A Poker Lesson from Ed Miller

Ed Miller is the resident expert on the 2+2 online forums. He’s seen more hand histories, talked more strategy and fielded more whiny bad beat stories than all your college athletic coaches and school therapists combined. Oh, and he’s published three books and sold well over 100,000 copies.

Here, Ed casts a few of his favorite pearls of wisdom before you, the Avid Student. Catch ‘em, and you may find yourself quitting your day job sooner than you’d hoped—or at least, right on schedule.

Tip 1: Beginner Tip for No Limit Hold ‘em Cash Games

Make plays only when you’re in position. Unless you have a strong pocket pair or an A/K, fold hands if you’re not on the button. When you are on the button, you should play more hands, because that’s how you’re going to get practice. But if you’re out of position, chances are you’re going to get outplayed by more experienced players if you become impatient and start taking unnecessary risks.

Tip #2: Beginner Tip for Hold ‘em Tournament Play:

In tournaments, you should try to steal the blinds and antes whenever possible–moving in over the top against an opponent even if you don’t have a great hand. In a way, this is converse to the tip for No Limit Hold ‘em cash games. Because the blinds get so big in relation to the chip stack in a tournament, you have to make moves, even though you may not have anything at all. If your chip stack is bigger than everyone else’s, make a sizeable bet. If you’re short-stacked compared to the blinds, or to the other players, it’s a good idea to move all in. By moving in big, you’ll often encourage other players to fold, and pick up the pot without too much trouble. Sometimes another player will oppose you–but even if they have a good hand, you still have a chance to suck out and survive.

If you bust, it’s not the end of the world. So many players act like a tournaments is a game of Russian roulette–bust out, and you’re gone forever. But in reality, there’s always another tournament around the corner–always another chance. Watch the big-time pros, and you’ll see, they prefer to make big moves that either win them huge pots or bust them out entirely, rather than fading out little by little over a series of folded hands.

Tip #3: Tip for Limit Hold ‘em

Raise after the flop even if you have a hand you’re worried about. For example, if you have K/9, and the flop comes J/9/4, you should raise. This may seem risky, but in reality, if you check-raise, you’re actually betting a percentage of your stack to win a percentage of the pot. Because the pot is so much larger, even if you only win these hands 40% of the time, you’ll still come out on top.

Tip #4: Intermediate Tip for Cash Games and Tournaments

If you’re in position, force your opponents to make decisions and moves, rather than making the decision for them. Be as ambiguous as possible. Don’t let your betting patterns give too much of your strategy away. Bet the same amount if you have a great hand like pocket Kings, a so-so hand, or a garbage hand. This will force your opponent to make blind decisions rather than informed ones, and should enable you to outplay them from the button.

Tip #5: Online Play

No online poker room is necessarily better than the rest these days. There are good games at any limit–both cash and tournaments. Even if you’re playing in extremely low-limit games ($1/$2), you have a good chance to win money, because so many of the people in those games either aren’t very skilled or don’t take the game seriously. Don’t feel pressure to move up to a higher limit unless you’re ready–understand that as the money in the pot increases, so does the skill level of the competition.

Tip #6: All Levels

The most important holistic rule in poker is… disinvolve your ego. Realize that this is a game that takes skill, studying, and practice, practice, practice. Even if you are the next big poker genius, you’ll still have to pay your dues. Read books, study strategy, and be open to receiving knowledge from others. Don’t try to play in a game that’s over your skill level, just because you’re too proud to play in the low-limit games.

Tip #7: All Levels

Finally…be patient! Sure, maybe you’ve been playing for several months or a year, and think you’re better than most of the guys out there. And you might be better than some of them. But not all. And just like you’re looking to take money off the know-nothing fish in your pond, somebody’s looking to do the same to you. Plus, remember: poker is not a game of instant gratification, though it may seem like it from watching the TV shows. In reality, it’s a long, slow climb. There’s a definite learning curve. You can speed it up by studying, practicing, and asking the right questions–but you cannot bypass the process altogether. So don’t get depressed over a few bad beats, or a few losing months. Just keep practicing, playing, learning, improving… take your time, improve your game, and soon enough, the money will take care of itself.

Ed Miller is the author of three poker theory books:

Small Stakes Hold ‘em: Winning Big with Expert Play (2004)

A how-to guide to earning a living at low-limit hold ‘em. For all levels. 100 thousand copies sold.

Getting Started in Hold ‘em (2005)

A beginner’s guide to limit, no limit and tournament Hold ‘em, presenting fundamental principles of the game.

No Limit Hold ‘em: Theory and Practice (coming June 2006)

Co-authored with David Slansky, this is the essential theoretical and strategic guide to No Limit Hold ‘em.