Poker is as much a game of psychology as it is a game of mathematics. If you have a good hand, it means absolutely nothing if you fold it because you think your opponent has a better one. If everyone were to play mathematically correct poker, it would be a negative sum game for everyone because of the house’s cut out of the pot. But not everyone plays correctly, and even more people let the element of psychology elude them. This is what makes poker such a great game for those of us that can capitalize upon these two pillars of the game.

Creating an image for yourself at the poker table is important. You do not want your opponents to know that you are actually the shark you have spent years perfecting. You want opponents instead to think you are a big fish, perhaps even a whale. This means that you need to appear foolish at times. Simply winning pot after pot will give away your image as a good player, therefore you will want to avoid this.

One method of not appearing to be an adept poker player is to bluff occasionally. This is going to be most beneficial in small pots since your opponents are more likely to fold. This way, you can create an image of being a fool while winning! When you flip over your inferior, yet winning, hand, you can let everyone know just how risky of a play it was. Bluffing in a big pot is not as successful since a strong player would make the same move to try and win the bigger pot. A big bluff on a small pot will be sure to turn some heads, however.

The craziness in the poker industry with both FullTiltPoker.net and PokerStars.net still continues. We will see how these things unfold over the next few months.