Holdem players often think that the two cards they start with don’t really mean anything, and that the only important thing is what comes on the board (flop, turn, and river). It’s true that the board is very important for the completion of your hand, and that any garbage hand can get the miracle board that will make it a winner. I have seen someone with 5 4 in their hand beat the player with AA. The problem is how much money they had to put into pots to finally make these hands win. Sure those hands can win, but what is the bottom line? Are the players really winning after they subtract all the losses when they chased?

 Many times I have been playing and see someone take down a huge pot with garbage cards, and think “how can they even be in there?” But then when you see someone get on a rush (winning a series of hands) playing garbage hands, it’s hard to have the discipline not to try playing them yourself. Because you see someone else winning playing bad cards don’t let your game fall apart.

 Do you really want to always be looking for the miracle flop that will make your garbage hand a winner? Or would you prefer to be the player who always starts with the premium hands having your opponent dominated, where they need the miracle to win? You have the power to choose what you begin with. It might not always be as fun as when you are playing every hand but in the long run you will have much better results.

Just remember unless players have the same hands someone always has an advantage. If you start with the edge think how much more often you will end up on top.

 One way new players can make a quick improvement is to stop playing ace anything. How many times do you see someone win the pot because their kicker is bigger? The best kicker to an Ace is a King, then Queen, Jack and on down. Just by folding an ace with a weak kicker you will eliminate a lot of this common trouble. Just remember when you play the ace with a weak kicker you might be dominated and your only out might be to hit your side card. Try to stay out of that position. A good way for you is to stop playing an ace without a face card. The more experience you get the better you will get at realizing when you are in trouble and be able to make the correct fold.