However, it is of the upmost importance that you are able to focus not only on the hands you actually play, but also the on hands where you folded.  Here’s a good example on how a hand you folded away can hurt you when not given attention afterwards.

Let’s say that you pick up pocket queens in a $2/$4 game of No-Limit Hold’em and are in late position.  Two players limp in before you throw out a $25 raise and the small blind is the only player to call your raise.  The flop comes up 9c-6c-10h and the small blind decides to check before you throw out a $35 raise.  This prompts the small blind to call again and the turn is a harmless 4s.  You decide to make another raise of $55 and the small blind calls yet again before the river is shown to be an Ac.

Now you have no idea what to do since you’ve still only got a pair of queens and there are both straight and top pair opportunities on the board.  The worst part is that you have no idea what to do because you weren’t paying attention in the earlier hands.

In this example, let’s just say that the small blind player got involved in a previous hand where he laid down a set of 10’s face up where the only thing that would have beaten him was a better set or a backdoor straight.  Anybody who is even mildly aggressive would have called in this situation, but not the player we’re talking about because they’re tight/weak.  So if they’ve went all-in in the hand we’re playing, they need to have the nuts and we should’ve folded long before the river.

The key point here is that you can’t let distractions take you away from any hand because they are all critical.

But the dilemma comes in when you consider the straight potential of J-10.  If the board does present you with a straight opportunity, then there’s a good chance that you’ll have the high straight with these cards.  Seeing as how there’s the potential to hit a big straight with J-10, you’ll want to look for situations with large multi-pots to play this hand.

The best spots to play J-10 in is obviously late position since you’ve seen how many players have limped into the pot.  If several players have limped in, then you have an excellent opportunity to call and see if you hit a drawing hand on the flop.  This situation will give you a great chance to wait for your hand before betting big.

The opportunities for playing J-10 only get better when you throw a lot of tight players into the mix since they won’t be as likely to make you pay to see cards.  If you can continue to see cards for cheap then you’ll be able to play your drawing hand into the turn and even river.

You can also semi-bluff with J-10 since it gives you a shot at getting some kind of hand down the line.  Just make sure that you’re semi-bluffing the right players though because you don’t want to be counting on the straight to come through in a bluffing situation.

Stopping a session early because you’re ahead

While most players already know not to keep playing during a losing session just to break even (many people still do it anyways), some players will quit sessions just because they’re ahead.  Now this can be a great confidence booster to know that you’ve played a solid, winning session.  However, quitting when you’re beating the game will leave you short on profits time and time again.  If anything, you want to make even more time for a winning session by putting things off while the going is good.

Picking the wrong games

Being a profitable poker player isn’t always about making the best plays or being one of the top players at your online poker room – it’s about being better than those at your table!  That’s why picking the wrong games can be such a killer in terms of profit.  When choosing an online poker table, make sure to look at the flop-viewed percentage so that you can get a good idea as to how many limpers are in the room.

Making a call just to see an opponent’s hand

You can usually make a fairly good gut decision as to whether an opponent has you beat or not.  However, there is always that inclination to try and see if an opponent is possibly bluffing even when you know you’re beat.  Resisting this temptation is a must though if you’ve already put your opponent on a range and have decided that they’ve got you beat.

Bet big or get out of the way!

If you’re unsure on how to make bets, a good place to start is by making large wagers whenever you get the notion to bet.  The reason behind this is that too many players make feeble, minimal raises that don’t accomplish anything.  And whether you’re looking to send a message or just get money into the pot, you’ve got to bet big.

Limit the number of pre-flop callers

When you get a really good hand before the flop, you need to lower the amount of players who are going to see the flop.  By limiting the number of players who call pre-flop, you’ll knock out a lot of the potential drawing hands that could hit something big on the turn or river.  Betting 3 to 4 times the big blind is a nice way to make people think twice about seeing the flop.

Make pot-sized bets on later streets

When you have a hand that’s capable of winning the pot, you want to make pot-sized (or bigger) bets in the later streets.  A wager of this size is big enough to get substantial money in the pot, yet not so big that it will scare everyone away.  Plus, this is another good way to knock drawing hands out of the pot.

You’re in a pot with several players

The point of a c-bet is to pick up chips after the flop in a dead money situation.  So being in a pot with several players doesn’t exactly present the best situation for making a continuation bet.  If you find yourself locked in a pot with multiple players, your best bet is to just fold when the flop misses you.  The reason being is that more players left in the hand after the flop means one or more of them is very likely to call your bet just to see the turn.

You’re up against a very aggressive player

The ideal player to make a continuation bet against is tight since they’re unlikely to call you assuming they missed the flop as well.  That’s why being in the hand against an aggressive player doesn’t exactly lend itself to a good c-bet – especially if that player has proven to have little regard for money.  Remember, the idea behind a c-bet is to steal the pot with as little trouble as possible.

Your c-bet was called by another player in early position

If you raised from early position, then you’ve given off a strong indication that your hand is very strong.  Unfortunately, that strong hand goes out the window if the flop misses you.  And your problems have only been compounded if the player to your left called the pre-flop raise since it’s likely they had a strong hand too.  It’s even possible that the flop didn’t miss them thus making their hand even stronger.

However, some players interpret certain poker skills in the wrong way and end up hurting their game as a result.  This isn’t to say they’re bad players….they are just misguided on how to use the skills that they’ve acquired.

For instance, many Limit Hold’em players commit the mistake of folding big hands every time they’re in a bad call situation.  They think that by folding this big hand, they’re actually making a skilled play.  But the reality is that they’re only hurting their bankroll by doing this every time.

To illustrate this point, let’s say you’re holding J-J on the river in a $1/$2 Limit Hold’em game.  The board reads Qs-Jd-10h-9s-7c and there’s $30 in the pot.  Your opponent bets $4 and you’re forced to make a decision on whether or not to call.  You have trips, but there is a very good straight possibility on the board.  In this satiation, a fold would be considered the skilled move because your trips are no good against a straight.  However, folding a big hand here with only a $4 call to make would be a mistake because you only need to win in this situation 1 out of 7 times to make a profit.  Therefore, the skilled play is actually to call.

Another example of where a player might think they’re making a skilled play is the check-raise.  In reality, average players misuse this play more than any other in poker because they overuse it.  And the truth is that you should only use a check-raise if you’ve got a realistic chance to make your opponent fold – it’s not a default move!

There are plenty of other “skills” like this that people use time and time again thus fooling themselves into thinking they’re a good player.  But the key is not to fall into the trap of thinking that a certain play has to be used every time in a certain situation.

Remember Everyone’s Face Up Cards

One big difference in Seven Card Stud, as opposed to Texas Hold’em, is that you get to see a face up card from all of your opponents.  However, when an opponent folds, that face up card gets mucked and you’re forced to remember it.  This is where some players make the mistake of only concentrating on their own hand.  But when you do this, you’re missing out on opportunities to correctly count your outs.  That’s why you need to pay attention to every face up card and memorize it.

Bet Frequently

Stud is a drawing game and so players like to see cards as cheaply as possible.  That’s why you need to bet frequently whenever you hold the advantage.  If you’re sitting in the driver’s position, you don’t want to give this advantage up by letting several drawing hands into the pot.  At the very least, you’ll be making opponents pay to chase their draws.

Bluffing rarely works

Bluffing is always thought to be a major part of any poker variation.  But in Seven Card Stud, you’re often wasting your time (and chips) by bluffing.  This is especially true in the lower stakes where the only people who play are either going to call with every draw they have or play all of their hands straightforward.  There are few bluffing opportunities that arise in a Stud game so you’re very unlikely to make anyone fold.  About the only time you can truly bluff people in a Seven Card Stud hand is when a flush draw is showing on the board.

Building a Big Pot

If the pot is $2 and you’re betting $60 into it, you’re building a pot the wrong way.  After all, if you’re holding pocket queens, your opponent only needs to have pocket kings or aces one out of 30 times to make this a bad play.  But betting $60 into a $60 pot is a lot smarter because you’re only contributing half of the pot.  When building a pot, make sure to keep the pot size in mind, and make measured bets that will increase the pot over each street.

When to build Big Pots

The obvious time to build big pots is when you have a big hand and think you’ve got one or more players that will call your bets.  Of course, you can also build bigger pots when you’re looking to draw another player into a bluff or force them to call with poor odds.  In the case of a bluff, you could bet $30 into a $30 pot and scare off a tight player who’s been checking and calling on every street.  As far as forcing a player to call with poor odds, if the pot was $60 and you made a $25 wager, this is enough to give the person calling bad pot odds.  However, it’s not enough to force an automatic fold.

1. They’re bluffing.

Bluffing is one of the most over-hyped plays in poker.  In fact, some players think others are bluffing on every street.  But the truth is that most people play their hand like it is the majority of the time, and only bluff when good opportunities arise.  That being said, calling people with second rate hands just to see if they’re bluffing is a costly move.

2. I’ll keep playing until I break even again.

Losing sessions are never fun, but you only make them worse when you stick around in an attempt to get back to even.  If you’re suffering through a bad session and you aren’t thinking clearly, call it a loss for the day and come back at another time.

3. I’m already this far into the hand, what’s a few more dollars.

If a call is wrong, then a call is wrong.  It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the pot if you’re 99% sure that your hand is beat.  This is especially true is you’re making a statistically incorrect play in Limit poker.

4. I must play aggressive.

There’s a difference between playing aggressive and playing stupid.  Even still, some players make huge raises and unnecessary bets just to convince themselves they’re playing aggressive.  It’s actually a much better idea to start off tight and get more aggressive as you learn the game.

5. I’m going to move up a limit and see if this works better.

As ridiculous as it sounds, losing players sometimes get the mindset that they can move up in limits and be more successful.  But if you can’t beat the limit you’re currently at, why move up to tougher competition?

For one thing, your tight play needs to come before the flop….not after.  The reason for this is because you will be making a pre-flop decision on every single hand.  And if you’re frequently playing poor hands before the flop, you are going to be losing a ton of money.  For instance, K-7 suited might seem like a good hand to play because there is an over card and a flush possibility.

However, this is in fact a terrible hand to play because a pair of kings with a 7 kicker isn’t going to win many hands while a pair of 7’s isn’t going to even be top pair after the flop.  As far as the flush goes, you don’t want to be taking a hand to the flop just because it’s suited since this only adds a 2% chance of winning by the river.

Playing poor hands past the flop makes the game so much tougher because you’ll have no idea where you stand.  Holding K-7 leaves you in the dark as to where you’ll stand after the flop whereas having A-K gives you a shot at the two top pairs in addition to straight potential.  By raising with A-K, you can go into the flop with confidence.  You’re not left guessing with something like A-K and your plays after the flop will be much easier.  Just remember: good pre-flop hands make good post-flop hands.