Creative play when you are playing poker is one of the ways in which many players lose sight of their goals. In fact this is one of the problems which leads most low to middle-stakes poker players to fail. What needs to be learned is that creative poker playing stands in the way of making profits particularly if you are new to the game. 

The only way that creative play would ever be beneficial in poker, is if you know exactly what moves all of your opponents in a game will make, or if you are a professional player. As none of us can see into the future it is a much better idea to stick to the basic strategy of poker. The more basic strategy is adhered to, the better your plays will become, and this applies to all forms of poker.

Every poker game, no matter what; Texas Hold'em, Razz, 5 card Stud, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, Pai Gow Poker or Caribbean Poker has their own basic strategy. The trick to being successful when you play is learning the strategies for each and every game, in order to be a winning player. 

Even video poker games have a set specific strategy for playing and this is determined by the pay tables, where the winning hands are your clue to basic strategy for each game! 

However, there does come a time when getting creative can be profitable, and this is when more advanced playing skills are demanded. Professional poker players are regular risk takers and they make use of very creative play. However even the most professional of professional poker players agree that coin flips should be avoided and unless the price is right and you have a good hand, creativity should be contained. 

The opportunities for being creative increase as the money pile grows larger, and while some players regard creativity as being skilled, others don't! A player of Barry Greenstein's reputation describes a good poker player as being a "solid" player, but the cowboys don't agree! Cowboy poker players believe a "solid" player may just be a shitty player, but then a cowboy will lend money from their dying grandma to play in a high stakes game if given half a chance. 

It's fine if you can afford to take risks and you have a pile of chips to spare for stealing blinds, re-raising before the flop and dishing out implied odds in tournaments. But most often it is better not to stick your neck on the chopping block and go for the simple bet-call, bet-fold type hands until you know what you are doing. 

If you have all the chips you need and can afford to stick your neck out, fine, go for the coin flips. But as that stack of chips gets smaller, it is not worthwhile to bleed them off just so you can bust other players. The prize has to be worth every risk you take when playing poker, barring that, all risks should at least be calculated. If you manage to get in the tournament deep, enjoy creative play, that's what you are playing for - the thrill of a chance to win the big money on the final table!