Fold if there isn't a good chance.
Perhaps the biggest edge you would have over your rival in lower-limit holdem poker games would be 
your knack to fold. You would often find yourself in games in which several poker players would stay until the river, and then whomsoever would wind up with the best hand would win the pot. If you would make it a precedence to stay in the hand after the flop only when you would hold either the probable best hand or a good draw, you would be miles ahead of some of your rivals.
Some poker players would believe in ‘taking one off’ postflop. That is, though the flop wouldn’t automatically help their hand, they would call the cheap bet on the flop in the hopes of building up some potential on the turn card. The problem with this approach would be that, with several poker players in the pot, the flop would very likely have helped somebody.
Time and again, they will flop a hand will require their chasing rivals to catch runner-runner (two consecutive improving cards) to beat them. Calling the flop bet in a six-way pot when the best hand you could make on the turn would be a pair would nearly always be an error, even if you were holding an ace and king or an ace and queen. Your pair would often be someone else’s two pair or flush card. So, you should get out cheap and wait for a better prospect.
If you were holding a poker hand that had a prospect of winning unimproved – a pair of jacks, for example – you wouldn’t need to catch another jack on the flop to stay in the pot. Flops such as a four, a six, and a ten would naturally be quite good for a pair of jacks, so you should play the hand aggressively.
But if overcards would hit and several poker players were in the hand, it would be time to exit. A good example of this would be when the flop would come a king, a queen and a six or an ace, a ten, and an eight. Against a large field of rivals, it would be possible that someone would out-flop you, leaving you with only two outs. You would rarely play for two outs in holdem poker.
In a two way pot play aggressively.
In pots contested between you and only one other poker player, often the flop will help neither poker 
player. Thus, whoever would make the first bet would often win the hand. You should always be on the lookout for flops that would consist of few or no possible draws, as these boards would more likely be of little interest to your rival.
A characteristic such poker board would be an ace, a nine, and a three rainbow*. Since this flop would have no straight or flush draws, and the presence of an ace would mean that there would be no overcards to chase, it would be awfully difficult for your poker rival to stay in the hand without a pair. Moreover, if his pair would be smaller than aces he could give up if you would bet, since an ace would be a likely card for you to be holding.
*Rainbow: Of all different suits.
Hence, it would be crucial for you to play these situations aggressively, especially if your poker rival would only call before the flop. If he were to raise, that would show a real interest in the hand, and you would probably have to show him the best hand to win. Nonetheless, if he were to merely call preflop, then if would often be proper to bet if you were first, notwithstanding what two cards you would happen to be holding. The chances of his folding would be great. If you were to get called, no rule says that you would have to maintain your bluff on the turn.
If your poker rival were to be the first to act and he would check, you would have to bet with this board. Again, it would be very likely that your poker rival would be holding a hand such as a king and queen or a pair of fives. An ace, a nine, and a three would be a poor flop for these hands, and you would have to bet when he would check, even if you were to have nothing. There would be free money in the center of the table, and you could make one small bet to lay claim to it.
On the other hand, what would you have to do if your poker rivals would bet at this flop and you were subsequent to act? It would be good to have at least some facts about your rival here, as some poker players would bet only they were to have an ace, whereas others would bet lots of hands (perhaps themselves trying to pick up the pot). After considering everything, here are some general guidelines for how to react to a bet:
| Your hand | Your action |
| Middle pair | call |
| A-x | call |
| A-Q/ A-K | raise |
| A-A, 9-9, 3-3 | call - and bet or raise on the turn |
| A-9, a-3 | call - and bet or raise on the turn |