Three Simple Rules

I'm back in the poker game (wishing I could also trade--not happening with 8am classes) and several of my friends have asked me for tips on how to make money.

I wanted to keep it simple (they are relatively new to the game) so I told them to remember these three things:

1) Play pocket pairs, but, without top pair or trips, fold after seeing the flop. I make a ton of money playing pocket pairs, hitting trips (11.75% of the time) and playing the, unexpected, best hand.

2) Safest bet: face cards.. You can play ace ten (cautiously) or even king ten. But I try to stay away from queen ten and jack ten unless I have good position and a good read on the other players. It just sucks to hit a pair of jacks and to be beaten by a better kicker.

3) Poker is a slow game. It is not supposed to be exciting. You will want to do a lot of folding. As you get better, you will learn that good folding is what makes you money and keeps you money.