Although a very popular game, mastering poker is difficult. It is a time consuming process and requires one to be patient and ready to give up a hand in time. People who want to improve their skills practice through their preferred online poker room, casinos and even family games. Those, who have mastered the elementary form of poker and are aware of all the basic strategies of the game can make use of more advanced strategies, which would further improve their chances of winning and making decent profits. Here are some of the advanced poker strategies you should know.

Blind stealing: a player uses this strategy when other players have folded their games and only those that are blind remain on the table. Using this strategy means that the player puts pressure on the players who have blind cards by raising the bet. When the bet is raised, the players with the cards blind have to think whether to go with the raised bet or see their cards and fold in. Though this strategy is risky, players at high stake tournaments use it.

Semi bluffing: the strategy of semi-bluffing involves two elements, that of the hand value and of the bluff. The strategy involves semi-bluffing, which might make a player win the pot instantly or later if the card values improve. The strategy is considered as one of the strongest of the advanced strategies because of the reason cited above. Moreover, since the cost involved in semi-bluffing is the same as when one would call, there is no harm in semi-bluffing and at the same time, the potential benefits are immense.

Pot committed players: a skilled poker player keeps track of the opponent and in this regard checks whether the player is pot committed or not. Being pot committed means that the player has committed half or more of his chips to the pot and in this case is not likely to fold easily. Therefore, a skilled player keeps a tab on the pot-committed players and plays accordingly.

Betting Patterns: it is important to mix your style of betting and playing each time, since advanced players are very quick to read and learn the betting patterns of their opponents. Unpredictable play can lead your opponents into thinking, giving you the chance to bluff and play easily.

Slow Playing: the art of making the opponents think that your hand is low in value is called slow playing. When the opponents assume that you have a low value hand, they raise their bets, increasing the pot’s value. You may then make big profits. The slow playing strategy is one of the most profitable of the advanced strategies and is played in big tournaments and no-limit games.

Know the time to quit: it is very essential to know when the right time to fold a hand is. This is because holding a bad hand for too long may be expensive. Sometimes it may be also important to take a break. Strategies are to be used to make things go well. But you can encounter a very bad luck or lose focus, so just take a break and relax for some time 🙂