Rule 7: The money you don't lose from...

The money you don't lose from staying too long in a hand and the money another player does lose from doing this is often the profit you go home with. Maybe you got yourself «trapped» a few times on fairly good hands and found yourself staying longer than you wanted, but soon after that you came to your senses and folded. A less experienced player, however, got trapped on some similar hands and stayed until the very end with them.

The money difference in these two cases is often. The difference at the end of the game- the profit the better player goes home with. Profit at lower levels of poker is often nothing more than a matter of getting «paid off» by bad players when the good players have a good hand. (And limiting your own mistakes so you don't give the money back.)

Rule 6: It's important that a player starts seeing...

It's important that a player starts seeing «staying too long on marginal hands» as where the money goes. This is a rule for less experienced players, but even long-time players are guilty of this at times. And make no mistake, this is where the money goes. It's where the actual leakage takes place. In fact, it's a money «leak» of such proportions that it can bring down the entire rest of our game – a major avenue of seepage. If this were a house and we were looking for thermal-heating leaks, it would be the equivalent of having the front door open.

A good deal of the money lost in poker games is lost when players continue past the point in a hand when they should be out. Yet they are still in, still hoping for a miracle, still «donating». Not only is this «where the money goes», it is also where the winners get most of their money «from». The money that «fuels» most low-level poker games comes from this source.

Rule 5: If you do make a mistake, correct it as soon as you can.

If you do make a mistake, correct yourself at the next available opportunity in the hand. Don't just keep throwing in good money after bad. There's no reason you have lo follow your original mistake with additional bets. Some players feel, having made the original bad call, that they are now obligated to stay until (he end in order «to be consistent», so they continue to put in more and more money behind it. Get out.

Rule 4: If you don't think your hand is good enough, it probably isn't.

Notice how many times you think your hand is not good enough, and how many times it turns out that you were right. Your hand wasn't good enough – and it lost. It's a pretty high percentage. The suspicion that your hand may not be good enough can often reliably be taken as proof that it isn't. Listen to your gut.

Rule 3: Start with premium hands. When you get them, bet them.

Start with premium hands. When you get them, bet them. If the hand starts to deteriorate, get away from the hand. This is only common sense, but it is surprising how easy it is to drift away from this basic concept. Have brakes and an accelerator. Use both.

Rule 2: If you think you're beat, gel out.

This is one of the basic rules of poker, but one that is – for some reason easily overlooked or forgotten. If you're beat, fold. And listen to that little voice telling you that you are beat. (We often hear players at the table tell us, «I know I'm beat» – as they continue to toss in the chips.) Hanging on (and on, and on) in a hand is where a lot of the money goes.
"You always told me this was ... rule number one: Throw away your cards the minute you know you can't win. «Fold the f––hand...»

Also, forget the idea that they're bluffing or trying to «run you out.» You're almost always better off folding. Most of the time they do have something. (Or at least this is true enough of the time to justify folding on your part.) Generally speaking, when things start to go wrong in your hand, you're better off exiting the hand. Don't hang around hoping and wishing

Rule 1: Don't dig yourself into a hole when you first sit down.

If we had to pick a number one rule in poker, this might be a good candidate. It might not be the most important rule in poker, but it is a good first one. Try not to get way down, money-wise, right from the outset of the game. It is a lot less fun if you have to spend several hours digging yourself out of a hole you got yourself into in the early rounds of play. Start slow. Observe for awhile. Give yourself time to watch the texture of the game unfold and see how players are playing in order to get yourself into the feel of it and the rhythm of it. The notion of avoiding doing anything flashy until you get into the flow of things is not limited to poker; it's an idea we see in all sports. There is a cautious feeling-out process that takes place in the early going. Play conservatively until a rhythm develops that you can recognize and exploit, and then join in. Ease into the game. Don't get yourself stuck early.
«It is important in poker that when you catch a $2,000 rush, you are not stuck $3,000 at the start of it».