands, using your position, and being aggressive at the right times.

It’s also about being patient and disciplined. You’re going to lose hands, that’s just part of the deal. The key is to manage your money well, learn from your mistakes, and stay focused on making the best decision you can with the information you have.

Don’t be intimidated. Use the tips in this guide, practice in some free games, and get out there. You have everything you need to sit down at the table with confidence.

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