A lot of people new to poker are looking for cookie-cutter advice like “always 3bet X hands” or “always check-raise your flush draws.” The truth is, the best lines change based on the situation at hand. It’s also important to know the odds of each hand, so you can weigh probabilities when making decisions.
Learn to read players
Poker is a game of reading your opponents. Some people have subtle physical tells, such as scratching their nose or nervously playing with their chips, but a much larger portion of your poker reads will come from patterns. For example, if someone raises every time they have the button and you call them then you can bet that they are usually holding a strong hand.
Don’t Get Too Attached to Good Hands
One of the biggest mistakes that new players make is getting too attached to their good hands. For example, if you have pocket kings and the flop comes A-A-K-5 you are probably going to lose 82% of the time. This is because your pocket kings are covered by the other player’s A-A.
Another big mistake is folding too early. This often happens because you have a weak starting hand and the player in front of you is making bets that are too large. Eventually, you will get called or re-raised and lose your money. Instead of continuing in this situation, you should have the discipline to fold when your risk/reward isn’t great enough.