TEN COMMANDMENTS OF TEXAS HOLDEM
The 1st commandment of poker, thou shall always make rational decisions. This rule holds true for all of your poker decisions, from game selection, to playing within your bankroll, to check raising your friend on the river. Successful poker player's decisions are always rational.
The 2nd commandment of poker, thou shall always think positively. In order to become a winner you must first believe that you are a winner. Successful poker players always think positively.
The 3rd commandment of poker, thou shall only play good starting hands. No matter what form of poker you are playing you must adhere to the rule of playing only quality starting hands.
The 4th commandment of poker, thou shall be selectively aggressive. Being selectively aggressive means betting and raising when you have an edge in the hand, or when it may influence the outcome of the hand. Successful poker players are always aggressive with their strong hands.
The 5th commandment of poker, thou shall know and play the percentages. A large part of playing solid poker is math, from being able to calculate your pot odds to figuring out how many cards will help you in a particular hand. Successful poker players always know and play the percentages.
The 6th commandment of poker, thou shall mix up your play. If you want to make maximum profit in a poker game you need to make people play against you when you have a strong hand as well as a marginal one. If you only bet when you have a strong hand or check all of your drawing hands your opponents will eventually pick up on this and you will become a very readable opponent. Successful poker players always try to mix up their play.
The 7th commandment of poker, thou shall always work on improving thy game. Whether by reading or re-reading a book or article, or practicing with software on your computer, you must constantly be trying to become a more complete poker player. Successful poker players are always trying to improve.
The 8th commandment of poker, thou shall learn from thy mistakes. Successful poker players always learn from their mistakes.
The 9th commandment of poker, thou shall always pay attention. To be a winning poker player you must be observant of your opponents, regardless of if you are involved in the hand or not. Successful poker players always pay attention.
The 10th commandment of poker, thou shall be a well-rounded poker player. To be a great poker player you must give yourself as many prospects as you can to win. Limiting yourself to only 1 form of poker such as limit Texas Hold Em, will severely reduce the options you have to find a good game. Successful poker players are well-rounded players.
