Many beginning poker players do not realize that poker is an investment game. Poker is not a gambling game if played correctly. For example in Texas Hold’em a player who holds AA over KK in a heads up situation will win 81.25 percent of the time. So if you happen to invest 100 dollars playing the hand you will get back 81.25 dollars on average. The problem is that 18.75 percent of the time the opponent with the KK beats the AA. But over the long run you will still make 81.25 dollars back when you invest 100 dollars. What I like to do is set beginners on the right track. If you habitually take bad cards against better opponent’s cards you will lose money. So make note of the players starting cards in the notes area all sites provide. Note his starting hands when you see his cards after the hand is finished. If you see him only play AA, KK, AK , AK you better wait until you have AA or KK to play against this type of player. If for example you see the opponent show down A2 off suit, 58 suited,  Q6suited. Then yes you can play A8s and a pair of 77's  against this type of player. You see the second players holdings are so bad that you can play average cards against him and still have a positive investment. But what happens when many opponents enter the pot? You on a whole have to have a better starting hand then the average hand all of them play. But some players will be playing better cards so your starting hands have to be of higher quality.

Just as in real estate, location or position is important. You always here people in real estate say location, location, location. In real estate you do not want to buy on the wrong side of town. In poker we say position, position and position. You always want to have position and act after an opponent. If an opponent checks which is usually a sign of weakness or a weak investment you can decide to invest with weaker holdings of cards and make a bet (investment). If he bets, a sign of strong investment in most cases you can save your money and throw away the minimum investment you had made, which saves you money. Always remember in poker position, position and position.

As a beginning player you will be forced to put in blind bets usually to the left of the dealer button. As long as you play poker you will be losing small amounts of money from these blinds. My suggestion to you until you begin to play very good is just start with really good cards in these positions. Remember the saying position, position and position. Well for all the rest of the hand you will have to act before your opponents. This is not a very good investment. Remember, position can take you from a winner and make you a loser. 

Next look at your starting hands:

In early position (which means the first 3 spots after the blinds), I would only play AA, KK, QQ, JJ and AKsuited from early position  

In middle position you can open up a little more in the next 3 positions. AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77 pairs and AK down to KQ suited. You can also play AK and AQ off suit.

In late position you can open your starting hands even more. Pairs AA to 55. AK suited down to A8 suited. AK unsuited down to A9. KQ, KJ, QJ and QT unsuited.

Remember, it is always a good investment when you get 5 callers to play any pairs you will make a big pot which no one can read.

I hope this helps you play better poker. Remember keep track of your opponent and always try to have a better average hand then he is investing with. Make good investments and good decisions when you play and always remember a turn of a card can make a good investment turn bad and you have to throw your cards away no matter how much you have invested in that particular game. If you take my advice you should be a life time winner to the investment game of poker as many players before you have done and remember investments take time. 

Hosh