Which starting hands to play

Playing every hand in poker to stay interested is a sure way losing your chips fast. It is simply a bad idea to see every flop when the odds of finishing with the winning hand are so long.

By general rule of thumb, if you are playing more than half of your starting hands the chances are you're playing too much. Obviously there will be some days where your starting hands will be fantastic and you rightly should be playing them more. However, what you should be avoiding is playing hands to avoid boredom and keeping your interest in the game. Those who play on the best poker sites know this.

Once chips are committed from the start you may feel to have an obligation to continue to try and chase what you have already put into the pot, the early call now becomes very expensive. Fans of poker WSOP should realise this.

It is worth studying which starting hands are playable and which should be quickly mucked. Any high pocket pairs or two high playing cards hold a strong case to get involved in the pot. However, a hand such as 72 really should not be entertained and you should let others fight it out.

What is required is a good level of discipline. Your overriding thought should be to fold bad hands and wait for the right one to come around. Unless you are really unlucky, you are not going to be dealt cards like 72 throughout the game.

If you are playing every hand, it will be difficult to play a bluff later down the line. Your opponents would have noted that you have been playing all sorts of hands and will not be scared to call your bet. Any bluffs would therefore fail miserably.