For many years
poker players had no way to test their poker skills
other than engaging in actual poker play – and often risking significant sums of money only to discover they aren’t winning
and then try to intuit over a long period of time where their game needs improvement.
It’s now possible to test your actual Texas Hold’em poker skills using a free online poker test. There are several of these tests now available. The original test was first published at PokerTester.com.
The poker test consists of answering 25 multiple-choice questions
testing 8 different poker skills areas.
Everyone who learns to play poker climbs the “poker ladder” over a period of time
as they learn more and grow each poker skill.
Progressing up the poker ladder from a beginner toward becoming an advanced or expert player takes a combination of skills
time and experience.
In particular
the following skills areas are tested by PokerTester’s Texas Holdem test:
Starting Hands – which starting hands you select to play
from which positions and under which circumstances
has a big impact on how well you do in poker.
Betting Strategy – how you choose to bet makes a huge difference in your winnings at poker. Choosing to bet or raise when you should’ve called or folded
for example
will make the difference between cashing out or making the final table in a tournament
or going home early with empty pockets.
Playing the Odds – knowing how and when to play the odds is critical to making money and building your stack in poker. This includes quickly calculating outs
pot odds and determining whether your hand is a money-maker or loser (statistically). While you can’t play strictly by the odds
it’s an important factor of the game
since there’s always an element of chance involved.
Bluffing and Trapping – one of the most important skills in the game of poker is successful bluffing. The ability to bluff and trap successfully is so critical because in poker
you won’t typically get that many super-strong hands
so knowing when and how to bluff and trap typically makes all the difference in how well a player does at poker.
Reading Players – the ability to understand what a player is likely doing at any point in the game
as well as successfully reading their hand strength
is a critical skill. If you learn to do it successfully
you’ll know when to fold when holding the second-best hands and when to raise or go all-in against a bluff the opponent is making.
Heads Up Play – playing properly in a one-on-one situation is critical
since there are many occasions where you’ll be pitted against just one opponent
either in a particular hand or at the end of a tournament. Winning heads up play is what separates the Champions from the rest.
Advanced Play – knowing a number of advanced techniques will enable you to confuse your opponents
keeping them off balance and wondering what’s going on
preventing them from easily reading you as a player
or gaining certainty about your hand strength.
Tournament Play – as much of today’s play is centered on tournaments
both large multi-table tournaments as well as satellite and sit and go tournaments
knowing and using proper tournament strategy is an important skill to develop.
It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to thoughtfully take the poker test. Upon completion
you receive a “report card” containing your overall score. The report includes a score for each of the 8 key poker skills areas
so you know your strengths and weaknesses exactly. In addition
tips are provided to indicate exactly what you need to brush up on (the questions you missed or scored weakly on).
By truly understanding one’s skills
it’s then possible to focus one’s study on just those weaker areas
enabling a player to improve their overall poker game much more rapidly.
With these kind of innovations now available online
anyone can now quickly and easily discover their own poker skill level – objectively. By combining this skills information with proper study
it’s now possible for players to quickly brush up on their game and become strong players much faster than ever before.
Rick
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Relative Hand Strength with Jon Aguiar
Jon FatalError Aguiar has traveled the globe playing in the world’s richest poker tournaments. In the last five years
hes accumulated $1.1 million in winnings in live and online tournaments. Aguiars latest trip was to Monte Carlo for the…
