Poker strategies are as essential to learn as the rules of the game. Unlike most casino games, where luck is the primary determinant in players' outcomes, poker is the art of strategically playing to turn luck in your favor. The game is a unique blend of skill, psychology, and strategy. Beginners can survive by learning how to play poker. However, pro players understand that mastering advanced poker strategies is the key to making a living from poker. These strategies help refine your decision-making by arming you with the tools to outplay your opponents, manage your bankroll effectively, and maximize your edge in high-stakes cash games or tournaments.
In this article, I will dive deep into 7 of the most practical and complex poker tactics, including bluffing in poker, pot odds, hand range analysis, value betting, and three-bet and four-bet strategies. We will also answer key questions such as "What is the best strategy in poker?" and explore how AI is reshaping the game.
What Are Advanced Poker Strategies?
Advanced poker strategies are a unique combination of betting systems, tricks, and methods used by experienced players to gain an advantage over their opponents. You need a solid understanding of poker fundamentals, including but not limited to hand rankings, poker positions, and betting structure, to successfully implement and benefit from such strategies. That said, you need to master the basics before shifting your focus to advanced poker tactics that involve psychology, game theory, decision-making skills, emotional control, mind tricks, and sophisticated mathematical analysis.
Learn The Top 7 Advanced Poker Strategies
While there is an infinite number of tactics used by pro players over the years, some strategies have been proven more practical than others and, for this reason, have gained immense popularity. Below, I will cover the 7 essential poker tactics that intermediate and pro players can benefit from.
1. How To Bluff: Master The Art of Deception in Poker
Poker is the game of playing it cool. The phrase "Poker Face" originated from this game, implying the importance of looking neutral and not allowing others to see what is going on inside your mind.
Bluffing is one of the core advanced poker strategies every poker player must master. Effective poker bluffing requires more than just throwing a bet with a weak hand. It requires a lot of skills and toolsets. It involves reading your opponents, understanding the psychology of bluffing, correctly assessing the situation, and knowing when and how to represent a strong hand.
There are two types of bluffing, whether successful or unsuccessful.
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Semi-Bluffing: Bluffing with a hand that can improve to the best hand on later streets(betting rounds). For example, betting with a backdoor flush draw or a gutshot straight draw. Such hands, also known as a runner-runner draw, need you to hit the same suit on both the turn and the river to complete the flush. For example, suppose you have K♥ J♥, and the dealer flips A♠ 7♥ 2♠ on the flop. In this scenario, you have three hearts in your hand and on the board. You need the heart on both the turn and the river to complete the flush. This is considered a backdoor flush draw because you need two specific cards to improve your hand, and here is where bluffing can get you through this.
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Pure Bluffing: Betting with a hand that is unlikely to improve, aiming to force your opponent to fold superior hands. Bluffing with a sucker hand requires the next level of deception skills!
A successful bluff will depend on factors such as your position, your opponent’s playing styles, and the community cards dealt on the board. As you become more experienced, you should be able to bluff effectively in both heads-up and multiway pots. You can increase your share by successfully bluffing and making more players fold in multiway pots.
2. Pot Odds VS Implied Odds: Bet According To The Value
To become a professional poker player and make money, you must understand the difference between pot odds and implied odds. It allows you to optimize your decision-making and successfully assess whether it's worth it to call a bet based on the pot size and the cost of the call. In fact, it allows you to make a move based on the cost-benefit of that move.
Pot Size Raise & Bet
Pot size refers to the ratio of the current size of the pot to the cost of a contemplated call. To calculate a pot size raise, bet, or call, you should follow this simple formula:
The amount in the pot before your opponent bets + your opponent’s bet size + the amount you would have to put in to call.
Let’s review some examples to help you better understand the concept.
Suppose you are playing a PLO (Pot Limit Omaha) session. You are first to act on the flop, and there is $50 in the pot. In this scenario, how much can you bet? Easy! You can bet or raise up to $50.
Things get complicated when you have to act after your opponent bets. In that case, you must also include the cost of your call into the pot size. Once you do the math, the number will be the amount you can raise in addition to the cost to call.
Let me explain another example.
There is $50 in the pot on the flop. Now, your opponent bets $20. Let’s plug in the numbers into the formula:
$50 + $20 + $20 = $90
This $90 is the amount you can raise. Of course, there is a $20 cost to call. In other words, you can put $110.
Still confused? Let me simplify the math: You can bet
“ 3x the last bet + the amount in the pot before the bet. “
There are three things to remember about the simplified formula of poker pot size calculation:
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The last bet refers to the bet before your action in the current betting round. Previous betting rounds have no effect.
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Blinds posted pre-flop are considered bets. So, you must include the value of blinds in your calculation while raising.
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You should subtract the bet that you’ve already made during the current betting round.
Implied Odds
Implied odds take future bets into account, helping you determine if your hand has the potential to win a large pot if it hits. Unlike pot size, there is no easy formula to calculate implied odds. However, you can easily calculate your implied odds when playing online poker sessions thanks to online calculators and AI algorithms.
3. Analyze The Hands Range
Hand range analysis is an advanced poker tactic and a fundamental skill for pro players. Instead of thinking about specific hands, the player considers their opponent's range of hands based on their actions. This involves taking probabilities, betting patterns, and position into account. How do we analyze the hand range? Here are two insanely actionable tips:
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Pay attention to your opponents’ raises, calls, and betting sizes. This way, you can refine your guess on what hands they might have.
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Based on the previous conclusion, the hands you believe your opponents have, you can adjust your betting strategy. For instance, you could fold weaker hands or try a three-bet with a wider range if it seems your opponent is overplaying their hand.
4. Three-Bet & Four-Bet Poker Strategies
Three-betting (re-raising after an initial raise) and four-betting (re-raising after a three-bet) are some of the most powerful tools for poker players that require extensive practice. Both strategies can force opponents to fold their weak hands or put them in difficult spots with marginal hands.
How and when should you use these tactics on your opponents?
When you hold a strong hand like AA, KK, or AK, three-betting will increase the pot size and eventually force your opponents to fold or bet.
If you hold less strong hands, such as suited connectors or small pocket pairs, you can still benefit from the art of three-betting, making your loose opponents fold or fall into the trap and bet to increase the pot size. This is known as light three-betting.
When you doubt that your opponent is performing light three-betting and you hold a hand like AQ, you can four-bet to put pressure on them and possibly win the pot.
5. Bet Sizing Strategy
Bet sizing is a crucial concept in any game of poker and an essential tool in your advanced poker strategies tool kit. The size of your bets influences your opponents' decisions just the way their betting patterns influence your strategy. So, you can use the size of your bets to extract value or induce bluffs. Here is how it works:
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Small bets make your opponents who have weak hands call or bluff you.
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Large bets put your opponents with marginal hands in a tough position, making it difficult for them to continue.
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When you have the nut advantage or the best possible hand, overbetting is the best move to maximize value and make your opponent call or raise.
6. The Check-Raise Attack!
The check-raise is a classic advanced poker move where you check with the intention of raising after your opponent bets. This tactic is most effective when you have a strong hand but want your opponent to bet and increase the pot size. A check-raise can lead to larger pots and increased winnings if you hit a strong hand on the flop.
7. Value Betting Strategy to Extract Maximum Value from Strong Hands
Value betting is an advanced poker strategy that requires at least a hundred hours of playing poker to be mastered. If you can learn this strategy well and execute it flawlessly, you can take the most advantage from your opponents' weaker hands.
It essentially involves betting with the intention of getting your opponent to call when you have a stronger hand than they do so you can get a bigger pot!
The key to a successful value bet is betting the right amount, not too much or too little, at the right time and in the right way to ensure your opponent with the weaker hand will definitely call.
In popular poker games, like the most famous NLH (No-Limit Texas Hold 'em), you can use this strategy when you believe your hand is way ahead of your opponents' range, but still, they need the entice to call with their weak hands.
Value betting is mainly used on later streets of betting, such as the turn or river when you have a strong hand and know it is strong enough not to be outdrawn.
Suppose you have an A♠ 10♠ on a flop of A♦ 7♣ 3♠. In this case, you should value bet to extract chips from an opponent holding weaker aces, such as A♣ 5♠ or A♦ 4♣. As you hold a top pair with a top kicker and a backdoor flush draw, betting about 70-80% of the pot is ideal in this case, as it’s large enough to entice a call but not so large that your opponent folds a weaker ace.
Tips For A Successful Value Bet
Use the following pro tips while you plan to make a value bet:
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Identify Your Opponent's Range: You need to have a good read on what hands your opponent is likely to have based on their actions. Read above for a refresher on analyzing the hands range.
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Bet Size Matters: I also explained this above. You must strategically use your bets to make the opponents call and give you the most value. Bet sizes can say a lot about the strength of a hand.
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Consider the Board Texture: The board's texture plays a critical role in the outcome of your value bet. If the board is dry (e.g., 2♠ 7♣ 9♦), your opponent is less likely to have a strong draw. In such scenarios, you can make larger value bets and profit more. On the other hand, if the board is wet (e.g., 10♠ J♠ Q♣), you should be very cautious, as your opponent might have nuts like a straight or flush.
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Avoid Over-Betting: Over-betting is one of the most common mistakes newbie poker players make, especially when the opponent is likely to have a marginal hand. The aim of value betting is to make your opponents call and increase the pot size. Betting too much will do the opposite by making the opponents fold. That is why proper bet sizing is crucial.
When Should You Value Bet?
While the strategy is quite effective to make the most from your strong hand, you should know when to value bet and when not. Consider value betting when:
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You Have a Strong Hand
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Your Opponent Is Likely to Call with Worse Hands
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The Pot Size is Sufficiently Large
Last Few Words
To become a winning poker player regardless of the game variation, you need to master advanced poker strategies. By focusing on skills like bluffing, bet sizing, hand range analysis, and bankroll management, you'll give yourself the best chance to succeed in the long run. Remember, poker is not just about the cards you hold—it's about your decisions, strategies, and how well you can read the game.
Make sure to learn the basics well, practice enough, and navigate irbet365 poker for the best online poker games.
FAQ
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What is the best strategy in poker?
The best poker strategy is one that is adaptable and a combination of all the techniques explained above. You must understand your opponents, read the board, manage your bankroll, and know when to bet, fold, or raise. -
Is advanced poker training any good?
Yes, advanced poker training can really help by teaching you to refine your strategies, avoid rookie mistakes, and keep improving by learning new betting systems. -
Can AI win at poker?
Yes, AI has already proven to be highly effective at poker. Programs like Libratus and DeepStack have demonstrated superior strategies, even against top human players. But still, none of them can beat a professional and experienced poker player with proper strategies. -
What is the optimal strategy in poker?
The optimal strategy is balanced, adjusting to opponents and using value betting, bluffing, and strategic aggression based on your hand strength and position.
