Five Keys to Better No-Limit Hold'em Poker

Every time the cards go in the air and the chips pile up in the middle of the table, your pulse quickens and your brow sweats. Each hand is both a challenge and an opportunity if you squeeze the most out of each win or quickly dump a potential loser. To improve your skills and minimize luck in your playing strategy, keep these five weapons in your poker arsenal.

1 - Patience - If you've been getting dealt trash for an hour, keep tossing them back. The cards will turn and, if you haven't wasted your chips forcing bad hands, you'll be in good shape to attack with the better cards.

2 - Discipline - It goes hand-in-hand with Patience. Discipline is knowing a good hand from a bad one and using that knowledge to guide your play. A pocket pair of 7's or better, Ace-King, and Ace-Queen are the top ten hands in No-Limit Hold'em. Occasionally playing suited connectors, such as King-Queen suited through Jack-Ten suited, can mix it up and catch your opponents off-guard.

3 - Don't Underestimate Position - Possibly the most overlooked part of most beginners' strategies. Sticking to the top two or three hands when you're first to act before the flop and expanding your starting hand options when you're on the button or in the blinds. Keep in mind, while the blinds are last to act before the flop, you'll be under the gun afterwards.

4 - Avoid Being a Poker Gymnast - Leave the never-ending onslaught of big tricks to Olympic athletes. Pick your spots and bluff or check-raise when the potential rewards are high and the move isn't predictable. Too many all-in bets in a row will find you checking your ATM balance.

5 - Use Justifiable Aggression - If you've been patient and disciplined, you're in good position and haven't burned off your chips bluffing too much, you'll have the upper hand and can force opponents to make hard decisions. Know what you are going to do before the situation develops so your moves will be instinctual and true. Keep the pressure on the other guy to figure out the right move and to react to your strategies.

Using these keys won't guarantee you'll win every hand. However, they will help you minimize the bad situations which drain your chips, saving them for something much more fun - punishing your opponents when they make a bad move.