What would you say is the secret to wining at poker?

Answer 1

WOW! I'm amazed at all the truly bad answers already!

Let me tell you what the secret to winning is NOT:

It's not a good poker face. It's not reading tells. It's not bluffing. It's sure as hell not sitting out or drinking before playing!

There's no single secret to playing - if there were, everyone would be playing and winning, right? However, if you're insisting on a one-word answer here it is: PATIENCE!

Here are some other factors, however: Good hand selection; unwavering discipline (never playing on tilt); positional play; play based on pot or implied odds; playing aggressive; money management; the ability to read your opponents based on their previous hand selection, position, and play (not "by the way they hold their eyes"); playing sober; knowing and respecting your limitations... just to name a few.

Answer 2

The key is being able to wait, i think it's so funny i will enter a local tourney and less then 1 hour into the event with blinds only at 25-50 or 50-100 there are a lot of players already out. Or they are just to willing to play, just for the sake of playing a hand. I have had this happen to me as well, i had been sitting at the table for over two hours and was looking at nothing but 3-6, 8-2, 7-2, and 10-5, and every time i made a move i was slapped around and forced to fold my weak hands. I finally picked up K-Q suited and when the action got around to me i made a big move on the pot, i was then re-raised all-in, and since i had over bet, and over-played my hand i had to call, i was crushed by 2 aces. Later that night i could not stop thinking how i got so desperate to play a hand, that i did not stop to think about what i was getting into. So take your time and have a reason to bet, a reason to bluff, a reason to play the hand in the first place. But the only secret to poker, is playing well in the first place.

Answer 3

There is NO secret to winning at poker! None whatsoever! That is why the pros talks so freely about their strategies, because all the pros use the same basic strategies; although, styles of play differ. Here are some of the key points of the game that must be mastered in order to hope to win:

1. Keep your emotions in check and on an evil keel
2. Know the game inside and out, which includes hands, styles of play--e.g., loose/aggressive versus tight/aggressive--position play, "shifting gears," etc.
3. Understand that EVERYTHING that you know about the game, everyone else knows too (unless they are bad!)
4. Alter your play for the respective skill levels of the players you are against. For example: A bluff is FAR more likely to work against a GREAT player than it is against a BAD player. GREAT players will lay their hands down to a bluff UNLESS they ...

A) Have a great hand themselves or
B) Have a read on you that you are bluffing

But bad players will call you for just about any reason under the sun.

5. There are three levels of play in poker that must be mastered

Level one: Beginner - Playing only your cards. Someone else in their answer mentioned "deception." Sure, it pays to be tricky and unpredictable. I mean, c'mon! If you always bet big with good hands and check with bad hands ... duh! But the point here is that deception can be used in ALL levels of the game, but beginners ONLY play their own cards.

Level two: Intermediate - Playing both your cards AND trying to figure out what you believe that your opponent has (called "putting him on a hand")

Level three: Skilled - Includes both the skills of levels one and two and adds trying to figure out what your opponent believes that YOU have. An example of this would be ... if you "represent" that you have "top pair" aces and you're opponent comes out firing at the pot then you have to wonder ... WHAT does he think that I have that he can BET like that? Crap! I just TOLD him that I have aces and he's betting? Does he put me on a bluff? Does he have better than a pair of aces? Does he have aces too, but a better kicker?

There is more, much more! Honestly? If you are interested in playing poker seriously then bank roll a few thousand dollars and go to a casino (with a little bit of that at a time). You WILL make mistakes, lots of them! But there is NO amount of writing that can teach you the game the way a few key mistakes can.

Happy learning.

Answer 4

Read some books. Learn the math. Read some online forums. Play against people that are terrible.

Poker is very, very complicated. There is no "secret." You have to work very hard to get good.

Answer 5

be good at staring contests

Poker is a game of percentages but is totally relied on guts due to the fact that random cards pop up every time

u must be strong in the mind and not give signs

stick to plans made

drink before play

Answer 6

Assuming you know all the odds and everything.. I'd say.. pay attention to the game, observe REALLY CLOSELY your opponents. Try to find some patterns.

Answer 7

an amazing poker face

Answer 8

1.Memorising the percentage plays and odds vs the pot payouts
2.Reading the tells
3.Expert bluffing skills
4. Cajones

Answer 9

Well-timed aggression and an exceptional ability at reading people.

Answer 10

Patience and well timed aggression. Sounds kind of cheesy but its the truth.