Many of the tips we have on here are fairly basic or towards beginners. So I wanted to start writing some advanced poker strategy tips for the intermediate poker players. Once you reach the “advanced” level and start playing higher stakes games, a higher level of skill is required. You can get by with just basic poker skills when playing $1-$2 NLH, but once you get up to the $5-$10 NLH level and higher, you absolutely must have these advanced poker strategy tips down pat:
Tip #1: Get that bankroll up to par
Want to play $5-$10 NLH daily? Then you better have at least $20,000 set aside for poker. Even the $2-$5 NLH game requires a sizeable bankroll. You need a minimum of 20 times the buy-in to your game. That doesn’t include money to cover your bills and expenses. That is ONLY money for poker. A poker player with a small bankroll will be a broke poker player more often than not.
Tip #2: Adapt to the style of play at the table
A great poker player is one that can adjust. If you’re a loose player, sometimes you have to tighten up. If your table is full of calling stations and loose donkeys, you can’t expect to just push people around. In this situation, tightening up and playing your big hands aggressively is the right play. At a tight table, play loose-aggressive and bluff your opponents off hands. Don’t play the same style of play as your opponents.
Tip #3: Adapt to how your opponents have adapted to you
My most important advanced poker strategy tip is to take what your opponents are giving you. Sometimes I sit down at a table with the intention of giving off a tight image so that I can get away with bluffs later. Other times I sit down and fire away at pots. Eventually, the table will catch on to your game unless they are complete morons. Once you sense they’re picking up on your act, switch things up. Following this advanced poker strategy tip will save you money on bluffs that won’t work (if you’re playing loose) and allow you to bluff more (if you’re playing tight).
Tip #4: Don’t play on tilt
The one thing that really sets the winning poker players from the losing players apart is the ability to shrug off bad beats and bad runs of cards. If you’re down a few hundred bucks and not playing well, do you continue to play, or do you walk away and come back another day? The hardest part about playing poker is walking away when the odds aren’t favorable. If you are on tilt, the odds of you winning aren’t favorable. So walk away.
ADVANCED POKER STRATEGY – Bonus Tip
My final advanced poker strategy tip is to have a purpose for every bet you make. That purpose could be to get the opponent off the hand, to build the pot so that it is large in case you hit a draw, to convince your opponent that you have a weak hand when you’re holding a monster, etc. Don’t just throw out random bets just for the heck of it. There should be a well thought out reason for each bet you make and the size of bet you make.