When a poker player bluffs, what are they trying to achieve? They are attempting to get their opponent to fold the best hand. But you will also find situations where a well-timed bluff could win you a pot you might otherwise lose. Good hand selection is always important, as is understanding that the more players you’re up against, the greater the possibility that at least one of them will have a strong hand.

A great way to learn is to use the free resources available at our PokerStars School, where you’ll find plenty of opportunities to practice and improve your game. The years of practice necessary to master the middle and end game play are well worth the effort, because even small improvements in a player’s abilities can have a tremendous effect on that player’s lifetime winnings. These skills involve calculating pot odds, recognizing betting patterns, bluffing, and using position. This is especially true concerning the decisions made at the very end of every hand. The area that separates professional players from amateurs is that professional players tend to play much better than their opponents during the remainder of the hand, after the starting hand decisions are made. Once you have mastered solid starting hand guidelines and understand how they change by your position at the table, the next area you should work on is your play for the rest of the hand.

Starting hand selection is fundamentally important, but it’s only one piece of the poker strategy puzzle.

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