Whatever game you are playing, free poker online or pay poker, it is always about skill, with an added pinch of luck.

After all, there are only 52 cards in a deck. And any 5 given cards will always win a hand. You could be looking at a completely awful hand of a pair of 2s, or even an A high, but whatever they are, one will always win. This is the wonderful world of poker, not knowing which hands are going to win the game.

When dealt cards you must first decide whether they are suitable to your style of play. Then the decision is whether to fold, call or raise the big blind.

Every individual player has their own style of playing. Some players will only play face cards, whereas others will play any card given to them. That is a style of play. I know of many players who will play nearly every hand pre-flop as long as the bet is within their comfort zone.

Once the flop is seen, it becomes more interesting and a bigger decision needing to be made. If you are holding 3 4 off suit and the flop shows AKJ, what is the likelihood that you will continue with the hand? I would imagine you would fold, unless it is a check through until the turn card is shown.

Everyone’s style of play is different, and you can never really know for certain how one may play that hand. There could very well be someone holding 3 4 offsuit and try to bluff and bet big once the flop is shown. I, for one, would never attempt that with such low cards, but I have seen it happen, it’s a great mystery of how others play!

For this reason, it is essential that you study each of your opponents where possible before sitting down with them at a table. You should be able to grasp enough information about their game play to figure out their moves when playing them.

As advantageous as this may be, you are not always going to win every time by adapting this approach. As I stated earlier, any given 5 cards will win a hand and they may very well be holding Q 10 and flopped a straight. But the odds are in your favor to predict certain scenarios after learning others’ style of play.

As much as you can rely on studying opponents playing styles to help you win, you must also remember that its your own playing which will win you a game of poker. Have a go playing free poker online and practice, practice, practice before moving on to money games.