Tips to keep your game fresh

Although poker is a fascinating game if you play tens of thousands of hands each month it can start to become tedious. This is especially true if you are going through an inevitable dry patch where nothing seems to be going right for you.

Once boredom or complacency sets in you run the risk of playing suboptimal poker. This could see you change from a winning player to a break-even one or, even worse, a losing player. The best way to combat this boredom is to keep your mind active by learning new skills, some tips to help are outlined below.

One of the easiest ways to break up your time is to learn a new variant of your current game. If you dedicate most of your time to playing no-limit Hold’em cash games then play a couple of sessions of sit ‘n’ gos or multi-table tournaments. The skills you need to succeed in these variants will help your overall game.

You could also try learning a completely new game such as Omaha or Stud to keep your interest levels high. Doing so will not only keep your mind fresh as you will have to learn a new game from scratch, but you will also have to concentrate more rather than playing on autopilot as you might do in your usual game. And who knows, if you work on your Omaha bankroll management knowledge, it might rub off when you return to Hold’em.

If you do not want to learn a new game or discipline, why not change the way you play for a session or two? You could try playing without looking at your hole cards so that you are utilising the power of position.

Alternatively, do what Chris “Jesus” Ferguson did during his World Series of Poker Main Event win and only bet, raise or fold meaning you cannot flat call at any point. This should improve your starting hand selection and your aggression.

There are dozens of different fun things you can add to your game to keep yourself interested. Let me know if you have any you favour.

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