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As any good poker player knows, being predictable is a death sentence. A tell has developed if you only use one or two different plays. When you have a tell, the other players will know what you are going to do and possibly what kind of hand you are holding.

A key to great poker success is playing aggressively. However, playing aggressively every time leads the other players to know you are bluffing. When a player bets and raises often on a bad hand, that is aggressive playing.

On the first two cards and the flop, the aggressive player bets forcefully. An aggressive player has to know that he can win because the hand can improve on the turn and the river cards. As advertisement for future hands, the aggressive player might be luring in the other players to think he plays bad hands all the time.

This tactic is also called bluffing which has other characteristics too. The player is actually holding a losing hand so he tries to get the other players to fold. Often successful, this is called a pure-bluff.

After only seeing the hole cards, a player who bets aggressively is called a semi-bluffer. It is only a semi-bluff because there is a chance that the flop will improve his hand. Whether the other players fold or the hand is improved, the play worked because he will win the pot.

Another strategy is the check-raise play in which the player doesn’t bet on a round until another player does, in other words, he checks. Then, after the other players bet, he will raise on their bets. As he has the other player initially thinking that he doesn’t have a very good hand, this is a deceptive play because he is actually trying to get the other players to make the pot bigger.

Being a deceptive play, the check-raise is a double edged sword. The check-raise play causes the player to allow the other players a chance to improve upon their hand whereas if he had just bet in the first place, it is possible that the other players would have folded guaranteeing his win. Even though having the players know you might have a stronger hand is not a good thing, it could help in bluffing.

A steal is a form of bluffing which doesn’t move the game past the ante or blind stage. In this strategy, the player will raise at the ante, if there have already been many players who have folded. Because a steal is done right at the ante, it doesn’t win the player much money, but it is usually reserved for games where the blind limit increases.

Drawing is a regularly used tactic in poker. A drawing play is when a player bets aggressively but tries to draw a good hand from the window. This does not work that well if there are other players who already have a good hand in their hole.

Raising in order to make all but one player fold is called an isolation play. The player with many chips targets the player with the fewest chips in this play. Depending upon the luck of the draw, this play may take one try or a couple.

Keeping the opponents from predicting your plays, these strategies should be used together and consistently. Having tells results in early elimination. You must hide your tells from the other players by being unpredictable.

Tags: Online Games

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