How do you make profit from playing No-Limit Hold’em?

The title of this chapter could just as well be: How do you win money playing poker? Many people racked their brains over this, until a certain David Sklansky, professional poker player and author of a number of definitive works on poker theory, came up with the answer.

In his book Theory of Poker he carries out a little hypothetical experiment, in which two players play a game of poker but have their cards facing up on the table. So both players know each other‘s hand and are therefore able to calculate all probabilities precisely and play an ideal game.

Sklansky argues that in the long run you will always gain when your opponent digresses from their ideal way of playing, i.e. makes a mistake. On the other hand, you will always lose in the long run if you digress from the way of playing that is ideal for you.

Your gain is caused by your opponents' mistakes. Their gain is caused by your mistakes.
Consequently, Sklansky named this fundamental principle the Fundamental Theorem of Poker. And as long as you play poker, this principle will always hold true.

Long-term success in poker doesn’t primarily depend on your cards or your opponents. Nor does it depend on whether you‘re playing low or high limits, or even the final table of the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. Regardless of stakes, cards, or opponents the key to success is always the same: making as few mistakes as possible and making as much money from your opponents‘ mistakes as possible.

So if you want to know how to make a profit playing No-Limit Hold’em, you need to study what mistakes other players typically make. Most players on the lower limits and also on the tables with up to $100 buy-ins typically make these errors:
They play too many hands and, as a result, many hands that are too weak.
They play too passively.
They have difficulty folding, and end up paying too much for speculative hands, for instance.
They bluff too much and at the wrong times. Often they unnecessarily inflate pots with pure bluffs.
They don't factor in their position at the table.
They don't practise good bankroll management and anxiety about their money dictates how they play.

To benefit as much as possible from these very common mistakes, one simply has to do the exact opposite.
You only select hands that are worth playing.
You play aggressively.
You don't have a problem with folding, if the situation becomes unprofitable. You don't get “attached” to your cards.
You don‘t bluff much but when you do, you do it at the right time. You don't bluff when you're playing for a big pot.
You adapt your game according to your position at the table.
You manage your poker bankroll well and can make moves because you know they are profitable, without worrying about the fact that you might sometimes also lose the hand.