You need to be able to correctly identify a poker hand and recognize immediately the value of your hand and where it comes in the ranking. When you first look at your cards, they may appear to show nothing, they will be in a random order and it may not be at first obvious that you have, for example, a straight or a possibility of a straight. At the showdown, you will need to know, for example, that your full house beats a flush.
To get better at recognizing the hands you can practise assessing the hands by dealing out dummy hands. Deal out hands of five cards, identify the poker hands and put them in the correct ranking order. You will soon appreciate how infrequently a good hand is dealt. Once you have mastered the ranking, you can then start to judge whether or not a hand is worth playing.
Get plenty of practice. Take a pack of cards and deal out dummy hands as if you’re playing the game with several players. Look at your own hand. Decide whether or not it is worth playing. Then assess your hand against the others. Did you make a good decision? Would any of the other hands have beaten yours? Are you throwing away hands that could easily win? By continuing to do this you will learn the sort of hands that are worthwhile playing and those that are not.
Play alone or with friends until you are familiar with all situations. Practise placing bets as you play. Some games are played so quickly that it can be difficult for a novice to follow them. With practice you will become faster.
It is also very important to play at the right level. Don’t aim too high when you are still learning. Stick to the simpler, cheaper games and gradually work your way up. Remember, the higher the stakes the better the players.