The Building Blocks of Poker Instinct

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Todays poker tips is about a poker players/poker pros instincts when it comes to playing Texas holdem. First of all no creature on the planet is born with good instincts toward Texas holdem. More and more we are finding that the things that were once considered instinctive in the animal kingdom is simply learned behavior. If a bear who was born in the forest doesn’t have some innate knowledge of best to bring down a mule deer, it is unlikely that most poker players will instinctively know what to do with an straight draw in Texas holdem. For the most part, a poker players/poker pros “instincts” are simply a combination of knowledge and experience.

So how do poker players hone their instincts? In Texas holdem, and just about everything else in life, trial and error is generally the best teacher. It is a fact that we learn more from our failures than our success, but there is a cost associated with that. No poker tips in the world would encourage a green player to throw themselves out there and a cripple their bankroll by gaining experience on the wrong side of encounters with more skilled poker players and predatory poker pros. While practical, real world experience is going to need to happen, reading is the best way to prepare for that.

Lions have to learn how to bring down prey by trial and error because reading is not an option with them. If there were a field guide to the most efficient way to smother a water buffalo, they probably all be reading it. There are a plethora of books out there about how to play Texas holdem; many of them written by highly decorated and battle tested poker players and poker pros. Absorbing the teachings of these books will help hone ones Texas holdem instincts, and make them better poker players.

Some of what the poker pros have to tell you in their books will work for you straight out of the book, other times it needs to be seen in real life. While poker television often offers a skewed view of the game (because the television cameras don’t cover every hand, just the exciting ones) many poker tips talk about the value of watching televised tournaments. It will give players a flavor for how the game is played without having to risk their own stack.

Finally, instinct is rarely developed by taking on the big dogs. Baby wolves don’t learn how to fend for themselves by taking on a moose during their first hunt. Most of them cut their teeth on field mice, rabbits, and generally creatures weaker than they are. This translates to the world of poker tips by showing players that they can gain valuable experience by beating up on the weak. Newer players should not throw themselves into the volatile, no limit, games. Newbies should find a limit they are competitive playing at (that will take some trial and error) and drop down to the limit below it. Here they can take advantage of weaker players and learn from what the competition does wrong. Isn’t it a more palatable idea to let somebody else gain experience losing to you then you handing over your bankroll and calling it an education? As you beat up on these players, you will learn their mistakes and chances are you will not repeat them. In the “wild kingdom” of trial and error, let somebody else pay for the lessons.

That is the poker tips for today.

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