As we draw closer to the end of our poker lessons, we’d like to talk about the final rounds of Hold’em poker, since we expect our students to make it there soon! The later rounds of poker contain a lot more money, but somehow people don’t study tactics for these rounds as much as they should. For a complete guide to poker tactics, don’t forget to check out our strategy section.

We’ll refer to the later rounds of poker as, quite simply, the ability to “finish.” The ability to finish is often overlooked because most average players, particularly in Texas Hold’em, focus almost obsessively on pre-flop play. That’s a bit strange, since there’s more money in the later rounds, but it’s true nonetheless. Indeed, it’s a common complaint of average players to lament some unorthodox or daring strategy another player has made late in the game which appears to be “lucky.” But the bitter truth is that average players fixate on the earlier parts of hands, while better players focus on the “kill.”

Consider the following example. When an average player raises with a pair of sevens after no one opens the pot, they can’t understand why a better player will often re-raise with a J-10 suited. All they see is a fairly risky starting hand. They don’t see that not only is the J-10 suited profitable here because of the dead money of the blinds, but worse, they don’t see how the better player is going to make them pay on later betting rounds. The better player is likely to exploit the average player’s desire to back-up his opening pair, no matter how bad the cards turn out and no matter how close they are to dangerous “bluffing” territory.

Great players understand that they are not trying to win every pot they play. They repeatedly try to set up situations where, at worst, they give up small edges so they can get a huge return less often. This is particularly prevalent in no-limit Hold’em tournaments. Great players want to see a lot of flops and aren’t afraid to lose small pots with hands like 6-5 suited. What they are waiting for is to “finish” in those rare situations when it really matters.

As a learner, you should acknowledge that sometimes it’s not luck, but skill, that defeats you. Pay attention and pick up some pointers; pretty soon others will be emulating you.