Poker Strategy: Beginner Poker
Basic strategy concepts to teach new players how to play poker.
Whether you’re new to poker, a beginner player looking to sharpen your skills, or just new to FlopTurnRiver.com, this beginner’s section will get you acquainted with all of the above. Poker is different from other forms of casino gambling games because you play against the other players, not the house. The house takes a rake out of every pot, and that’s how they make their money. They couldn’t care less how each player plays their hand or how much each player wins or loses. Out of this unique structure, strategy is born. If you make fewer mistakes than your opponents, over the long run, you will make money. It’s as simple as that.
If you’re new, everything may seem overwhelming. But the best way to approach becoming a poker shark is to take it one step and one hand at a time. Browse all of our beginner poker strategy articles below, or signup for our poker forum and introduce yourself in the Beginners Circle. There are many winning players who are willing to give you advice to help plug your leaks and improve your game. Poker is a game of skill, anyone can get lucky in one hand or session. But it takes the people who become students of the game to become a consistent winner. Start your poker education now!
Featured Beginner Poker Articles
Most Recent Beginner Poker Articles
ISF – Five Rules To Beating Low Stakes
I have to admit, most of my articles give advice that is hard to understand. When you don’t understand preliminary concepts to the ideas of talking about, it’s almost impossible to truly understand anything I or high stakes players talk about. In later articles I’m...
Traits of Great Poker Players
By examining the playing styles of five of the world’s best online poker players, we’ve identified the four traits they have in common: trusting their instincts at the table, taking advantage of their table position, having a strong work ethic and not selecting games based on their opponents’ skill.
No Deposit – All Returns: How to Build a Bankroll from Nothing Part II
This is part 2 in a 2 part series. Make sure to check out Part I before reading this – No Deposit – All Returns: How to Build a Bankroll from Nothing Part I Freeroll Strategies Whether you are playing the freerolls at FullTilt or PokerStars you have...
Essential Examples of Blockers in Poker
A good place to start working with ranges is looking at blockers, why they matter, how they work and what you can do with them.
Bankroll Management: A Basic Concept Revisited
Every serious poker player knows that bankroll management is a huge part of the game regardless of what variant they’re playing. What are the keys to it? Playing at the highest stakes you can beat and ensuring your bankroll is large enough to give you a reasonable shot at winning over the long haul.
Revisiting the EV Calculations Tutorial Series
This week’s column details not one but two of the most critical poker training series I have ever put together.
Mindfulness and the Manifestation of Mental Weakness in Poker
Entering poker games alert and with the right attitude can improve your game-play and bring you success. Learn how to reduce distractions and employ the proper level of mindfulness. Eventually, your good habits will spill over into other areas of your life.
Dumb People Believe in Downswings
A funny look at the mythic term, “downswings,” this article debunks the existence of players being on downswings or upswings. The logic? Since every hand dealt in poker is independent of all others, you cannot up-or-downswing; you can only have an historical period of increased losses or winnings.
How the Games Have Changed
It’s common knowledge that the games of 2010 are much different than the pre-legislation games back in 2006. When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed nearly four years ago the games online were booming. Full of fish and with plenty of money...
Making Game Theory Easy With Simple Shortcuts
Game theory can be difficult to understand and apply during a game of Hold’em. After reading this, you’ll be able to figure out the right move without having to do complex math in your head. By remembering a few numbers and what they represent, you’ll be able to use game theory to your advantage.
Raising Behind Limpers
I’m going to try to tie this in as much as possible the points I made in my post on blind stealing, Blind Stealing 101. I think that for the people who don’t already raise behind limpers often, it will be best if they think of it as an extension of blind...
The Delicate Nature of Pot Odds and Implied Odds
We have the three major weaknesses that players have when dealing with pot odds and implied odds, but we’ll also show you how to correct them.
The Importance of Bonuses and Rakeback
This month at 100nl on PokerStars I’ve paid $0.056/hand in rake after a sample of ~50k hands. Since I get about 750 hands/hour, this amounts to about $42/hour. This is also 2.8 ptbb/100. To make sure the peoples of the Beginner’s Circle understand this...
NLHE Foundations #06: Putting Opponents on Pre-Flop Ranges (Part 3)
Introduction This is the sixth part of the free NLHE Foundations Series that I’m running here on FTR. This series is designed to give you a very clear set of tools that will teach you how to study what will really make you a better NLHE poker player. If you want...
How to Earn Online Poker Bonuses
One of the biggest mistakes players make when signing up for a new poker site is failing to take advantage of bonus offers. Every site offers some sort of initial deposit bonus to new clientèle, and for those new to the game it can make the difference in having to...
