The most fun you can have in poker is when you win. Making great bluffs and brilliant calls, slowly building your chips from a molehill into a mountain can be one of the most exciting experiences one can have. But if you're solely depending on luck to build your poker stack, you're bound to be disappointed in the long run. Therefore take some time and learn how to play Texas Hold em the right way!

For most players, the best strategy is to adopt a tight-aggressive style of play. What this means is that you play relatively few hands, but when you play, you play them strongly, betting and raising to put pressure on your opponents. Since most flops miss most people, you give yourself more chances to win by playing aggressively. Since you play tight and therefore generally start out with a better hand than your opponents, you may very well win unimproved, e. g. without any help from the community cards. But even if you don't, when both you and your opponent miss the flop, you can win by taking the lead in the betting. Two things to keep in mind. Aggression is good, but it must be controlled aggression. If you continue to bet and encounter resistance on every street, especially from a tight player, it is time to back off and give up the pot if your opponent bets. If someone has a big hand, your bluff won't work, and over time, this will cost you dearly. Similarly, if you fire at every pot every time, your opponents are going to stop giving you credit for big hands, and your bluffs will be called. If you see this happening, it may be a good time to shift gears, tightening up even more and betting strongly only when you actually have a very big hand. Also be aware that while most players think of themselves as tight-aggressive, they usually are not as tight as they think. Tight players play no more than 10% to 20% of the hands they are dealt. Keep track of how many flops you see during your next session. You might be surprised at what you find.

It is also very important to remember that you should raise preflop when you choose to enter a pot so that you encounter as few opponents as possible, this is especially true if you have a big pair. Because with a big pair you only want to face a couple of opponents, as most, else the chance of being outdrawn is too big. For example say that you have QsQh and face four opponents and the flop is Ks 6s 5c. With a flop like that there are just too many ways that you can loose, even if someone doesn’t have a king! But with only one opponent you are probably ahead and the likelihood that he should have a draw is fairly unlikely, especially if you raised preflop.