#1 – Raise and Fold

There is no doubt the best two options a poker player has is the raise and fold button. These should be the most used actions for any tight-aggressive player and by using these more then anything else, you should see your earnings rise.
If you have a marginal hand you should always fold. This gives the table an image that you are a tight player. If you then raise instead of calling it shows your aggressiveness and will strike fear into your opponents. Your table image will then be tight-aggressive, the most fearsome image a poker player can acquire.

#2 – Start Small

When starting out you should always start at micro limits. Even if you have money to burn it would be foolish to deposit a big amount of money the first time as there is a great risk you will lose it. Also start by playing smaller limits to get a feel for real money tables and to gain more experience and skill which is needed when tackling the higher limits.

#3 – Position

It is a great advantage if you learn about position early on in your poker career. Position is vital in poker and it determines when you are going to act in each hand. The best possible position is on the dealer button as you are last to act and can see all the action before you and can then make a calculated decision on how you should play your hand. It also makes bluffing a hand a lot easier. More marginal hands become playable if you are in a later position and you have the right pot odds to call.

The worse possible position is under the gun. This is the seat immediately after the big blind. It is the worst position because you have to act first and cannot gain any information from other players before making a decision. It will make betting a lot harder to judge as you may well have to deal with a re-raise from one of the players in later positions. Better hands become less playable from early position as you have no idea on how the play will continue and whether you will be facing a raise pre-flop.

#4 – Play somewhere you feel comfortable

To be able to fully focus on the game you have to have minimal distractions. The optimal place to play is in a nice, quiet room without annoyances. If you are easily distracted playing in a room with a TV is not a great idea. Also if you have children playing after they have gone to bed will probably be the best time.
If you are not fully focused you will not be able to pay attention to your opponents and find information and tells to use against them. Also you will find yourself calling hands you normally wouldn't and chasing hands down to the river which you know you shouldn't.

#5 – Use informative poker software

There are all types of poker software available now to record all sorts of stats and information about each session of poker you play. The best is possibly Poker Tracker. It will keep almost every stat you can think of and shows where you have leaks in your game. After a few thousand hands have been tracked using the software you will almost certainly be able to improve your game by looking though the information available and seeing where you are going wrong and also where your strengths are and capitalising on them even more.

They also provide you with graphs showing the amount of hands you have played and the amount of money won or lost in those hands. Another great feature is the ability to replay single hands or even whole sessions. This is a great tool to improve your game and looking at how you play again without being involved in the hand can show you obvious faults in your game. Software such as Poker Tracker is a great investment for any player looking to further develop their poker skills and is a certain way of increasing profits.