Images courtesy of WPT.com
Playing poker is about more than just knowing the numbers or making the right decision from the analytical standpoint.
In the words of Alex Foxen, one of the greatest poker players alive, poker is more akin to art than science, with many different elements necessary for success.
To reach the top, you must learn many different skills and how to put them together to create a successful strategy that works over the long run.
The 10 best poker tips we bring here all come from true champions of poker, who have shown they know what they are talking about with years of success on the green felt.
Keep on reading to get the poker tips from the likes of Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Jonathan Little that may help you take your game to the next level.
#1 – Play an Aggressive Strategy – Gus Hansen
Aggression is a great tool to utilize at the poker tables, and few players have understood this concept better in their poker careers than Gus Hansen.
“The Great Dane” is one of the legends of the Poker Boom, and he is still active at the poker tables decades later.
He owes his longevity to his aggressive approach to the game and making sure he is always the table captain.
When I’m the big stack in a tournament, being the bully is always my first consideration. I want to eliminate players, continue to build my stack, and avoid dangerous situations. If I can create a scenario where I’m the table captain – meaning I dictate the size of the pots – the rest of the action becomes easier to read.
These were the words of Gus Hansen back in 2009, when he was one of the first players to discover that being table captain and playing with a big stack is massively beneficial.
This is especially true if you play poker tournaments, as being the most aggressive player at the table allows you to win many chips that would otherwise go to other players’ stacks.
#2 – Don’t Play Over Your Head – Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey has taken his share of shots in his poker career, and he has admittedly been broke more times than he would have wanted.
It doesn’t have to be this way though, as the world’s best poker player recommends young poker players to take a more conservative approach.
Playing over your head puts yourself in a bad place financially. It doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re new to poker, it can be an enjoyable game and can be a great hobby to have. If you don’t go overboard, pace yourself and move up in stakes at the right time, it will be a much more enjoyable experience.
Ivey’s insistence on good bankroll management comes from his own trial and error. In his youth, he would often go broke playing over his head, and he’s learned his lessons from that.
While taking shots has its place, playing within your bankroll and not going over your head is one of the best poker tips we can give you.
#3 – Be Mindful of Your Table Image – Daniel Negreanu
Creating a solid table image is one of the best ways to make sure you can bluff with impunity. If other players believe you only play when you have it, you can get away with murder.
Daniel Negreanu knows this better than most, as he has spent a career manipulating his opponents at the green felt.
Negreanu warns players that just playing tight is not enough. One of his best poker tips is to make sure your opponents know if you haven’t played a poker hand in a while.
If you haven’t played a hand for a while, make sure that people know you haven’t because only then you’ll get a lot of credit. If the others don’t realize you haven’t played a hand in a long time, then you can’t benefit from it.
So, the next time you are playing poker and not getting too many cards, make sure to let everyone know just how many hands you have folded in a row.
Creating a table image of a tight player will give you a chance to get big bluffs through and win hands you could not have won otherwise.
#4 – Only Play When You Are Mentally Present – Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson’s “Supersystem” was released in 1987 and is widely considered to be the original “Bible” on poker.
While decades have passed since, and the game has changed in many ways, some things remain the same even today.
This is especially true for the mental side of things. While the strategy may have changed, the underlying problems that poker brings have not.
In the words of poker’s greatest legend:
Poker requires complete concentration. Don’t play when you’re tired or preoccupied with personal problems.
If you have ever played poker tired or preoccupied with other issues, you definitely understand this poker tip better than you would want to.
Playing the game when you are in the wrong headspace means starting from a point of disadvantage, which is something you never want to do.
Instead, only play poker when you can focus completely on the game and let all other problems and issues in your life take a back seat until after the session.
#5 – Never Stop Improving – Adrian Mateos
Adrian Mateos won the WSOPE Main Event in 2013 and propelled his poker career. Since then, he has become one of the best tournament players in the world, and his best poker tip is to always keep studying and improving.
In this game you have to improve every day or they’ll eat you alive, said Mateos in 2024, and the words keep resonating today.
Indeed, the modern game of poker has become extremely competitive, with players improving at an extremely fast pace.
To keep up with the curve, it is necessary to spend more time studying poker than ever before, and using all the tools at your disposal.
Thankfully, there are more options available than ever before, with poker solvers, courses, and one-on-one coaching options all available from many sources.
As you advance your poker career, never forget to spend a portion of the hours on studying and never get complacent with where you are in terms of poker skills.
#6 – Keep It Simple at the Low Stakes – Phil Galfond
Poker solvers have revolutionized the way we think about poker, and many poker players have become obsessed with solver outputs.
The computer solutions may be the optimal and unexploitative way to play poker, but they are not always the best way to get value from your opponents.
Phil Galfond has been grinding both online and live poker games since his early youth, and he understands poker solvers better than most.
It may come as a surprise that one of his big poker tips is not to always worry about what the solvers say, especially when playing at the lower stakes.
Small stakes poker games are NOT the place for advanced strategy. It doesn’t matter what a solver says — it can’t predict how a beginner will play.
Galfond understands that all solver outputs are based on GTO poker strategy and assumptions that your opponents will play in an optimal way.
However, amateur players play wildly differently from solvers, which is why trying to play a GTO poker strategy against them is a waste.
Instead, focus on strong exploits at the low levels and learn how to get the most value from each individual opponent and their flaws at the poker table.
#7 – Be Prepared for Big Events – Jonathan Little
Most poker players don’t play poker as their exclusive source of income. Many only play during big festivals like the WSOP, and they don’t always come to those fully prepared.
One of the world’s best poker coaches and WPT champion Jonathan Little recommends approaching WSOP and other big festivals in a more methodical way.
Too many players head to the WSOP unprepared, hoping to luckbox a bracelet. Spoiler: it rarely works. If you’re planning to fire multiple events, make sure you’re ready.
Little has played his share of big poker festivals in his career, and he understands the important role preparation plays.
Instead of going into the action blindly, Little has prepared a whole set of poker tips that can specifically help you prepare for such events.
If you are planning on playing in this year’s WSOP, or another big poker festival at the lower stakes, check out his tips and try incorporating them in your own game plan.
#8 – Choose the Right Moment to Bluff – Maria Ho
There are few female poker players who have been as successful as Maria Ho, who has excelled not only at Texas Hold’em, but also other forms of poker.
She’s made poker her career and has plenty of great poker tips to share with the up and coming poker players of both genders.
When asked about bluffing, Ho had some wise words.
To spot a good situation to bluff, I first have to analyze my opponent. Is my opponent more risk averse than some of the other players at our table? If they are, they’re a good candidate for me to bluff against. If they’re not willing to take the risk to call me on my bluff and be wrong, it’s easier for my bluffs to get through a higher percentage of the time.
Maria’s approach to bluffing is to analyze the individual opponent she’s up against and decide if they are the right person to bluff.
This is one of the best poker tips anyone could give you, as we often see players firing big bluffs against opponents who have absolutely no intention of folding, especially in live games.
The next time you are considering a big bluff in your own game, take a second to consider who you are up against. Have you seen this person make hero calls with Ace-high just to be right? They probably aren’t the right person to bluff.
Instead, look for tight and passive players who don’t like to take big risks when they don’t have to. These are the right players to bluff and take big chances against!
#9 – Don’t Let Tilt Affect Your Game – Phil Hellmuth
When talking about tilt in poker, the one famous pro that comes to mind is Phil Hellmuth. Known as “The Poker Brat,” Hellmuth is quick to anger when things aren’t going his way.
However, Hellmuth keeps his tilt external and tries not to let it affect the way he is playing. In fact, we have often seen Hellmuth fuming on the outside but still playing patiently and not making any crazy plays as other players may do when they are tilted.
There was a big article written about how well I handle my emotions and then when I put it out in the poker world, there was a lot of laughter. But the point wasn’t how I handle my emotions on the outside, because I don’t. I’m still the Poker Brat. It’s more about how you handle your emotions on the inside.
For him, the external manifestations of tilt, such as trash talking, pacing around the table, and swearing, are not a problem.
Phil believes tilt is only problematic when it affects the way you play, and he is probably right. The next time you lose a big pot, think back of the champion’s words and don’t be afraid to externalize the tilt.
On the other hand, make sure to stick to your game plan and don’t let tilt affect the way you play or make you throw away the chips you have left in your stack.
#10 – Leave Your Ego at the Door – Fedor Holz
If you have ever played in a live poker game, you have probably witnessed it being a battle of egos, as players compete to be the “alpha male” in the room.
While this is a common problem for the amateurs, consummate professionals understand just how important it is to keep your ego in check.
Fedor Holz, one of the best tournament poker players in the world and a world-class poker coach says:
Oh, ego is a big part of the game. Because it’s so much about winning or losing, you have to get rid of your ego in some way. I didn’t get rid of it, but I’m constantly training to focus on the game and not focus on rivalries or other players.
The next time you sit down at the poker table, remember Fedor’s poker tips and make sure to let all rivalries go while focusing on the actual game instead.
