» What is ABC poker and how do I play it?

The term “ABC Poker” refers to a basic style of poker that minimizes your mistakes pre flop, and play straight forward post flop.  Sometimes called a tight-aggressive style, this style emphasizes raising a tight range of hands pre flop (e.g. big pairs, A,K- A,10) and using your position around the virtual table to your advantage. With position on your opponents, you are always working with more information as to their actions before you have to decide on your action.  After the flop, this ABC style advocates that you look to raise your strong hands, not to get tricky with slow playing or check raising hands.  You fold your weak hands if you meet resistance and move on to the next hand.  While some may argue that this style can be predictable, against unpredictable players at the lower limits, it's often the most profitable.

Playing a tight selection of starting hands ensures you often have the best hand.  As you improve your game and player more skilled opponents, that is the time to introduce more trickery and unpredictability into your game.  But when your opponents are similarly learning, the old saying, tight is right, is often your best choice.

Starting with the best hand doesn't guarantee you will end the hand with the best hand, but it always gives you an advantage to start with a better hand than your opponent.  Poker is a game where you make decisions on incomplete information.  Sometimes you can make the right play, but your opponent will get lucky and out draw you.  Don't become results based.  Keep making sound profitable decisions and your game and results will likely follow.