10 Steps to Imporve Your Poker Game

Top Pro Strategies to Improve Your Poker Game

1. Practice. Playing poker is a skillset like anything else. Most non-dabbler online players have hundreds of hours under their belt. Most low-level pros thousands. A great way to get some games under your belt is to play right here on ClubWPT.

2. Play cash games or real-money tournaments. There are tons of options for free poker online, ranging from Play Money games at online card rooms to social game sites. But when you're not playing for money, you don't care as much about pot odds or making the right calls. Playing for cash will force you to tighten up your game.

3. Read poker books. Pros and theorists have put hundreds of thousands of hours into the game and spell out their thoughts on what you should do. This is the best way to get a grasp on starting hands, basic odds, probability, and strategy. There are books for every level of player - from a beginner's tome like Antonio Esfandiari's In the Money to advanced books like those by Doyle Brunson and David Sklansky.

4. Watch the pros. Just like reading poker books, watching the pros can help give you valuable insights into how they manage to make cards profitable. If you can't make it to a live tournament (World Poker Tour events are always good), check out the World Poker Tour on GSN or catch up with your favorite episodes streaming online now.

5. Play consistently. Set a goal for yourself in each session - either playing for a certain number of hours or until you win or lose a set amount of money. When you reach that goal, stop. This will help you develop discipline.

6. Track your progress. Bring a small notebook with you to the card room or have it next to you while you play online. Track the time you start, your buy-in, the time you finish, your win or loss for the session, and your hourly rate. This will give you a benchmark to compare how you're developing as a player.

7. Play outside your comfort zone. If you're a ring game player, try a cheap tournament. If you like sit-n-gos, try a multi-table tournament or a ring game. If you only play Hold'em, give Omaha/8 or Seven-Stud a try. The unfamiliar setting will force you to pay closer attention to your cards and strategy. And you can learn valuable lessons you can take back to your preferred game.

8. Face off against better players. Newer players have a tendency to find their game - say $1/$2 Hold'em - and stick with it until they crush it, taking down pot after pot and winning the majority of the time. While this can be enjoyable - and profitable - it doesn't stretch your poker muscles or advance your skills. Step up a level - to higher blinds or a bigger buy-in for a no-limit game; you'll find the players are better. And you'll become better playing against them.

9. When you're not in a hand, pay attention. Figure out what the pot odds are. What the nuts are at each street. What your strategy would be against the other players. What hands you'd stay in with, which you'd fold. It's tempting to tune out, looking around the room if you're in a casino or catching up on email if you're playing online. But don't. Treat each hand as if you're in it.

10. Don't overdo it. If you start to feel like playing poker is becoming a chore, switch up your game or stop playing. Unless you're a professional gambler, playing poker should be fun.