People often ask me what is a good poker winning percentage. This refers to the percentage of the time you play poker where you can expect to walk away from the tables with a profit.
Or to "book a win" as some might say.
A good poker winning percentage at the micro stakes games like NL2 and NL5 can be as high as 90%. But once you get to higher stakes like NL25 and NL50 your winning percentage will be much lower at around 60%. Winning high stakes poker players may only book a win a little over 50% of the time.
And this is because, as you probably know, losing sometimes is inevitable in poker. No matter how good you are at poker, some days there just isn't anything you can do to win.
They have the higher flush, the better pair, they hit that miracle river card yet again. I am sure you know the drill!
So how often can you expect to book a win though when you play poker? What is a good poker winning percentage these days?
I am going to cover it all in this article, stake by stake. And then I will also discuss live poker winning percentages as well.
NL2 Good Poker Winning Percentage
NL2 refers to the 1cent/2cent blind games online. These are the easiest online poker games to beat because it is the very lowest stake.
Therefore, you will often encounter complete beginners who are playing online for the first time. And sometimes they barely know the rules of the game.
Example of an extremely bad poker player at NL2:
Even the so called "regulars" are largely very new to poker and have massive glaring leaks in their game in so many areas.
So you can maintain a very high winrate in these games which ultimately means that you will have a very high winning percentage as well.
In NL2 a good poker winning percentage is 90%.
So what this means is that one of the very best players in this game can expect to walk away from the tables with a profit about 9 out of 10 times they play.
When I used to produce some of the highest winrates ever recorded in this game many years ago, I would actually almost never have a losing day. Maybe 2 or 3 losing days a year.
In other words my winning percentage at NL2 was something like 99%. People often ask me why I played so many hands at these low stakes.
Well, poker is a pretty fun game when you virtually never lose!
NL5 Good Winning Percentage
At NL5, which is the 2cent/5cent blind games, the winrates drop sharply though. As I have discussed before, the biggest relative skill difference in all of online poker exists between NL2 and NL5.
And the reason why is because NL2 is kind of like Kindergarten. It is the beginner's game. NL5 is for people who actually have some clue what they are doing though. They have "graduated" on up to it after all.
So there tends to be far less total beginners and far less totally clueless recreational players and weekend drunks.
This means much lower winrates and much lower winning percentages. Now don't worry though as you will notice that I used the word "relative" above.
With a solid understanding of the basics anyone can still beat NL5 pretty easily these days. And anyone who plays any kind of real higher stakes would quite simply laugh at anyone calling NL5 a hard game to beat.
In NL5 the very best players can expect to have a poker winning percentage of around 70%.
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Are you struggling to beat the low stakes poker games like 2NL, 5NL, 10NL or $1/$2 live? Do you want a simple step by step guide to show you exactly how to start winning consistently right now?
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NL10 Good Winning Percentage
By NL10 (5cent/10cent blind game) the opposition gets a little bit better once again. Now most people have graduated past two levels.
So the regulars have a few more tricks up their sleeve. They are able to read hands a little bit better and they are starting to understand and think about poker in terms of ranges instead of individual hands.
There is also typically quite a bit more aggression both preflop and postflop which makes it harder to isolate the fish and run over the weaker regs.
The very best NL10 players can expect to have a session winning percentage of around 65%.
In other words, they will book a win 2 out of every 3 sessions they play. Still not too bad.
NL25 Good Winning Percentage
Once again there is another skill jump once you make it to the NL25 or 10cent/25cent blind game. This is the first level of online poker where you can realistically make a considerable amount of money like $1000 a month.
Therefore, you start to see some of the first pros at this stake. And that means that they actively study the game and are very serious about winning.
They are not only thinking about poker in terms of ranges now but also about how to balances their ranges and possibly exploit you as well.
This is still the micros though, so most players have many glaring weaknesses in their game even at NL25. But your win ratio will continue to drop nonetheless.
The very best NL25 players in the world can expect to have a poker session winning percentage of around 60%.
NL50+ Good Winning Percentage
At NL50 and higher the drop in winning percentage becomes less and less.
This is the because the impact of the rake diminishes and the very best players will be able to beat these games online for somewhere around 4-6bb/100 over the long term.
This means that they will have a poker session winning percentage once again approaching something like 60%.
With these numbers though, you can probably see just how swingy the life of a professional poker player (or semi-pro) will be at these limits. They are only booking a win a little greater than a coinflip.
Now of course there are other things like rakeback and bonuses that can help prop up that winrate and turn more sessions into winning ones.
But the bottom line is that it does become more difficult from a psychological perspective as you move up in online poker because even the very best players will have more losing days.
This is something that I discuss in greater detail by the way in the "going pro" sections of my latest poker book, The Micro Stakes Playbook.
Downswings and Variance Can Change Everything in Poker
But I hope the point remains clear nonetheless. It is only at the very lowest stakes online that you should realistically expect to walk away from the poker tables with a profit on most days.
Once you get to higher stakes the players improve considerably and the idea of losing something like 5 or 10 sessions in a row is a completely normal occurrence.
In fact, this can happen at lower stakes as well. Many people drastically under-estimate the impact of variance in this game. All the of the numbers that I listed throughout this article are just averages.
As I discuss in my latest video, I have had several downswings during my poker career which made me quit the game completely (at least for awhile).
It does not mean that you will always win X% of the time. Sometimes you can hit a bad downswing and have trouble booking a single winning session for weeks on end.
You need to be prepared for this no matter what stakes you are playing.
By the way, I discuss this in much more detail in my new Elite Poker University training.
Learn EXACTLY how to start crushing small and mid stakes poker games, play semi-pro or even full time pro. Use my proven elite poker strategies to start winning fast.
Now I am definitely not a huge live poker expert but having played in my fair share of $1/$2 and $2/$5 games around the world before, I know that the action is typically pretty loose and the skill level is often comparable to NL2 online or a soft NL5 game.
Therefore, I think one of the very best low stakes live poker players could realistically expect to walk away a winner as much as 80% of the time.
Disclaimer!
Now please note though that throughout this article I have only been talking about the very biggest winners as I have mentioned several times.
So the very biggest winners in live poker (which is about 5-10% of the player pool), will have a poker session win ratio of 80%.
Daniel Negreanu actually mentions this in his new advanced poker course. He talks about the importance of maximizing your live poker win-rate so that you win as often as possible.
However, if you are only a slightly above breakeven player over the long run (which is a much larger segment of the player pool), then your live poker win ratio will be nowhere close to 80%. It might be as little as 55% or 60%.
And of course if you aren't a long term winning poker player yet (this is the majority of the player pool), then your session winning percentage will be below 50%.
I hope that this article helps some of you guys get a better idea of what a good poker winning percentage is these days in both online poker and live poker.
To be honest I get emails about this kind of thing all the time and that is why I decided to write this article and throw a bunch of numbers out there.
Now sure, you can improve your odds of achieving (or even surpassing) these poker winning percentages, by studying a good advanced poker training program.
But when you really think about it, focusing heavily these numbers is still pretty silly overall.
The reason why is because poker just isn't a game where you can plan out exactly how much you are going to earn and when you will get it like in a regular job with a fixed salary.
Poker in reality is a never-ending series of ups and downs even if you are a pro. You simply cannot control your short term results. They will always be all over the place.
Your long term poker winnings on the other hand is something that you can control. But even still that will depend heavily on your skill level, work ethic, discipline and emotional control among other things.
This is why I always suggest that you simply focus on improving your game and consistently making good decisions at the poker table. If you do this, then the results will come in time.
Lastly, if you want to know how to start consistently making $1000+ per month from low stakes poker, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know your thoughts on a good poker winning percentage in the comments below.
Knowing when to cash out in poker is almost as important as having the right bankroll. Much like you can't out-train a bad diet, you can't out-play a bad poker cash out strategy.
The best poker cash out strategy is to withdraw your profit each month and always keep your bankroll intact. You should cash out any poker bonuses or rakeback that you earned as well. A good poker cash out strategy can allow you to make consistent withdrawals and still move up the stakes to profit more and more.
But this is a fairly simplistic answer.
So I am going to break it down for you step by step below with all of the numbers that you need to know. This 5-step poker cash out strategy guide will guide you through the entire process.
1. Define What Type of Poker Player You Are
To find the best poker cash out strategy the first thing you need to do is define who you aspire to be in this game. Are you a professional poker player? Do you play as semi-pro? Or do you play completely for fun?
Your poker cash out strategy is going to be wildly different depending on which one of these you are.
A professional poker player will make regular cash outs to pay for his expenses. A semi-pro will cash out once in awhile to supplement his income. And a recreational player will only make cash outs to fund some luxury purchase.
But there is one cardinal rule that I always advise no matter what type of poker player you are. And that is to never make a cash out because you need the money.
This is a major no-no in poker. And the reason why is because this is what your day job is for. Or if you are a professional poker player, then it is your savings.
That is the money you should be relying on to pay for your bills, expenses, purchases and so on. You should never dip into your actual poker bankroll because you need to pay for something in your day to day life.
Note: I am referring to your poker "bankroll" here, not your poker profit. You absolutely will be cashing out your profit and I will explain that in detail below.
2. Define Your Poker Goals
The next thing you need to do is define what your goals are in poker. Do you have dreams of climbing up the stakes and challenging the best in the world at the nosebleeds with millions of dollars on the line?
Are you happy making it to mid stakes and grinding out a less impressive but still sizeable amount of money on the side or as a pro?
Or do you just play this game mostly for fun and mess around at the micros hoping to make around $1000 a month or so?
The answer is different for everybody here.
However, if you want to aggressively move up and get to the highest stakes in this game then the cash out strategy is very simple - Don't cash out.
And this is because every time you make a cash out you are just moving yourself further away from having the bankroll for the next limit.
This is a huge mistake that many people make that ends up harming their progress for years and years and they don't even realize it.
Like most things in life, you can't really have it both ways. If you want to make a lot of cash outs then you are going to hold yourself back in this game. However, there are some workarounds to this which I will discuss more below.
My Free Poker Cheat Sheet Teaches You How to Make $1000+ Per Month in Low Stakes Games
Are you struggling to beat low stakes poker games like 2NL, 5NL, 10NL, 25NL online or $1/$2, $2/$5 live?
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3. Do Not Cash Out While You Play the Micros
I need to mention one more caveat here before I get to the actual cash out strategy below though.
And that is if you currently play at the micro stakes (NL2 through NL50 or $1/$2 to $2/$5 live) then I would highly suggest that you do not cash out at all.
And it doesn't matter what type of poker player you are or what your goals are. The reason why is because cashing out regularly while playing at stakes this low is truly bankroll suicide.
You just aren't going to be able to make enough at these limits to justify regular cash outs. And consistently removing such a large portion of your bankroll will massively harm your progress in this game.
As I have discussed before, in places like where I live in Thailand the cost of living is much lower than in most western countries. This attracts many people to come here and grind the micros on a beach somewhere.
Even in cases like this though I would highly advise to cash out only the bare minimum that you need and focus more on bankroll building and moving up the stakes.
Because let me tell you from first hand experience, it isn't so glamorous to be grinding the micros for years and years on end.
Your goal in this game should be to move up past the micros and on to mid or high stakes if you intend to make a career out of this.
If you want to know more about how I created some of the highest winning in online poker history at these limits, check out my best selling book, Crushing the Microstakes.
4. Poker Cash Out Strategy at Mid and High Stakes
Mid stakes though (NL100 - NL1000 online, $5/$10 to $25/$50 live) is when you can finally start making some decent money in this game. I am talking thousands of dollars per month with regular play.
I personally became a poker pro many years ago when I reached NL100 online. This is the 50c/$1 game with a $100 buyin. I was consistently making around 3k - 5k most months playing in my spare time each night.
This was considerably more than I was making at my day job working in an office so it became pointless for me to keep that job anymore.
And now of course if you manage to make it to high stakes some day (NL2000+ online, $50/$100+ live), and consistently win, then you probably don't need cash out advice in the first place. You will need investment advice instead.
So supposing you make it to NL100 or higher, and depending on the poker site that you play on, you might be able to make hundreds or even thousands a month through rakeback.
I would definitely suggest cashing out ALL of the rakeback each month because that can almost be looked as the interest on your principal (your bankroll). Rakeback is essentially free money that you get just for playing the game.
But you can also cash out a certain percentage of your winnings as well and still progressively move up to higher stakes. Now the percentage of your winnings that you cash out is subjective and totally up to you.
However, I would suggest not going any higher than 50% of your profit at the poker tables though. So for instance, your poker profit for the month is $10000. You can cash out anywhere up to $5000 of this.
And of course what this means also is that if you have a losing month, then you do not make a cash out that month.
This will allow you to continue to grow your bankroll and progressively move up to higher stakes games while still paying your bills through your profit.
As a professional or semi-professional poker player you should also have a large amount of savings that you can use during losing months to cover your expenses as well.
The bottom line is to cash out from your rakeback and profit starting at mid stakes (NL100+). But leave some of the profit in your bankroll (~50%) in order to continue climbing up the stakes.
Disclaimer: If you are totally fine playing NL100 or NL200 forever and not moving up (some people are), then you can of course ignore this advice and just cash out 100% of your profit each month.
5. Cash Out Your Poker Winnings Once a Month
The last thing that I would recommend is only cashing out your poker profit once a month, at the same time, assuming you won in that month of course.
By only cashing out once a month you make it just like a regular job where you just go to work each day and you don't focus on the results (your paycheck).
Some months your paycheck might be really big, 10k+. Some months it might be nothing at all. It's all the same for you as a pro or a semi-pro though.
Because you will clearly understand by this point that this is simply the way that poker works.
Poker is a constant and never-ending series of ups and downs. The entire goal of the game is to simply have more ups than downs. This is how winning players think about poker.
You really can't depend on certain results in poker especially if you are playing something as high variance as large tournaments.
With cash games it is a little bit easier to predict what kind of winnings you will have each month, but even this can vary widely sometimes.
Poker Cash Out Rules
So let's summarize all of these poker cash out rules.
1. Cash out your poker profit, not your poker bankroll.
2. If you want to move up fast, do not cash out, or cash out only when absolutely necessary.
3. Do not cash out if you play micro stakes unless you are a poker pro.
4. Cash out all of your rakeback and 50% of your poker profit each month at mid and high stakes.
5. Only cash out once a month
If you follow all of these poker cash out rules I think you will give yourself the best chance of quickly moving up the stakes and then rewarding yourself once you finally reach higher stakes games.
Think of your poker cash out strategy in the beginning as a long term venture. Learn the fundamentals, smash the micro stakes games and focus on moving up.
Don't worry about the money for now.
This way, once you do finally start succeeding in bigger games you can start cashing out significant amounts of profit that will have a significant impact on your life.
Poker Tools and Poker Education
It was mentioned in the comments below that poker tools and poker educational resources might be an exception to the advice above.
And I agree with that.
PokerTracker in particular has helped me tremendously to improve my game over the years. I have also seen huge breakthroughs with poker books, poker courses and even hiring a poker coach.
Ideally of course you would want to use your poker winnings to pay for these. But if you have been struggling at the poker tables for a long time, and you aren't winning yet, then it makes no difference anyways.
You should do whatever you need to do to start turning a profit. And if that means dipping into your bankroll to invest in the tools and education that will get you there, then so be it.
For a complete listing of all the poker software tools and educational resources that I recommend these days click here.
Final Thoughts
Having a good poker cash out strategy is a crucial part of your success at the poker tables. It is just as important as having the correct bankroll to play with in the first place.
If you currently play at the micros (which is most people reading this), then I would recommend just not cashing out at all no matter what your goals are in this game. The purchase of poker tools or poker education being the lone exception to this rule.
And this is because it really harms your progress. Your goal at the micros should be to simply get a solid fundamental strategy and learn how to win consistently.
Think of the micros as kind of like your poker education. Once you "graduate" past these stakes to the higher limit poker games (NL100+), then you can finally start rewarding yourself with regular cash outs.
Only in months where you win though. If you don't have a winning month then you don't cash out. Also, you should never cash out more than 50% of your total profit if your goal is to continue moving up the stakes.
Lastly, if you want to learn how to start making $1000+ per month from low stakes poker games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know your thoughts below on when to cash out in poker. What kind of poker cash out strategy do you use?
As much as I talk about the benefits of using a HUD in online poker the reality is that there are several online poker rooms these days that do not allow HUDs.
So people ask me all the time how do I multi-table and beat online poker without a HUD on these sites.
Well, let me tell you that it is absolutely possible and it really isn't even a big deal at all. You just have to make a few adjustments.
1. Poker HUDs Banned = Back to the Basics
When you can't use a HUD and/or the games are anonymous then you need to realize that you are essentially always going to be playing against a table full of unknowns.
That is, you won't be able to get any solid HUD based reads on them like VPIP, PFR, AF and so on.
So what this means is that you have to get back to the basics of ABC play and just play your cards according to a proven winning strategy.
That is, tight and aggressive, playing good hands, paying close attention to position, value betting widely and minimizing your bluffs.
This is all stuff that you should know already. When HUDs aren't allowed though, it is even more important that you stick to the fundamentals and avoid any kind of fancy play.
2. They Can't Use a HUD Either!
The other thing to remember when you are playing on a site that has banned poker HUDs is that they can't use one either. What I mean by that is that everybody else is playing in the dark just as much as you are.
And what this ultimately means is that they are guessing about what type of player you are just as much as you are about them!
In fact, as I discussed in a recent video I made, this is actually a great spot to run a big bluff against them.
The reason why is because in an information vacuum, you tend to get more folds. So I love running huge bluffs like in this video versus the tight players on sites where HUDs aren't allowed.
Also, as I often say, there is no point in worrying about whether a poker site allows HUDs or not. Sure, I always prefer it. But as long as the games are good I will play there.
If I can't use a HUD then neither can they. That's fair play.
My Free Poker Cheat Sheet Teaches You How to Make $1000+ Per Month from Poker Without Using a HUD
Are you struggling to beat low stakes poker games like 2NL, 5NL, 10NL, 25NL online or $1/$2, $2/$5 live?
Do you want a simple step by step guide to show you exactly how to start winning consistently right now?
That is why I recently wrote this free little 50 page no BS guide to teach you exactly how to start crushing these games right now.
You will learn the exact poker strategies I have used as a 10+ year poker pro to consistently make $1000+ per month in small stakes poker games.
Enter your details below and I will send my free poker cheat sheet to your email right now.
3. You Can Still Multi-Table Without a HUD
One thing that many HUD users are afraid of when they have to give up their HUD is how they are going to multi-table without it.
After all, this is one of the main benefits of using a HUD online. It allows you to keep track of the dozens of different players which are spread out across your tables.
And ultimately this makes it so much easier to multi-table while still having solid reads on everyone.
Well once again, without the ability to use a HUD it's just going to be a return to basics. There is no reason why you can't still multi-table. You will just have to do it readless.
Don't worry about not having a HUD and multi-tabling. You will quickly get used to it again. Stick to the fundamentals and just grind.
4. Collect Your Reads the Old Fashioned Way
Have you ever heard of a live poker player complaining about not being able to use a piece of software to keep track of their opponents and get reads?
No of course not.
Because they do it the old fashioned way by paying attention to every little detail and action that their opponents take even while they are not in the hand.
This is exactly what you need to do if you are playing online poker at a site that doesn't allow HUDs. You simply start paying more attention to the people at your tables.
SuperMom167 is a loose/passive fish that limps too much and loves to donk bet the flop.
FrankTheTank86 is a loose/aggressive player who loves to bluff the river.
SoldierBoy12 is a weak/tight regular who rarely runs any big bluffs after the flop.
You get the idea!
You simply pay attention to what your opponents are doing and the decisions that they are making just like you would in a live game.
There are also a whole host of non-HUD tells which I have discussed many times before which indicate a recreational player pretty much straight away.
This includes:
Frequent limping
Min-betting
Shortstack
Not topping up stack
Frequent donk betting
Posting a blind out of position
Playing tons of hands out of position
Frequent use of the chatbox
One-tabling
While not every one of these non-HUD tells is a 100% read that they are a fish, it is often the case. Good poker players just very rarely do these things.
The best explanation of how to pick tells in live poker that I have ever seen is Daniel Negreanu's new poker course.
If you are having trouble getting reads in live games, I would suggest learning how Daniel Negreanu does it. Because he is arguably the best ever at reading your soul in a live game.
5. Take Meticulous Notes
Finally, the last thing that you want to be doing if you are playing at an online poker site which does not allow HUDs is to take as many notes as possible.
Most poker sites have a note taking feature built right into the software. Use it! Make sure you write down all those reads that you have on SuperMom167, FrankTheTank86 and SoldierBoy12.
Because guess what? It is very likely that you are going to encounter them again at some point in the future. And these notes are saved to your hard drive so they essentially stay there forever.
As long as your hard drive doesn't die that is! You already know that you should be backing up your data anyways though. I don't need to tell you that.
Take as many notes as you can on your opponents and every time you sit down to play against them in the future you will already have reads on them.
Final Thoughts
There is nothing wrong with playing on a poker site that does not allow HUDs. As long as the games are good (lots of rec players), I am happy to play there and take the fish's money.
In fact, this is why several of the poker rooms that I recommend have banned poker HUDs, even though many people know that I am a big-time proponent of using one.
You just have to make a few adjustments.
First off, understand that you will need to return to the basics. You can't be pulling off any fancy triple barrel bluffs. You are going to be essentially playing against a bunch of unknowns all the time.
This means that you simply have to play ABC poker.
Secondly, make sure that you always remember that everyone else is in the exact same boat. You are not at some sort of disadvantage by not being able to use a HUD.
Lastly, make sure that you go back to the roots of the game and collect your reads the old fashioned way by paying attention. And make sure that you take meticulous notes. This is more important than ever when you don't have any HUD data available.
If you want to learn how to start consistently making $1000 per month in low stakes poker games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know in the comments below what adjustments you make when you are playing at a poker site that has banned HUDs.
Learning how to play consistent winning poker isn't always so easy these days.
So that is why I decided to put together this ultimate poker cheat sheet for you.
And it is totally free, no signup, no email, no nothing.
This guide below is going to give you everything that you need to know in order to start winning big right now at the lowest stakes online (NL2 or NL5) and live ($1/$2 or $2/$5).
This also goes for low stakes tournaments like $10, $20, $50 buyins and so on.
Now, let me be clear though that this guide is NOT going to turn you into the next Daniel Negreanu or some other high stakes pro by next week.
That takes years and years of practice and dedication.
However, you are going to learn exactly what hands to play for example (just memorize the charts below).
Or if you prefer, I also show you exactly what hands to play in my new video: 9 PREFLOP Poker Tips For Beginners (Just Do This!)
So, what you will find instead below is instead a simple set of guidelines to get you beating the lowest limit games right now.
If you follow everything in this guide and apply some patience as well (remember that results don't always come right away in poker), then I promise that your winnings will start improving dramatically in low stakes games.
How can I be so sure? Because I have used these same strategies myself as a 10+ year online poker pro traveling the world and making money from my laptop.
Your Poker Cheat Sheet
So here is your poker cheat sheet. All you have to do is right click and save.
You can also just click on it to view full screen.
Now don't worry if some of this poker advice is still a bit confusing for you.
Because all of the details of this poker cheat sheet will be explained step by step throughout this article.
Let's get started!
1. Poker Cheat Sheet - Play at the Right Poker Room
The first thing that you need to do is make sure that you are playing against poker fish. So you have to pick the right poker room to play at. Now there are countless options if you play online.
But the #1 criteria that I always have is the number of fish (bad poker players). And the reason why is because the fish are how we make money in this game.
By the way, if you want to know the exact strategy I use to crush the fish (what hands to play, when to bet and raise etc.) just grab a copy of my free poker guide.
You also need to make sure that there are enough games available. For example, do you play tournaments or cash games?
It is important to make sure that the poker room you choose to play on has enough games running at the stakes you play.
Having a big player pool will also help you find the fish because it gives you more tables to choose from. This increases the chances of playing against the bad players.
Lastly, choosing the right poker room to play at will also depend on where you live. For example, both America and Australia currently have government regulation surrounding this.
If you have any doubts surrounding this, your best bet is always to just email the poker site directly and ask them about it.
If you are brand new to poker, I would also recommend that you watch my free poker course on YouTube.
2. Poker Cheat Sheet - Have the Right Poker Bankroll
The next thing that you need is the correct poker bankroll. This is the total amount of money that you have available to play poker with.
I recommend having at least 30 buyins for any limit that you choose to play these days.
1 buyin = 100bb (big blinds).
So for example, if you play at the lowest limit online, which is typically 1c/2c with a $2 buyin, then you should have around $60 in your account before you play this game.
The reason why you need to have such a big bankroll is because of variance. "Variance" is the technical term that we use in poker to describe the natural ups and downs of the game.
Many people are surprised to learn that you will often need to play as much as 100k hands before you can really know your true results in poker.
As I said before, results don't come overnight in poker and sometimes you will lose for days or even weeks even though you are making all of the right decisions.
This is why it is so extremely important that you are adequately bankrolled for the games that you are playing in.
For more on bankroll, download my free poker cheat sheet, right here.
3. Texas Holdem Poker Hand Rankings Cheat Sheet
Also, before I get started with the poker strategy cheat sheet it is important that you know all of the poker hand rankings in Texas Holdem.
This is because I will be discussing them frequently throughout this article. If you are brand new to the game of poker then make sure that you study and memorize the chart below.
Alright, so now that we got that out of the way let's get to the real important part which is the Texas Holdem Starting Hands cheat sheet.
I am basically going to give you the keys to the vault below to beat the lowest stakes games online or live. If you follow everything that I say, I can guarantee that you will win.
I want to stress once again though that these strategies are for the very lowest stakes games only. You should absolutely NOT use these strategies in mid or high stakes poker games.
My strategy is also very simplistic and will have you playing very tight. It is purposely meant to be that way.
And if you don't believe me that playing tight is the best approach, even the great Phil Ivey discusses this in his new advanced poker training program.
He has made $45,000,000 playing poker, enough said.
What Poker Starting Hands Should You Play?
Here are the positions at the poker table in Texas Holdem.
EP = early position
MP = middle position
CO = cutoff
BTN = button
SB = small blind
BB = big blind
The action always starts before the flop in poker with EP and ends with the BB. After the flop, the action will always begin with the SB and flow clockwise to the BTN.
Here are the Poker Starting Hands You Should RFI With From Each Position
RFI stands for "raise first in." This means that you are the first person to enter the pot.
I recommend always raising when you are the first person to enter the pot. Why not limp (just call) though you might be asking?
Because it is simply a proven fact that raising is more profitable than limping over the long run.
Here are the results taken from my own database over very large sample sizes. They were published in my first book and they prove this point beyond a shadow of a doubt.
My Winrate When Limping
My Winrate When Raising
Conclusion: If you like money always raise, never limp.
So How Much Should You Raise It?
You should raise it to 3 times the size of the big blind as a default strategy. For example, the big blind is $1. You should make it $3 to go.
However, in low stakes live games or extremely loose online games you will often want to raise it more than 3x with your really good hands. After all, you don't want 5 callers when you have AA!
One last quick point. If there are limpers before you get a chance to act, you should raise with all of the hands listed below, just add an extra big blind to your raise size for each limper. Note: If you see an "s" below it means to only play that hand if it is suited
EP - AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22, AK, AQ, AJ, KQ
BB - You can't RFI from the BB. If it folds to you in the BB, then you win the pot (this is also called a "walk").
Special Note: If you play full ring (9 or 10 players at the table), then there will be 3 seats before EP which are often referred to as UTG or "under the gun."
From these seats you should RFI with these hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, AQ, AK
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Here are the poker starting hands you should call a preflop raise with from all positions.
Preflop poker is pretty straightforward and easy once you get the hang of the basics above. Postflop poker however is a lot more complex with many more moving parts.
That is why postflop poker is where the biggest winners truly get ahead!
I discuss this in my latest video: 5 Easy Poker Strategies EVERY Beginner Should Know
If you followed my advice above then you should be the preflop raiser the majority of the time heading to the flop. This means that you are in control of the pot.
Always a good thing in poker.
You should make a continuation bet (CBet) in most situations against a single opponent. You should bet around 60% of the pot.
For example:
The pot has 10 cents in it on the flop. You should CBet 6 cents.
You should be making a CBet on the large majority of flops no matter what your hand is. Here are a few example flops that you should almost always CBet on versus one opponent:
AQK
KJ5
QQ6
K72
888
T53
I think you get the idea, most of them.
This is why it is much better to focus on the flops that you should NOT make a CBet on when you have nothing.
These are:
678
89T
You want to avoid CBetting highly coordinated flops with all middle cards like these (when you have nothing) because the chances that you get called are just too high.
The reason why is because there are so many hands that hit these boards in some way with a pair, draw, pair + draw and so on.
The final note here is that if you are facing multiple opponents on the flop (two or more), then you need to have a much stronger hand to make a CBet. Top pair or a good draw (flush or straight) at least.
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When Should You Call or Raise on the Flop in Texas Holdem?
What if you were the preflop caller though or somebody bets into you first on the flop?
Well, there are a few situations where you should just call.
Here are the Poker Hands You Should Call a Flop Bet With
You have a good draw (flush or straight)
You have top pair
You have middle pair
You should fold everything else.
Ok. So what about raising though?
Raising also has it's place in a good flop strategy. You only want to do it with really strong hands though.
Here are the Hands You Should Raise a Flop Bet With in Texas Holdem
Overpair
Two pair
3 of a kind (trips or a set)
Monster draw (12+ outs, pair + flush draw for example)
I should also note that on the rare occasion you flop something ridiculously strong like a straight, flush, a full house, quads or better, then you should usually just call on the flop (slowplay).
Turn Poker Strategy Cheat Sheet
The turn is where things start to get really interesting in poker. I call the turn and the river the "big money streets" because this is where the bet sizes start to get significantly larger on average.
That is why it is very important that you make smart decisions on the turn and river.
I recommend that you only bet again on the turn with really strong hands such as:
Top pair (with a good kicker)
Overpair
Two pair
3 of a kind
And so on.
Against weak/tight poker players (people who fold too much), you can also bluff sometimes if the turn comes with an Ace or a King.
These are called "scare cards" and you can often take down an easy pot against a weak player with a simple bet.
What if they bet into you on the turn though?
If they bet into you on the turn, then you should call with hands like top pair and legit draws like an open ended straight draw or a flush draw.
You definitely need to be folding everything else at this point though. I really cannot stress this point enough. Do not try to get fancy. Winning poker at these stakes is all about staying disciplined.
Lastly, you should only raise on the turn with extremely strong hands (two pair or better).
By the way, in case you were wondering how I keep reads on everyone like this while multi-tabling online poker, yes, I do use several software tools and aids.
For the complete list of all the poker software and tools I use at the tables, click here.
River Poker Strategy Cheat Sheet
The strategy on the river is very similar to the turn. The bet sizes are often very large on this street and so you need to be extremely careful with your decision making once again.
You should often only be betting again on the river for value. This means hands that are very likely to be the best hand, usually top pair or better.
It is ok to bluff the river once in awhile against the weak/tight players but once again it needs to be done on the right river scare cards.
For instance, you DON'T want to bluff the river on a board runout like:
J9642
Because that 2 on the river is not going to scare anyone from calling you down!
If the river was an Ace or a King instead though, then this can be a good card to bluff against a weak/tight player who folds too much.
I want to be very clear that you should never try to bluff the recreational poker players or even most of the regular players because they like to call too much at these stakes.
By the way, if you play online and need help quickly getting reads on all the bad players, I highly recommend getting a good free poker HUD.
River Value Betting Poker Strategy
With all that said, value betting is really the biggest key to your success at the lower limits. When you are playing against a bunch of players who like to call too much, making them pay when you have the best hand is how you crush them.
So you should be consistently trying to get value out of them on the river with all of your strong hands like top pair or better, but also with hands like 2nd pair, 3rd pair and sometimes even worse.
And remember that you do not need to make a big bet in these situations. In fact this is a very common mistake that people make, sizing their value bet too high.
As I discuss in multiple examples in Modern Small Stakes, often a value bet size of 1/2 pot or even 1/3 pot is optimal versus their calling range.
6. Stop Tilt From Ruining Your Poker Strategy
The final part of this texas holdem poker cheat sheet, which honestly is more important than anything else, is learning how to maintain your composure at the poker tables. Or in other words, stopping yourself from tilting.
Here's the thing:
When you are playing at the lowest limits you are going to encounter lot's of wild and unpredictable players.
They are going to hit their suckouts, their coolers and their bad beats.
I discuss this in my latest video: 5 Things You Will NEVER See Good Poker Players Do
I even break down the math for you near the end of this video.
They simply will get lucky against you sometimes.
This is just a mathematical fact of the game. You can't change it. You can change how you react to it though.
You always need to remember that the long run is the only thing that actually matters in poker. Once again, 100k+ hands.
If you follow all of the advice given above in this poker cheat sheet, then I can pretty much guarantee you that you will win in the long run.
But if you get frustrated and go on tilt every time your aces get cracked or they hit that flush on the river, then you can ruin your entire poker career.
Believe me, I have seen it happen to so many people over the years. Even really talented players who may have been great one day if they could just learn to control their emotions a bit better.
It extremely important that you learn how to take these natural ups and downs of the game in stride or at the very least learn how to quit when you feel the frustration building.
You've worked too hard for this. Don't allow yourself to go on tilt and throw away all of your profits because of a few bad beats.
To learn more about how pros prevent themselves from going on tilt, grab my free poker cheat sheet, right here.
Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament Cheat Sheet
Now, everything that I have talked about so far in this Texas Hold'em cheat sheet is mostly geared towards cash games, because I am primarily a cash game player.
My main online poker "office"
I have played 10+ million hands of poker in cash games and 1 million hands of tournament poker.
In a cash game you buy-in to the game with your own money and the blinds never change. You can also quit at any time.
A poker tournament is different though.
When you buy-in to a poker tournament you get chips instead. The goal of the tournament is the accumulate everyone's chips.
Usually the top 20% or so of the field get paid according to final finishing position, with most of the money going to the top 3 finishers at the final table.
The blinds go up at regular intervals and you cannot just get up and leave like in a cash game, or your chips will slowly get blinded away and you won't win.
Now, the great thing about Texas Hold'em poker tournaments though (compared to cash games), is that you can potentially win a huge amount of money.
My first big poker tournament win was for $800 and the buy-in was only $2. Not a bad ROI! (return on investment).
Early Stages and Middle Stages Poker Tournament Cheat Sheet
Typically in the early going the average stack size is about 70bb-100bb which is the same as most cash games. BB stands for "big blinds" by the way.
Therefore, you can just use all of the same strategies that I already outlined above in this cheat sheet in the early stages of a tournament because the stack sizes are basically the exact same as a cash game.
However, by the middle stages of a Texas Hold'em poker tournament, the stacks are often 50bb or less. This means that you have to tighten up your ranges a bit.
You can't be playing a lot of suited connectors or suited aces for example anymore:
J♥T♥
A♣6♣
And the reason for this is that any time the stacks are shallow in Texas Hold'em, your implied odds go down, big time.
And what this means in plain English is that you can't fish around with speculative hands like this anymore, because the potential payoff just isn't there anymore.
It is better instead to stick to stronger hands like:
K♥Q♣
9♦9♣
A♦J♥
As these hands have a better chance of either making a strong top pair or even winning at showdown unimproved.
Bubble Tournament Poker Cheat Sheet
The "bubble" in a Texas Hold'em poker tournament is when the last few people (who won't get anything), are being eliminated.
Therefore, the play slows down tremendously as people sometimes stall and basically play extremely tight in order to try and make it "into the money."
So that is why this is a perfect opportunity to abuse the bubble in a poker tournament and make a lot of shoves with decent hands like:
A♠T♣
K♦J♠
Especially if it is folded to you in late position (button or the cutoff).
It is extremely important that you check who is in the blinds first though. You don't want to be shoving light if one of the big stacks (50bb or more) happens to be there.
You want to instead shove all-in versus the shorter stacks (especially the medium sized ones ~20bb). The reason why is because these guys are folding everything but AA or KK trying to make it into the money.
You this means that you can often profitably get away with shoving their blinds with a much, much lighter range.
Hands as weak as:
Q♦9♦
K♠4♠
Because if they literally are only going to call you less than 5% of the time, you can make an absolute killing by stealing their blinds again and again.
He discusses how he has won many poker tournaments by building a big stack during the bubble by shoving on all the medium sized stacks who were too afraid to call.
It's a brilliant tournament poker strategy and I highly recommend it!
Final Table Tournament Poker Cheat Sheet
Ah the final table in a Texas Hold'em poker tournament, this is where dreams are made! This is usually the final 9 players still remaining in the tournament.
This is where a little known amateur named Chris Moneymaker for example won $2.5 million USD at the WSOP in 2003 to kick off a worldwide poker boom!
So if you have made it this far in a poker tournament, congratulations. But please study this part of the my poker tournament cheat sheet the most closely.
Because the difference between 9th place and 1st place can often be thousands of even millions of dollars!
Therefore, it is extremely important that you approach the final table with a winner's mentality and not "just happy to be here" like everybody else.
This is the time to go for the jugular, take chances and play like a beast.
The first thing to remember about the Final Table in a Texas Hold'em poker tournament is that most people will come into it with a short stack.
That is, they will have a stack size between 10bb-50bb.
This will change the nature of the way the game is played. Just like I mentioned before, you can't be playing all sorts of speculative hands like:
4♠4♥
8♥9♥
And this is because when the stacks are shorter like this, most of the action will take place preflop and on the flop.
In other words, there is very little postflop play on the turn and the river.
This means that you mostly want to only play strong hands like:
A♣Q♠
T♠T♦
That have a strong chance of making a good top pair or winning the hand unimproved in the case of a pocket pair.
Now with all of that said, like I mentioned before, there is typically a vast difference in prize money between 9th place and 1st place.
There is an entire theory behind this called ICM poker strategy (independent chip model), which I have discussed in detail before.
But basically, like I just mentioned, you must play to win. So this is why my main advice for you in this tournament poker cheat sheet is to go for it at the final table.
You need to be aggressive and you need to take chances. If you just sit there waiting for pocket AA like everybody else, then you are going to get blinded out and finish in 8th or 9th.
The Final Table is when poker champions are born. This is where you need to unleash that inner poker beast and make it your mission to absolutely dominate the Final Table.
So whenever I make it to the final table I will be shoving preflop (especially in late position), with most reasonable strength hands:
A♦9♠♥
K♣T♠ 6♥6♣
And so on.
If I know somebody is playing extra cautious and has come to the Final Table to play it passive and wait for AA or KK, then I will be attacking them non-stop with even weaker hands than this.
You get the idea. I am not there to be a spectator like everybody else. I am there to win.
Basically, if you want to win a poker tournament, then you must be brave. You must have no fear. You need to play for 1st place money!
Final Thoughts
The poker strategies in this article and the Texas Holdem cheat sheet is extremely basic for the most part, and they were meant to be so.
There is tons of advanced poker training available these days to help you learn the elite strategies to crush good players once you start moving up.
But the reason why I kept it simple in this article is because if you follow the advice that I outlined above in the lowest stakes games, then you will turn a profit over the long term, guaranteed.
And that's the whole point. To get you turning a profit right now, no matter how unimpressive the results are. Winning is simply winning.
Some might complain that the advice above will have you playing too tight and it will be "boring." Well, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but winning poker was never meant to be fun or exciting all the time!
It requires discipline and dedication to the fundamentals no matter what. This is what winners do. And this is how I made a career out of this game and travel the world.
Now of course there is a lot more deeper level strategy that you need to know especially if you want to truly crush these stakes and move up to the higher limits.
So that is why I have actually put together a free poker strategy guide with my complete strategy on how I have crushed the micro stakes for the higher winnings in online poker history.
You can download my free poker cheat sheet right here.
Let me know your thoughts on this poker cheat sheet in the comments below! What poker strategies do you use in Texas Hold'em poker games? Lastly, if you found this poker cheat sheet helpful do me a quick favor and hit that "Like" or "Tweet" button below. Thanks!
