Play for few hours and earn lots of money. Get profit and even try to make playing a living. But of course, all of these can’t be easily accomplished. However, with the right attitude, they are doable.

You are maybe wondering how much can you make by just playing. Well, answer would depend on the situation, your condition as a player and the kind of games you play.

According to poker experts, in Limit Texas Holdem, earning a big bet an hour is very possible. Thus, if you play a $5/10 game and play 100 hours, you will have $1000 expected rate. While in Low Limit Texas Holdem, there can be no precise figures. Your skills and your opponents’ skills matter so give them consideration. But the good thing, in case you know how to play and win over your opponents, you can earn more than the hourly rate aforementioned.

On the flip side, making money won’t be that easy. At some point, luck will intervene in your venture. Thus, it is something to be considered; actually aside from your skills and your opponents’ skills.

You may don’t believe about winning because of luck or losing because of luck, but they both happen at the poker table. Luck can turn a winning hand into a losing hand so you better consider this in your every poker game. As you try to make money, never forget that luck may intervene and so never go all the way. Never place all your money at risk. Luck may turn everything good into bad.

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But how can you be a pro in No Limit Texas Holdem? Well, there is no right formula in becoming a pro, actually in any poker variety. But nonetheless you need to multiply your skills and get good experience continuously. Learn to improve your skills and if possible learn some new ones. And play a lot to get good experience. But only play in games where you can get a lot of learnings and lessons.

Although it is challenging and sometimes a long, tiring venture to become a pro, it is all worth it. If you become a pro, you will get a lot of opportunities and you will be granted big pool of players by popular poker sites. You will also be given higher priority when it comes to poker tournaments at big casinos and be able to strengthen your bankroll. You might be not aware but No Limit Texas Holdem is where the money is. If you want to make it big, then you must be a pro in this poker variety. But of course the road to becoming a pro won’t ever be smooth and even.

Nonetheless, to be a pro, you need to have strong determination and the will to surpass everything. You must be eager to succeed or else you won’t make it. Remember that how your career in poker will turn out will depend on you and your determination, will, and eagerness. You can’t get what you want if you don’t work for it. Always remember this.

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Well, about having luck, it is actually something that is beyond your control. You can’t learn how to get luck and you can’t even earn it. Not to mention that there is nothing else you can do about it. This is one sad reality that holds true at the poker table. The best you can do, well just hope for the best, that in your every poker game you become lucky.

On the good side, although you can’t do anything about learning how to get luck, you can actually learn how to be skillful. You can learn how by getting a good understanding of the fundamentals of the game and have basic math. Discover what scenarios suit varying cards and why certain hands are better than other hands. Try to gain experience. Play a lot. But play in games from which you think you can get some learnings. Along the way, you will learn things not only about the fundamentals but also about other more complexed matters. Eventually you will become sharper and a better player.

But as you try to be skillful, never forget to keep your disposition intact and learn how to be patient, humble, and observant. At times even be relentless and aggressive. These things are very important. At times even more important than having luck and the skills. But of course, you just need to keep everything on balance. Have the luck and the skills and eventually have the attitude of a winning poker player.

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But though that the ability to read hands wouldn’t be something innate in you it is actually something you can develop. If a bit you have the skills and the knowledge on probability, studying your opponents, and psychology, then you will eventually learn how to read hands.

Probability

Having the knowledge on calculating probabilities can really help. Normally, in Poker, probability of each type of 5-card hand can be computed by calculating the proportion of hands of that type among all possible hands. Probability will then help you assess if what type of hand, strong or weak, your opponent most likely have.

Studying Opponents

To effectively study your opponents, you must be aware of the various types of player and the playing style of each type. You can’t actually make assessments if you are not familiar of these things. For an instance, one of your opponents is a tight player and has been playing tight, if you lack knowledge, you may not easily get the idea that he might be up to something like a strong hand,a strong flush for example, just because he’s playing that tight.

Psychology

Effective psychology in Poker has two significant aspects. The first one involves you having to know the playing styles of your opponents and the second one involves you having to understand the perception other players about you.

To effectively apply psychology over your opponents, know their playing style and observe their hand strength through analyzing their betting and raising patterns.

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Good Math Understanding

The first skill you need to possess is the skill which concerns good math understanding.
When you play Poker, you need to make a lot of calculations. You must know how to calculate the probability when entering a hand and calculate the odds or count your outs. Outs are the number of cards that will improve you hand. You must know how to count your outs to know the percentage of you hitting certain card.

Great Discipline Perspective

To have a great discipline perspective is a must. Discipline is very important in the game Poker. If you don’t have the skill in understanding how important it is to have discipline, you may just get yourself into unlikely situations. Instead of having a good hand, you may just have a bad one if you don’t have the discipline and just rush things up and go for what you want to do.

Good Understanding

In general, you should have the skill to keep good understanding about everything that concerns the table. Never be self centered and understand others at the table. If you want to be a successful poker player, be very understanding of the situation, of other players, etc. As much as possible, understand why a player made a particular decision and how it might help them in a future hand.

Good players have good understanding of everything that deals the game. Thus, if you also want to be a good one yourself, try to master the skill of keeping good understanding about all the things that concerns the table – the players, the situation, and the cards.

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Poker Books

Poker books contain topics on getting started. Typically, they contain the rules of the game, the terms, and the skills and strategy useful in beating the game. However, not all poker books can help. Thus, it’s important that you’d be wise in choosing which book to get. After all, you’d be spending time and effort in reading the book.

Poker Articles

Online, there are a lot of poker articles published. If having some financial problems, it’s best to go for these articles for normally they are for free, unlike poker books.

Nowadays, most poker articles can really help. They contain sensible information which you can make use when playing Texas Holdem. However, just be careful when following advices from these articles as it’s not always clear if the writer is a pro or a beginner, probably just like you.

Observing games and/or Actual Playing

Probably the best way to learn needed skills in playing Texas Holdem is observing games and/or actually playing. Being in real games either to observe or actually play can really help you, you may eventually discover what are the needed skills you must possess to become a winning, successful player. But be very observant at all times and watch over others’ reactions in different situations. Try to figure out why they make some moves, for what reason. Eventually, you will get the hang of Texas Holdem, the primary version of the popular game Poker.

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For about 12 months now, I’ve been playing Holdem. Well, in live games, I can actually say what kind or type of opponents I have, weak, tight, aggressive/loose, etc. But when it comes to myself I’m quite not sure. I believe that when I play, I play really tight however once someone call me a tight passive player.

I can’t believe I’m a tight passive one as I always thought I was a tight aggressive player. I don’t know if I just don’t realize it at all, but I’ve never played a passive game, I don’t also pretend to be a pro and actually very open to suggestions, advices, tips, etc.

Any tips on becoming a tight aggressive rather than passive? Your help will be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Drew
Drew,

A lot depends on how much you are betting and raising etc. Do you check a lot when you miss the flop with your big hands? Do you only raise when you have the nuts? Do you not play position? If you can answer yes to any of these, then you are a passive player.

Being tight and aggressive means getting strong hands and then betting them strongly. Betting out, check raising, using the occasional semi bluff, and value betting are all skills that tight aggressive players have.

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I started playing Poker when I was still quite young. Just recently, already in my 70′s, I’ve tried internet TH and actually enjoyed it. Well, I started everything with the idea that at cheap tables, playing tightly to a set of rules should make money, and luckily I was able to get a profit particularly from $1-2 tables however every time I try $3-6 I usually lose almost everything.

Recently, I was in 250 $1-2 games with Noble Poker. I played very tightly and was actually able to earn $25. Later on I left to check some records, I then discovered that such games were only available in the gaming room, which I had left. But some staff were really good and have emailed me full details of all 250 hands as I have requested.

At my age, I believe I can still make some improvements on my own skills so do you know of any poker trainers who can help me?

Thanks!

Best regards,
Blake
Blake,

You can also pick up a couple of books or DVD’s on Holdem to help you improve your game. For tournaments, Harrington on Holdem is a great set of books. Rolf Slootboom has a set of DVD’s regarding NL Holdem that should provide a lot of insight.

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Thank you very much for your prompt reply. It was very much appreciated. But I just want to clarify something. The game I mentioned was a 5/10 structured Low Limit Holdem and not a No Limit one. Well, I play No Limit but only friendly home games with some close friends way back then. Most of the time, I can hold my own as I can actually protect my strong cards when they hit.

In casinos, usually I get run down until the river and then lose most of the time. Do you think I should just stick with my game plan that involves playing only premium hands in early position and drawing hands in the back when I can actually see the flop cheaply? And for a looser table, loosen up my starting hands?

By the way, I typically buy-in with $300 for the structured 5/10 table, do you think this is already fair enough? Do you have any suggestion or piece of advice for me about how I can improve my skills and earning potential?

Before I forget, is it bad to play cards like A,7o? If I were to consider it in theory, it’s a poor starting hand, however I oftentimes win with such hand.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks,
Lance
Lance,

Your strategy sounds like a good on for most scenarios. If you have a particularly loose table, you may want to modify it a bit. Part of the problem with you being run down is that you may be encountering a player that is chasing you down with proper odds etc. If you hit a pair or flop a draw, it is improper to fold in many cases since the pot is laying such a big price in most cases.

You can pick up a copy of Ed Miller’s book Small Stakes Holdem to try and improve you Limit Holdem game.

A-7 offsuit is a poor starting hand, but if you can see it cheap, such as in the blind or in a table with several limpers, sometimes it can do well. It is easily dominated, so don’t fall in love with playing the hand.

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I’m now into some brain works. I don’t know what I’ll do next in my poker career. I’ve already tried Doyles Super System, and have read thousands of articles on your site but still I have few questions in mind.

First, is there anything I need to do to take my game from the intermediate level to the pro level? Second, how about in terms of skills, knowledge or experience, is there anything I need to have?

I want to win the WSOP or WPT or at least make it to the final table however it seems so hard for me to do so. Any help?

Thank you very much.

Regards,
Charlie
Charlie,

I know from personal experience that winning at the WSOP takes a lot of skill and a little bit of luck. In order to get to the professional level, you need to have all the tools that poker players should have in order to be successful. Remember, if you are planning on playing professionally, this will be your only source of income and you need to approach it like a job. Put back at least 6 months worth of money that is to be used solely for living expenses once you start playing poker professionally. This will help offset some of the ups and downs that you will experience as a pro player.

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