Poker Strategy

To the casual observer, poker looks like a pure gambling game - you get your cards, hope for good hands and try to make as much money as you can with them.

This isn’t exactly wrong, but it’s not exactly correct, either. Skilled poker players turn it into a game of strategy instead of a game of chance.

So yes, there are some elements of chance but the best players always win in the long run and the worst players always lose in the long run.

You could also call it a game of incomplete information, but don’t ever make the mistake of labeling it a game of chance.

Even though you can’t see your opponents’ cards (at least we hope not), you can get a pretty good idea of what cards they have based on the actions they take. Bets, checks, calls and raises all give clues on the contents of your opponents’ hands.

Sometimes they’ll take certain actions to mislead you (bluffing, for example) but even deceptive moves can give you information about your opponents.

In fact, you could sum it all up and say that poker is a battle for information. You and your opponents battle it out to get as much information as you can while giving up as little information as possible.

You want to know your opponents’ cards, their playing styles, their tells and you even want to know what your opponents know about you!