These texas hold em strategies will make you a tough opponent!Your first texas hold em strategies, should be which starting hands you play. When you begin playing, you should adopt a tight playing strategy, play big cards and throw away the trash ones (ie the J-7's and K-2's, even if they're suited!) A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J are all playable hands from any position on the table. Comeing in for a raise is an optimal way to play these hands. These cards are playable in early positions(first four seats left if the big blind) if they're suited, A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-Q, K-J. Just calling with big suited cards is ok. In middle to late positions, you can play all the cards mentioned above. When there is a raise in front of you, re-raise with all the big pairs and A-k. Also play, 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, 6-6 calling in middle positions and raising with them in late positions. All lower pair hole cards can be played, only call with them though. If there is a raise in front of you, it's best to fold them. A-X (X=any card) suited, K-X, Q-J, Q-10, J-10, 10-9 are playable in middle to late positions for a call but should be folded if there is a raise. In the SB, if it costs you half a bet to play, you can play all hands mentioned above, even if they're unsuited! Raise with the big pairs and big suited cards. If there is no raise, you can play any two cards in the BB and raise with the same hands you would in the SB. Once you've learned these texas hold em strategies and have the game down, you can play a wider range of hands, but if you're just starting out, don't get fancy. Stick to a tight and aggressive game plan, until you have a lot of experience. Texas hold em strategies for the flop, are you have to figure out if you have the best hand or not. Big pairs are easy to play, if your pair is higher, than the highest card on the board, odds are you have the best hand and should bet or raise. Betting or raising will help you find out if you do have the best hand and will also push out other hands that could beat yours on the turn or river. If one of your hole cards matches a card on the flop, you have a monster! Grrrr! Matching your pair with a card on the flop is called a "set" and should be played for maximum profit. With all the other, pairs from 10-10 and down, you're trying to hit a set. Sometimes your pair is still higher than the board, but it might not be the best hand. Say you have 8-8 and the flop comes 7-6-2, someone could have 10-10, a bigger pair than yours or worst yet they have 6-6 and have hit their set, bad situation. If you bet and are raised, or get re-raised, you're up against one of these hands and are far behind. It's best to fold your hand and wait for a better situation. Another one of your texas hold em strategies, and a strategy you can use in other poker games, always play the player. If a player hasn't played a hand in an hour, then all of a sudden announces "RAISE!!!", don't even peek at your cards!, you know they have a huge hand. On the opposite end, if a player hasn't folded in an hour, you can play a premium hand with confidence, cause you probably have them beat. Keeping a mental note of how many hands a player plays and how they play them should be a part of your texas hold em strategies, and will help you make better decisions when you're in the pot against them. Now with all the suited cards, it's pretty cut and dry, you want to hit big hands on the flop. You want to hit flushes/flush draws, straights/ straight draws(I’ll explain draws further down the page), trips (three of a kind), two pair and top pair. When you hit a hand like two pair or bigger, odds are you have the best hand and should play it for maximum profit. Texas hold em strategies say that hands should always be played for maximum profit, putting in raises and re-raises when possible! But if you don't hit the flop, you have to check, or get out if there is action. Top pair will be the hardest hand to play. If you hold J-10 suited and the flop comes J-8-6 you have a good hand, but it could be beat. Anyone with a J and a card higher then your 10 has you beat (the unpaired card in your hand is called the kicker). Bigger pocket pairs have you beat, sets have you beat. So proceed with caution when you only have one pair. Remember to play the player as part of your texas hold em strategies. If you bet and get raised ask your self "would that player raise me if they didn't have me beat?", answer the question, do it in your head though, you don't want to tip players off that you are analyzing the hand. If the answer is no, proceed like you have the best hand, if it is yes, muck your cards quickly and forget about it. Once you make a decision stick with it and don’t second guess yourself. Criteria for playing draws is simple, there are two. The first is you have to have four cards to a flush or a straight. You have A-K suited and on the flop two more cards of the same suit hit, you may proceed. Your straight draw must be open ended. Say you have J-10 and the flop comes 9-8-2, a Q or 7 gives you two cards to make a straight, if the flop comes 9-7-2, only an 8 will make a straight. Don't draw at one card straights, AKA gut shots, it's easier to make an open ended straight cause you have twice as many cards to make it. The second criteria is you're getting the right odds to draw at a flush or straight. Hitting a flush or open ended straight draw is about 3-1, so the pot has to be laying you at least 5 or 6-1. The higher the pot odds the more willing you should be to gamble. If a draw meets these criteria play it, if not check and try to see a free turn and river. Texas hold em strategies for play on the turn are simple, if you feel you have the best hand, bet or raise/re-raise to push out other hands that you have beat at the moment, but could catch up on the river. There is nothing worse than getting beat on the river, when a simple bet or raise/re-raise, could have got the player to fold. If you think a player was on a draw on the flop and the draw gets there on the turn, fold. When you bet and that player raises, they probably got you beat. You have to be willing to fold in texas hold em, even if you fold a winner. If you were on a draw and it doesn't get there on the turn, the pot now has to lay you more than 6-1 to continue to the river, the higher the pot odds the better. If it doesn't, fold. Some texas hold em strategies for the river, bet/raise if you think you have the best hand or your draw hit. Raise as many times as you can if you have the nuts. The nuts means there is no possible way your hand can be beat, it doesn't mean male fortitude! Getting raised on the river or a player bets into you, can mean they just beat you, but you should almost always call here, the pot will be laying you good odds to call. The only reason you shouldn't call, is if you know there is no way they could bet or raise you without having you beat, you should then fold and move onto the next hand. Good pots will lay 10 or more to 1 to call, and you should, just to gain information about the player/players and some of their texas hold em strategies. This is only the tip of the iceberg, but it will get you on your way. A fun variation of texas hold em is blind man's bluff. There are tons of card combinations, flop, turn, and river, players style of play, which all have to be taken into account and applied to your texas hold em strategies. Every time you sit down to play, it's different and you'll learn something new. Good luck! |
