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Basic Strategy of Texas Hold em
31 March 2009
By understanding the basic strategy of Texas Hold’em you can quite easily play with friends at home without having to think too hard about tactics and game-play, however when it comes to playing for money and wanting to win it can get a lot more complex.
This next chapter will go over some common mistakes which most new players make to help you avoid doing the same, as well as some basic strategies to follow. Since anything can happen in poker and nothing can be truly predicted it will come down to analysing situations and using your good judgement to really come out on top.
A Common Mistake
Most beginners will at first be very excited about playing whether it be online or in a room at a table with others. As soon as a win comes in for them it is all too easy to play almost every hand that is dealt; this is the mistake! The first and possibly most important decision to make will be whether to play your hand or not. Most often the answer to this question will be ‘no’ particularly if you are a beginner (when your experience is low) so that you can increase the chances of winning when something good is dealt to you.
This seems quite simple to do to wait it out until something good is dealt to you however in reality the excitement of winning or just participating can effect your judgement and playing rather than sitting out is very tempting, especially if you have a blind to post.
With more experience you will start using your sit out time to observe other players and how they play so that when you do act you will have a better understanding of what might happen and act accordingly to take the win.
Position and its Importance
Again something which is overlooked by beginners is position in relation to the dealer. This is important as it dictates the order in which players will bet during the hand. You can gain a lot of information on the other players if your last to act since you can see what everybody else does. If your one of the first to act obviously you won’t know what the other players are going to do therefore you will have to rely a lot more on your judgement.
If a strong hand is dealt to you then position may be less important but still useful, however if a mediocre hand is dealt then position could be very important in making the right decision.
Some Key Points:
- At a 10 player table seats 1-3 is known as an ‘early’ position, 4-6 is known as a ‘middle’ position and 7-10 is known as a ‘late’ position.
- The best position to be in is the dealer position, known as ‘on the button’ this is because you are last to act from the flop deal right to the showdown.
- A hand can some very strong or very weak at first however after other players have acted this analogy can be different to what you first expected.
Top Hole Card Deals
The hole card deals shown below are generally considered to be the best you can be dealt in a game of poker. A simple rule for beginners to follow would be to only play these hands at first until they are most comfortable with other aspects of the game. These cards may not come out for many hands which is why sitting out can be frustrating and therefore tempting to play something weaker.
1. Pair of Aces
2. Pair of Kings
3. Pair of Queens
4. Ace-King Suited
5. Ace-Queen Suited
6. Ace-Jack Suited
7. Pair of Jacks
8. Pair of Tens
9. Ace-King Unsuited
10. Ace-Queen Unsuited
11. Ace-Jack Unsuited
12. Pair of Nines
Strong Hole Card Deals
Obviously it can take time to be dealt a top hole card set so often players will try their luck with relatively strong cards or potentially strong cards. This is directly related to positioning on the table. Some situations below will help you understand better.
One of the following hole card deals or similar:
Ace-Nine Unsuited
Ace-Three Unsuited
King-Ten Unsuited
Here there is a possibility of a high pair or lower pair with a high kicker. However if players are betting high this may mean they already have a pair or perhaps suited cards which could mean a Flush may be possibly for them; this may make you fold.
One of the following hole card deals or similar:
Pair of Sevens
Pair of Fives
Pair of Sixes
Here there is a possibility of 3 of a Kind, a Full House, even 4 of a Kind. If players are betting high they might have a higher pair than yours or high cards and waiting for a high pair to come out which could be possibly; this again may make you fold.
Most of the time these types of situations will occur which is why positioning is important and can help you make better judgements.
Weak Hole Card Deals
Although this goes against the rule of only going in on a strong or top hand sometimes players will go in on a weak hand; this may be due to blinds being so high and forced on that player that if they folded they would be literally ‘Blinded Out’ and have no chips left worth betting or to effect other players by trying to bet them out. Some situations below will help you understand better.
One of the following hole card deals or similar:
Pair of Threes
Pair of Twos
Here a low pair could win; if players bet high here they might have a high pair or some high cards however if on the flop only low cards came out it make mean Three of a Kind could be made.
One of the following hole card deals or similar:
Five-Six Suited
Seven-Eight Unsuited
Four-Five Suited
Here two consecutive cards could mean a straight could be made, if suited then a Flush of even a Straight Flush could be made. Again if the flop cards are low this could be in your favour as players left in or ones betting high would more than likely have high cards or high pairs which could put you in a stronger position.
Top Card Deals Before the Flop
There are many ways to play when you have a very strong hand but in general players will put in a raise or re-raise if they have one of the top hands; this is regarded as the safest way to play in this kind of situation. If you feel your hand is not quite in the top two or three you may want to consider just calling and then perhaps saving your betting/raising until after the flop.
There are many factors to take into account which will be covered more later on, however some players will act as if they don’t have a top hand to help bring in more players and let them call any small bets which can then be won at the showdown. This way of playing can be adapted if you feel most of the players play safe and could be sacred out of calling any pre-flop bets.
Even though you will not know any communal cards to make up your hand, raising before the flop has its advantages. If you have a strong hand like a pair of Aces then a pre-flop bet will scare off any players with lower or weaker cards. The flop could however reveal some lower or weaker cards which could actually mean your very strong hand would not be the strongest if the players holding those lower weaker cards were not scared out of play. For example even a low Straight or Three of a Kind could beat your pair of Aces.
Raising, How Much?
Many factors need to be considered as to how much to bet or raise by such as, how many players are still in the hand, how many chips do they have and how much do you have, as well as playing styles and positioning. Remember players will be guessing what you have or how strong your hand might be and by betting or raising in a certain way can help tell them this; sometimes you may want them to know and sometimes you will not.
The amount of money available to win is one big factor which will either keep players in or fold them off. For example if you wanted to fold a player off for the chance of winning a pot of $50 then a small bet/raise of $2 will not achieve this of course it is worth the gamble of an additional $2 to win 25 times that amount!
Raising is important! A lot of players especially beginners will simply Call; this will not make much of an impact on what is going on and will also allow more communal cards to be dealt (which if you have a top hand may prove to be a disadvantage). If a player raises or re-raises then other players are more aware of this and the impact this creates can make players who constantly Call, Fold.
Some Key Points:
- Raising can help protect a good hand and help fold others out
- A pre-flop bet can ensure other players don’t get lucky on the last card to make their once weakest hand win
- Betting lower with a top hand is risky but can keep other players in thinking you have something weak when you actually don’t
- Keeping other in when you do have a top hand can work out worse, be aware
- The way players bet can help tell you what strength of hand they might have, use this
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