7 Basic Poker Tips EVERY Beginner Should Know

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In this poker lesson I break down several key strategy fundamentals — including which hands to play and when to bet, raise, bluff, or fold.

If you're new to the channel, my name is Nathan "BlackRain79" Williams and I am a 10+ year professional poker player and 3-time best selling author.

Poker is fundamentally a game of skill and I believe that focusing on the basics is the most effective way to improve your game.

IG: @officialblackrain79

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Disclaimer: This video does not include any real money gambling or promote any gambling sites. It is intended for educational purposes only. Most people lose at poker over the long term. The information provided here is not a guarantee of success. Individual results may vary.

[jsprunger]

You catapulted me the last few % I needed, I'm now consistently dominant at multi table 10 dollar buy ins. It's actually insane, it wasn't all your doing but you were that cherry on top that I needed. Thanks man

[JasonNortwich]

This is my favorite poker channel. Love the tips/tutorials!

[pot_kivach]

10:53 half of my losses will come from pocket AA and pocket KK!

[gsomethingsomething]

BlackRain, are you still a winning poker player?
Do you plan on showing any recent graphs or doing a bankroll challenge?
Both of the above would be great for views for your channel.
- Thanks.

[SpaceFortunaa]

Great breakdown of the essentials every new player should have in their toolkit! 🚀 At Space Fortuna, we always say that mastering the basics is the first step to becoming a formidable poker player. These tips on understanding hand rankings, reading opponents, and knowing when to bluff are invaluable for anyone just starting out.

The journey from beginner to experienced player starts with learning these fundamentals. Videos like this make the game more accessible and help set new players on the right path. Keep the great advice coming—we’re all about helping players level up their poker game!

[smashstuff]

7:10 You say, "you bet, they call, " but the screen says, "They bet, you call." Just clarifying which is the right strategy?

[ITubeRealFun]

Thank you. Your videos are very informative. The KK tip is interesting. I had KK and 4bet and got shoved on by a tight player and he didn't take long at all to do it so I thought I would lose cause he had AA. It turned out he also had KK.
Stack size was about 200-250 BB

[SixBadges]

Always useful. I learn something new every time, and the more it's repeated, the more I realise that I have a lot to learn :-)

[LunaT-uv]

I did #1 one time ever and I dodged getting horrendously murdered by rockets, but I agree in nearly all situations you have to run with it. I don't remember the positions offhand, but a person before me (a tighter player) raised, I 3-bet, a different person behind me 4-bet, and the original raiser shoved on a 5-bet. I just sat there thinking "I'm pretty sure this guy just shoved on pocket rockets." for a bit before folding because Spider Sense was tingling hard. The other guy called.

They had AA and AK suited. This was a few years ago, and it's still the best trio of preflop hands I've ever seen in my life. Half hero fold, half having the discipline to lay it down when every alarm bell in the world was going off. It's a potentially once in a lifetime situation.

[diiselix]

This is a good video, but don't you have like ten thousand of these?

[ihavecrabs]

how much do we reraise for tip 5 at 3:30?? somebody PLEASE HELP!

[longlostkryptonian]

Genius as always. I just did #1 last week and doubled up in a cash game. Turned out he shoved with pocket 10s post flop. With pocket KK and no A on a 7, 4, 2 board, it was a snap call. Yeah he could have had trips or slow played AA but the math said call. Thanks for the great tips!

[Alison]

Great video.
Make videos playing and explaining, like abankroll challenge or something.

[adamwoodhouse]

In example number four, if you don't hit the straight on the turn. Would you play the river the same as the turn?

[losyart]

Hey i made KK fold . Rare ones but i did and i remember at least one time i was right bcs it was side pot so i saw showdown. But i dont have computerish memory about all the hands but i did folded couple of times. Although im not 100% sure it was right and opponents had AA

[farshidgoleh]

Hi Nathan. How do you respond to players that when they lose to you, they say you got lucky on the river! I had you all the way and lucky river helped you and etc...

[eb]

i dont agree with some of the percentages. For example with KK, if they shove, you are not facing AA 4% of the time. I dont have the exact numbers but my experience says that 90% of the time you face either QQ, AK or AA, equaly divided and you will win about 50% of the time. You probably mean that there is a chance that someone at the table has AA is 3%, but not amongst people that raise reraise and shove. That is simply not true. 90% of the times you raise with KK everybody folds preflop. The winrate in number of hands you win with KK is very high, but the winrate moneywise is not. You will loose big pots with KK, just like everybody else

[leesteam]

when a rec player is constantly going all in, especially in tournaments, what do you do?

[jeremyschulthess]

I'll have KK on Poker Stars and if I'm all-in preflop with 1 other player that other player will have AA guaranteed.

[explorer]

In my home game I'm in last Thursday I misread my hand, I had 9 10 of diamonds, I thought they were 9 heart 10 diamond. A pre flop raise got me out pretty quickly, and what do you know I hit the straight flush on the turn. Most tilted I've ever been, my first straight flush and I wasn't even in the hand.