Experience vs. Knowledge in Poker - How to Master Poker

You can only be a good poker player with the proper knowledge backing you up but this knowledge will only come to its right with experience.

Knowing what to know

Poker is known for being a game where skill is much more important than luck. The best poker players enjoy a lot of respect since they can turn bad hands into winning ones. There are plenty of players who enjoy poker online without being especially good or experienced. It would seem that someone who has played the game for many years is a better player than someone that just started playing. This is not necessarily true since it is quite possible to play poker and do well without ever raising the bar.

For the player that wants to advance and start winning more important games the first thing to do is to understand what knowledge he is lacking. The experienced player knows where he usually fails and he can start at this point. A beginner poker player is less aware of all of the strategy that is available and could do well with some guidance to begin advancing his play. Among the important areas of knowledge that can give better poker play are poker rules, poker odds and poker money management. When you start building on your poker knowledge you should start where you find it the most interesting this is the best way to gaining the necessary experience.

Experience and Knowledge

To master poker you must have experience and experience comes with the games you play. If you apply new knowledge to the poker games you play you will advance much faster and build a more solid poker experience. Still, to keep your feet on the ground you should make sure to play a lot even if you aren’t always winning or advancing. Understanding the nature of specific situations in poker demands that you have seen them more than once.

A good example of where experience takes precedence over knowledge is in the area of poker tells. While there are certain rules to how players behave when they have good hands only experience will develop your sense for spotting them. You should also consider that when you are playing in the same poker room a lot your experience will let you recognize your opponents and remember their playing styles and moves.

Striking a Balance

Poker experience is definitely just as important as knowledge but it will only get you where you want to go with the proper back up of knowledge. If you play game after game making the same mistakes without reflecting you aren’t looking at a bright career as a professional poker player. The key to success in poker is to understand the balance between experience and knowledge. Keep playing many games but take a break every now and then and look at your progress. Are you winning more now than before? If not then decide to work on one area of knowledge that you find interesting and enjoy improving your technique and understanding of the games.