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Are you struggling to turn a decent profit at the poker tables on a consistent basis? Are your results best described as 'somewhere around break-even'?

Official subreddit for all things poker. Press J to jump to the feed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Log in sign up. User account menu. Reddit Poker r/ poker. Hot new top rising. Card classic compact. Pinned by moderators. 'Why can't I win money from poker?' Here's a nice, round 26 reasons for why you are failing to win money. If you can't win money from online poker, a lot of these reasons should be all too familiar.

First off, don't worry because you are not alone. This describes the results of the majority of poker players.

Often, however, it is just a few small strategy adjustments that can take your game from mediocre to amazing — from break-even to crushing it.

In this article, I am going to provide you with seven subtle but highly effective poker tips to take your game to the next level.

Editor's Tip: You can try all the poker tips on one of these free poker sites. Playing online poker for free is the best way to hone your poker skills and practice with no risk.

Try them — your bankroll will thank you.

1. Think About Ranges, Not Hands

One of the easiest ways to spot the difference between average poker players and elite ones is by how they think about what their opponent has.

• Average poker players try and put somebody on a specific hand.
• Advanced poker players think in terms of ranges.

A range is essentially the entire spectrum of hands somebody can have in a specific situation. For example, player X can have a flush, top pair, middle pair, bottom pair, a draw, ace-high or a complete air-ball bluff.

Good players understand that player X will show up with this entire range of hands with various frequencies.

They try and figure out those frequencies and then make the best play.

Average players try to put an opponent on exactly (or some other specific hand) because that's 'what their gut tells them.'

Watch the video below to understand how poker pro Jason Wheeler uses every possible information available to understand his opponent's cards and choose his play.

Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Realistic

Think about your opponent's range instead. Nobody has a specific hand in poker — they only have a range.

They will show up with different hands to varying degrees.

2. Ditch Your Favorite Hand

A lot of people have a favourite hand. I know that every time I get dealt the old -suited my eyes light up and I want to play it so bad!

However, in reality, I know that -suited is a mediocre hand.

It makes sense to play it in some spots — late position, for instance, in an unopened pot. But it should almost always be folded in early position.

If you currently have a favourite hand, that's fine — most people do. But don't give it preferential treatment and make bad plays with it.

Winning poker is about math and cold hard logic, not superstition.

Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Smart

Playing too many hands is a widespread mistake (see: Five Common Mistakes New Poker Players Make).

One of the best ways to avoid it is to introduce range-based thinking in your reads.

3. Adopt a Consistent Strategy

Another big key to becoming a great poker player (and perhaps one of the most important poker tips you should know) is consistently applying a winning strategy.

It is not okay suddenly to change things up (e.g. to open with -suited from early position) just because you are bored or tilted.

All of your learning, experience and study over the years has given you a body of knowledge telling you how to play this game profitably.

But it only actually matters if you apply it at the poker tables all the time. Every hand counts and every session counts.

Elite poker players apply the same winning strategy over and over again, no matter how they feel or what their recent results have been.

Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Consistent

Poker is a long-term game. You need time to build your bankroll and find the right strategy that works for you.

You should not change your strategy after a big win or a big loss (here's why). If you really feel like your approach needs to change, make sure you read Nathan Williams' Handling the Ups and Downs of Low Stakes Poker first.

4. Always Have a Reason

Big-time winning poker players will sometimes break from their standard, successful strategies, but always for obvious reasons.

An average player might start raising -suited in early position because he is bored or wants to make something happen.

An elite poker player will raise with this hand in this position on occasion because he notices the table is playing passively and there are a couple of recreational players in the blinds.

There is a clear reason then to believe that raising -suited in early position (typically a fold under normal circumstances) might be a profitable play in this situation.

If you can produce a well-reasoned argument why deviating from your regular strategy might be more profitable, then it is okay. It is the 'because I feel like it' or 'I am bored' reasoning that has to go.

Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Be Reasonable

Think. Use your experience to analyse the situations, and then understand 'why' you would take one road and not another.

If you don't have enough experience to evaluate different situations yet, you better go back to the free games and grind.

5. Know When to Fold Your Aces

Another clear difference between average poker players and great poker players is the ability to fold an overpair.

You know that little sick feeling you get when you have and a tight opponent raises all-in on the turn? You make the so-called 'crying call', and he turns over the set yet again.

You need to start paying attention to that feeling a little bit more often.

Certain patterns are easily recognisable at the lower stakes — especially when you play online poker — where it is 100 per cent the correct play to fold your overpair.

Good players can let go of any emotional attachment to their pretty-looking hands. Average players get married to their aces or kings instead, and can't let them go even when they know they are beat.

Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Aces Lose Too

Starting with the top of all poker hands isn't enough to guarantee you the pot.

Ask anyone for good poker pro tip, and they will all tell you the same thing: sometimes, you'll need to fold those Aces.

6. Realise Tilt Only Hurts You

Tilt is a destroyer of bankrolls, dreams and poker careers.

I can't tell you how often I receive emails or comments from people who describe to me how they've tilted vast amounts of their bankroll away when things went badly at the poker tables.

The reality of poker is that sometimes things will go badly for you, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it.

This is what you sign up for every time you sit down to play.

There's always the possibility you might run terribly. You might run lights out as well, though.

When you allow yourself to lose control of your emotions and throw your strategy out the window, the only person you are hurting is yourself.

All those hours you've spent trying to learn and improve your game were basically wasted because you decided to choose your emotions over reason when it mattered.

Respect the work that you have done. You owe it to yourself to maintain more composure and stop throwing away money when the cards go south.

Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Relax

The psychological side of poker can be overwhelming, and you need to be ready to deal with it.

Swings happen and bad beats will come. If you don't know how do deal with this, have a look at the poker tips Italy's poker pro Rocco Palumbo shared with PokerNews at the 2017 PokerStars Championship Prague.

If these tips work for Palumbo, they may as well work for you!

7. Don't Play in Bad Games

One more way average players regularly sabotage their poker results is by stubbornly playing in games that are full of decent-to-good regulars.

If you can't find somebody at the table who is playing very poorly, then you have to ask yourself why it is that you are even there.

If you only play poker for the mental challenge or recreation or pleasure, then this is fine. This poker tip doesn't necessarily apply to you.

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But if winning is at all a priority for you, then you need to remember you don't turn a significant profit in poker by pushing tiny edges against good poker players.

You win big by playing against players who are making significant fundamental errors and giving away their money over the long term.

As the classic movie Rounders reminds us, 'If you can't spot the sucker in your first half-hour at the table, then you are the sucker.'

Poker Tip Key Takeaway: Choose the Right Games

Don't sit with the pros if you can't beat them. Selecting the right games is key to your successes in poker — one wrong move, and you are out.

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Again, there's no shame in playing free poker games or in looking for the easiest poker games to play online if that's what you need.

Final Thoughts

The divide between break-even players and big-time winners is not as wide as many people think.

It is often just a few simple little adjustments you can learn over time that can carry you over to enable you to start winning at a higher clip.

A lot of it has to do with starting to view the game in a much more cold, detached, mathematical and logical way than you presently do.

Emotional and/or superstitious poker players almost always lose or struggle to remain even.

Elite poker players, meanwhile, know they are in it for the long haul and don't get overly wrapped up in each hand or moment. They continue to make the most profitable play again and again, no matter what.

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Nathan 'BlackRain79' Williams is the author of the popular micro stakes strategy books Crushing the Microstakes and Modern Small Stakes. He also blogs regularly about all things related to the micros over at www.blackrain79.com.

_{This article was originally published on Feb. 13, 2017. Last update: November 28, 2019.}

Be sure to complete your PokerNews experience by checking out an overview of our mobile and tablet apps here. Stay on top of the poker world from your phone with our mobile iOS and Android app, or fire up our iPad app on your tablet. You can also update your own chip counts from poker tournaments around the world with MyStack on both Android and iOS.

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The United States has been a precarious place for online poker since 2011. Only a handful of states have legalized and regulated the activity, leaving thousands of poker enthusiasts looking for a place to enter real-money online games.

But there are options, even if you don't live in one of the states that offer legal online games. In this article we look at some of those options; be sure to check back as more states pass bills to allow us to play the game we love and don't forget to visit this page about online casinos in the USA if you want to play more games too!

New Jersey – The Place Where Online Dreams are Made

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888 offers large welcome bonuses and $10 free to get started. Players can also enjoy 888poker on their mobile devices. While players can only play one table at a time, cash games, sit & go tournaments and multi-table tournaments are all offered.

Obviously, the only downside to this U.S. poker site is that traffic is relatively low, because, there are only so many people in New Jersey who play poker.

So get going! Take to 888poker for all the games, bonuses and special offers.

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The best poker software around, PokerStars New Jersey is the real deal!

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partypoker has seen a major resurgence, and their New Jersey client is just as great.

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888poker NJ customers can enjoy playing at the site via their favorite Android or iOS powered mobile device.

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Property of the world-famous New Jersey land-based Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Borgata Poker is available in New Jersey.

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Of all the poker rooms you could choose, BorgataPoker.com is one of the most superb, namely because it’s the official poker site of the famous Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

Given its large signup bonus and VIP program, players enjoy a brand that’s trustworthy and secure with a free $20 in pocket.

BorgataPoker.com offers a similar range of games as 888poker but it is also home to FastForward poker, or “fast-fold” poker, meaning you can pick up a new table if you don’t like your hole cards and fold.

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Play for a share of $700 for free; get a 100 percent match up to $400 first deposit bonus; and have all of it be legal!

With WSOP.com NJ, online poker rooms take a new form with exciting cash games, an awesome tournament schedule and, last but not least, the opportunity to qualify for the World Series of Poker!

Play on your mobile device or take it to the desktop, but either way, this trusted name won’t let you down. Play now!

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PokerStars' unrivaled game selection makes it a top play. Considered to be the best regulated online poker site in the U.S., PokerStars NJ is the market leader with excellent customer service, great software and a lucrative VIP scheme.

There’s a reason PokerStars says “We are Poker.” Their software is available on Mac, PC, iOS and Android devices. Their welcome bonuses are the most robust in New Jersey and they run alongside great promotions.

Download PokerStars today to see what you’re missing in this online poker room!

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Partypoker NJ, an operator since 2001, is a major player in the online poker tournament scene. Play all your favorite games directly from your smart phone: cash games, FastForward poker, sit & go tournaments and other casino game favorites.

While partypoker does not offer multi-table tournaments, don’t let that stop you from enjoying their major signup package or free $25 bonus. This operator regularly offers value-packed promotions, so stop procrastinating and get going at this great U.S. poker site!

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Nevada – Vegas, Baby!

WSOP.com NV

WSOP.com is the only online poker site where you can not only win your way into WSOP live events, but also win a WSOP bracelet. Enough said.

With the backing of Caesars Interacting Entertainment the famous World Series of Poker brand, this U.S. poker site finds favor because it offers almost everything: a wide variety of game types and limits, 888poker software, a player pool linked with Delaware, deposit and withdrawal options at live venues and excellent customer service.

And to top it all off, if you sign up to WSOP.com from PokerNews, you can get a 100 percent match up to $400.

WSOP.com NV will make your online poker experience as enjoyable as possible. So take advantage of this state-of-the-art software and have some fun!

So, have no fear! U.S. gaming is here. These online poker sites are just waiting for you.

Anywhere But No Real-Money Element: WSOP's Social Site

You can't play for real money, but you can experience the thrill of poker anywhere in the world by logging onto WSOP's social poker site. You can play no-limit hold'em and omaha, and both ring games and tournaments. Sign up for the World Series of Poker social site via PokerNews.com, and receive 250,000 extra chips!

Finding a trustworthy room to play online poker can be a monumental burden. That's all the more true if you're just looking for a place to play poker for free. We've listed five of the best play-money poker sites to enjoy and help hone your skills.

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