|
Basic
Texas Hold'em strategy
Before the Flop
Starting Hands:
Position,
Patience and Power are the key to
winning in Texas Hold’em. The most
important decision you will make is
choosing to play a starting hand.
The
biggest mistake a player makes is
playing too many hands. Being aware of
your Position in relationhip to the
dealer is important in
Texas Hold’em.
You need a stronger hand to act from
early position because you have more
players acting after you who may raise
or re-raise the pot. It is important
that you are Patient and wait for
Powerful starting hands to play from the
correct position. The player to the left
of the big blind acts first before the
flop. He along with the other two
players to his left are in early
position. The next three players are
middle position and the ones after that
are in late position. The blinds
act last before the flop and first after
it. Here are some guidelines for stating
hands that I recommend you play when you
are starting out. They are fairly tight
but will give you a good foundation to
work with until you learn a little more
about the game.
In Early position:
Raise with A-A, K-K and A-Ks from any
position. (s denotes suited cards) Call
with A-K, A-Qs, K-Qs and Q-Q J-J, T-T
and fold everything else.
In Middle position:
Call with, 9-9, 8-8, A-Js, A-Ts, Q-Js,
A-Q, K-Q
In Late position:
Call with A-Xs, K-Ts, Q-Ts, J-Ts, A-J,
A-T and small pairs. (note: x denotes
any card) It takes a stronger hand to
call a raise than it does to make with
one, If there is a raise before it is
your turn to act you should fold. Why
put in two bets with marginal hands?
Note:
Many players will play any two suited cards from any position and they
will play an Ace with any small kicker.
These hands are losers in the long run
and you should avoid getting into the
habit of playing them. They are traps
that will cost you money.
The Blinds
Once
you post your blind the money no longer
belongs to you. Many players feel they
must defend their blinds by calling all
raises even with marginal hands. Don’t
waste additional money on marginal
hands. Also, don’t automatically call
with the small blind if you have
nothing. Saving a half bet will pay for
your next small blind.
The Flop
Deciding whether to continue playing
after seeing the flop will be your
second biggest decision. It can also be
one of the most costly decisions if you
continue after the flop with an inferior
hand. It is said
that
the flop defines your hand. That is
because after the flop your hand will be
71 percent complete. Where does this
figure come from? Assuming you play your
hand out to the end, it will consist of
seven cards. After the flop you have
seen five cards or 5/7 of the final
hand, which is equal to 71 percent. With
this much of your hand completed you
should have enough information to
determine whether to continue. Poker
Author
Shane Smith coined the phrase
“Fit or Fold. If the flop does not fit
your hand by giving you top pair, or
better or a straight or flush draw, then
you should fold if there is a bet in
front of you. If you played a small pair
from late position and you do not flop a
third one to make a set you should throw
the pair away if there is a bet.
The Turn
If you
think you have the best hand after
seeing the Turn card and are first to
act, then go ahead and bet. Many players
will try to get fancy and attempt to
check raise in this position. If the
other players also check, you have lost
a bet or two. In low limit games the
straight forward approach is usually the
best as there are plenty of players who
will call you. Make them pay. Why give
them a free card if you don’t have to.
If another player raises on the turn and
you hold only one pair you are more than
likely beaten and should fold. If
you get to the Turn and you hold only
two unsuited overcards (two cards higher
that any cards on the board) with no
flush or straight draws, then you should
fold if there is a bet in front of you.
Too much money is lost by players who
hope to catch a miracle card on the
river. The best hand you can make with
two unsuited overcards is a pair which
will probably lose anyways.
The River
If you have been playing properly you
will not see the
river card
unless you
have a strong hand that is a favorite to
win or you have a draw to a winning
hand. Once the
river card is turned
over, you know exactly what you have. If
you were drawing to a hand, you know
whether you were successful or not.
Obviously if you do not make your hand
you will fold.
As
with the Turn you should bet your hand
if you are first to act. If you bet and
the other player folds then they more
than likely would have just checked if
you had checked in an attempt to check
raise.
When
you get to the river there are two
mistakes that you can make. One is to
call a losing bet, which will cost you
the price of a bet. The other is to fold
your hand, which will cost you all the
money in the pot.
Obviously folding your hand will be a
far more costly mistake then merely
calling a bet. If there is a slight
chance you may have the winning hand you
should call. I’m not advocating calling
with nothing but you should call if
there is a chance to win.
Reading The Board
Your
ability to read the board will help make
you a winning player and it is not hard
to learn. Since Texas Hold’em is played
with community cards turned up for all
to see, you can easily determine the
best possible hand that can be made from
the board cards and two unseen cards. It
is extremely important that you learn
determine how your hand stacks up
against the other possible hands that
your opponents may hold. Two situations
should send up a red flag when you see
them.
If
there are three suited cards on the
board someone can make a flush. If a
player raises when the third suited card
is turned over you should be wary of
continuing. If there is a pair on the
board a player can make four of a kind
or a full house.
Pay Attention
When
you are not involved in a hand you
should still pay attention to the game.
You can gain valuable information about
your opponents simply by observing what
hands they play. It’s easy to determine
the players who plays and suited cards,
or single aces by watching the hands
they turn over at the end. That brings
me to one final tip.
NEVER
SHOW YOUR HAND if you don’t have to. If
you win the pot because everyone else
folded you are under no obligation to
show your cards. You don’t want to give
away any information about yourself if
you don’t have to And player who turn
over their cards when they don’t have to
are doing just that.
See Caribbean Stud
Strategy
5-Card Stud
All players place a small wager known as
an 'ante'.
1.
The dealer deals each player two
cards, one dealt face down, known as the
'hole' card and the other face up.
2.
The player with the lowest
ranking up card must place the opening
bet.
3.
Each player to the left of the
player making the opening bet must in
turn call the opening bet, raise it or
fold.
4.
Each player is then dealt another
card face up followed by a round of
betting. This continues until all
players have five cards, one face down
and four face up or until only
one-player remains.
From
the third card onwards, the highest
poker hand showing starts the betting.
All players have five cards in their
hand, one down and four up. If
there is a showdown, players show all
five cards. The winning hand is the
highest-ranking five-card poker hand.
Basic 5-card stud strategy
You can see most of your opponents
cards, so you should be able to easily
work out his strongest hand. If you
cannot beat the exposed cards, fold
early. If you need completer cards for a
flush or a straight, make sure other
players are not showing them. High cards
and pairs will win a lot of the hands.
Email Us
Your Poker Tips And See Them Here!!
Click
HERE
|
, 
, 
, 7
.
