From the second that you sit down at a table, your opponents will be sizing you up. They will analyze your moves, dissect your bets, and look for your tells. If you want to have any sustained success playing poker, you must learn how to AVOID giving off these signals. Period.

To do this, you must cloak your movements and disguise your activities. You must also learn how to FORCE other players to fold, even when they “know” they have the best hand. Make other players “out-think” themselves by staying unpredictable. These are 5 KEY strategies that you MUST employ at the poker table every time you play.

These methods have been developed and refined over my 13-year poker career, and if you use them properly, you will become virtually “unreadable.”

STRATEGY #1: Vary Your Bets

I cannot believe the number of players who want to use the same bet structure over and over again. If you want to be unpredictable, you must vary your betting and raising patters as much as possible.

Imagine you are sitting at a table where a player gets stuck in the same betting patterns. Now, let’s say that he is dealt a large pocket pair. He leads out with a large bet, exactly as he did in the past. Now you have a great read on him.

This kind of read can easily prevent you from losing a stack of your chips. It can also keep you from getting any callers on YOUR good hands, and too many callers on your bad ones.

STRATEGY #2: Keep Players Out Of Hands

The real mark of a great player is the ability to win dozens of small pots with aggressive play. Forcing players out of small pots also ensures that your opponents will see fewer of your cards. Every time that your opponents see your cards, you will become a little bit more predictable. It is key that you play very aggressively to keep yourself shrouded in mystery.

STRATEGY #3: Shift Styles Completely

If you watch poker games closely, the successful players will always be the ones who change gears from aggressive to tight throughout the game. When you are at a table, it is important that you mix up your betting patters for a given hand…and then switch your OVERALL PLAYING STYLE between loose and tight and loose and tight.

STRATEGY #4: In the Dark Plays

Using “in the dark” plays is a great way to confuse your opponents. When you play in the dark, it is very hard for your opponents to get a good read on you. When you make a move in the dark, your opponents will start to rethink their moves.

Remember, since a player’s FIRST instincts are usually RIGHT, you want to make your competition second-guess their instincts.

STRATEGY #5: Never Show Your Cards

There are a lot of players who like to reveal their cards when they pull off a good bluff. It’s usually a big-headed gesture from the player trying to satisfy their own giant ego.

If you’re playing Texas Hold’em to feel better about yourself, then be my guest; show your cards. But if you’re like me: playing Texas Hold’em because you LOVE THE GAME and YOU LOVE TO WIN; then DON’T show your cards.

When you show your cards, players will start to understand how you behave when you bluff. No matter how hard you try, you will inevitably develop “playing patterns.”

It doesn’t matter if you’re Doyle Brunson or someone who just started playing poker last week; the habits will form. These five strategies that we just discussed will give you an EDGE in disguising your habits.

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