Texas Hold’em; Folding With Any Hand
If you know any basic strategy in Texas hold’em, you know that choosing you’re hand is very important. Many beginners will play , bet and lose with every hand. The key is choosing the hand that will give you the wining outcome. If you bet and play every single hand you will lose money every time you play.
There are some basic starting hands that are the “ultimate” hands in Texas Hold’em. These hands include pocket pairs, which are any pair. The best of which are aces. Getting a starting hand of 2 aces is the best hand in the game. The reason for this is, when the flop and river come, even if nobody on the table gets anything but a pair, you still win. In addition, nobody can have a higher pair than you.
The fact that this hand is the best hand would make everyone think that this hand should be used at all times and you should bet all you’re money in. This is not correct thinking. First of all, when you get this hand, you don’t want to bet too much money at first because you will cause anyone who knows even a little strategy to fold causing you to lose out on a few more bets. One of the people that you caused to fold might have thought that they had the better hand with a pair of kings and raised for you, which would have meant more money for the pot. You want to keep that pot as large as possible and you want to cause as many people as possible to lose.
This can easily be done by luring them out. Luring out players is very simple to do. If you have a semi-decent hand that you are sure can win, try not to cause you’re opponents to fold by betting low. Think of it as a backwards bluff. You bet lower then what you’re cards are worth to create a safe feeling for you’re opponents. Then when the flop is down, you can start to raise and finally with the few people left you can go all in and try to eliminate someone while giving yourself the top position.
In a tournament, is it more important to you that you win or is it more important to you that you can stay in the game and try and win in any place and receive a prize. In my opinion, its more important that I get into any place rather then not place at all. Lets take this into what I wanted to discuss, which is sacrificing great hands for survival. Imagine that you had a pocket pair and you folded. You would never do that right, that would be an impossible reaction to a 2 aces. What if I told you that it would be wiser to throw them away?
If you where in a game with 6 people left,
- Player1 – $210
- Player2 – $156
- Player3 – $90
- you – $70
- Player5 – $30
- Player6 – $18
These are the current statistics of the game and you have just received 2 aces.
You would want to go all in and take player 5 and player 6’s money right? Well chances are if you go all in, they would fold, thus causing you to lose out on there bets. They know that you probably have a great hand and you will win, so they fold. Now there still in the game and you have a chance, at this point, of losing with nothing in with the next hand and you probably made only a minimum win with the aces.
If you folded then what? That would have made a much greater impact if you think about it. If the players with more money in the top spot decided to bet $20 or $40, players 5 and 6 would be out if they lost. You would still be in at this point with $70. If the next bet went up to $90 player 3 would be out to if he lost. Now if instead of going all in with the aces which would have won, you folded, you would still be in the game and in the number 3 spot entitling you to the third prize if you lose right there. Of course you have almost no money left and might lose unless you get another good hand. This is better then getting a small gain and possibly losing in without gaining 3rd place thus getting no prize and losing all money.
Tags: Betting (poker), single hand, number 3 spot, basic starting hands, Human Interest, good hand, better handPoker Pot Odds: Why They’re Vital If You Want To Be A Winning Player
Poker pot odds, just what are they?
When we are referring to pot odds we are actually talking about a crucial element in the game of poker. The pot odds are determined by evaluating the size of the pot and the bet that is about to be made. Let’s take a little example for clarification purposes:
The size of the pot is $20 and a bet of $5 has been made and now you are about to call it. The pot odds in this case will be 20/5, that means odds of 4:1. If the call would be done for $10 instead of $5, then you would get pot odds of 2:1. Generally, the pot odds are identified by dividing the size of the pot to the amount of the bet when all bets of the round are equal.
The size of the pot
You must always be aware of the size of the pot if you are planning to calculate the pot odds. When playing in a Limit room, the odds will also depend on the numbers of the bets in the pot, instead of the actual amount of the pot.
For double bets like some games of hold’em have when on the river you will count twice, that means two small bets for each double bet. If the limit is put only on the pot or if you are playing no-limit hold’em, then the amount of bets is a little harder to calculate and the resulting pot-odds will be more as a guideline than as exact facts, but you still have to try and calculate them at all times.
Using pot odds
In order to use the pot odds, you first have to know them for your game. After you calculated your pot odds, they must be evaluated in a direct connection to the value of the cards you are holding. This includes evaluating the hands of the other players too, and making a plan or a statistic of the outcome of your own hand, calculating the chances you can get to have the best hand in the game.
Let’s say you are playing hold’em and are currently on the flop, having a flush draw. Your opponent is most likely to have at least a high pair. The cards you should concentrate on are the outs, the nine cards that can give you a flush once you already can see four of the cards that will be used in your flush. The chances to get the card you need on the turn or on the river are of about 35%, or 1:2 for you, so in order to be sure you are making the right choice, your calls on the flop should be made only if they are based on 2:1 pot odds.
The implied odds
The term of implied odds asks for a calculation of the pot you are most likely to win if you do win. The implied odds are relative and dependent on the evaluation that you provide the game with. They are the relation between the actual size of the pot and the expected final size of it.
Let’s consider one player bets in a limit game $5 and the pot is $20, so if you call your implied pot odds would be of 5:1 because you are betting a fifth of the expected winning. This is where we should tell if your opponent is either going to call or raise later on the game. Then the implied odds can get to 6:1 or 8:1 depending on the future bets that you must predict.
I hope this helps you better understand calculating pot odds and why it is important to help you become a winning poker player
Tags: Poker Player, pot odds, Betting strategy, crucial element, high pair, limit gameA Quick and Easy Texas Holdem Poker Lesson for Beginners
The great thing about Texas Holdem Poker is that it is easy to learn. Even a beginner can quickly develop into a winning player. By following a sound strategy and playing the best starting hands a Texas Holdem Poker newbie can dramatically shorten the learning curve. So what are the best hands that a beginner should play?
The best hands for a beginning Texas holdem poker player to play are:
Ace-Ace- King-King
- Queen-Queen
- Jack-Jack
- Ace-King suited (example – Ace of clubs & King of clubs).
I strongly recommend that you only play these starting hands as a beginner. In other words, if you are dealt a hand other than one of the above then fold!
Folding is one of the most difficult decisions for a Texas Holdem Poker beginner to do. The mindset of most Texas Holdem Poker beginners is to hang around and see the flop in the hopes of hitting it just right and improving a hand.
While a beginner will hit the flop and improve their hand occasionally, more often than not they will miss it. The Texas Holdem Poker beginner player that plays poor starting hands will end up throwing more money away than they will win.
When you are dealt one of the best starting hands I recommend raising the pot which will serve two purposes. First, it will force players with weak hands to fold instead of allowing them to stay in the game and see the flop for free.
Secondly, by seeing who raises and calls you get to see who feels that they have a good hand and who may be trying to hang in for the flop.
When the flop is dealt you should look carefully to see if you have improved your hand. Even if you have not improved your hand, because you started out with one of the better hands you may still have the best hand. This is especially true if your starting hand was a pair of aces or kings.
If your opponents raise back, this can be a strong signal that they may have a powerful hand. Ask yourself, “What could my opponent have?” “Could they have improved their hand?”
Ask yourself these questions after each round of cards are dealt and try to “read” your opponents hand.
If you have a high pair, a raise after the flop can help you assess whether your opponents feel if they have a strong hand or not.
If you think you are beaten there is no shame in folding at this point.
When the turn card has been revealed, if you think that you may still have the best hand I would raise the pot so that I could obtain information about my opponents’ hands.
I would follow this same strategy on the river card.
To summarize this basic Texas Holdem Poker beginner strategy:
- stick to playing the best starting hands
- fold the bad hands
- use the power of the raise to knock out weak players and to assess the strength of your opponents hands
By following this Texas Holdem Poker beginner strategy you will start out winning more hands than you lose. You will start out winning more money than you will lose.
Tags: Texas Hold Em, basic texas, Human Interest, better hands, great thing, The Texas, best starting hands9 Sweet Secrets of Live Poker Tournaments
Playing poker online is fun and I dabble at it as well from time to time. But, many players seem to feel that playing in live poker tournaments is very similar to playing online. Well, it is and it is not.
Here are 9 golden tips on how to ease your transition from playing online to playing in live poker tournaments.
1) If you have difficulty facing pressure in daily life, do not think that playing in front of watchful eyes and a roomful of people will have no effect on you. If you are very easily moved and influenced, I suggest you keep your money and forget about playing in live poker tournaments at all and this is relevant even more when talking about a live poker tournament.
2) Wear comfortable and not fashionable clothes. This is not a fashion show: this is poker. Thus, wear those clothes that will help you feel comfortable and at ease. I have known a woman who wore tight jeans and then all through the round, she kept fidgeting uncomfortably. Regardless to say, she was the first one to lose and all because she was dressed uncomfortably.
3) Drink only water and even then only a little so that you will not feel thirsty and also will not get the urge to go to the lavatory. Either of the two feelings are disastrous to a poker player in the midst of a hand.
4) Do not drink alcohol or even sugared soft drinks. Alcohol will cause you to lose your concentration and sweet drinks give a false sense of well-being; both will work against you when you play in live poker tournaments .
5) Do not sit next to the dealer. Most live poker tournaments allow you to pick your seat in the earlier rounds. It is best to sit opposite the dealer so that you will be able to look at each and every poker player.
6) Try not to change positions while playing. If you really begin to feel uncomfortable, change your position after a hand ends. In no circumstance should you move while playing.
7) Go to the toilet when the break is announced and do not hang around talking. It is best to loosen your gall bladder than exchanging a few words with other players.
Watch how others are doing. Those about to lose will opt to play only when they have strong hands; those with a large stack will be more willing to risk it.
9) Learn the rules and regulations of the particular live poker tournaments you have entered so as to save unnecessary losses.
Live poker tournaments are against people and so if you can read people well, you will have an advantage when playing in a tournament. But do not over-estimate your opponents. Many poker pros fall to relatively unknown players because they are over-confident.
So, study the game , think wisely and calmly and you stand a good chance of reaping in the first prize when playing in live poker tournaments.
Tags: Online Poker, Online Cardrooms, watchful eyes, particular live poker, Poker Player, in live poker, Human Interest, live game, Texas Hold EmPoker Strategies – Reading Your Opponent
The game of Poker has taken the world by storm in recent years. Although it has always been an exciting card game, lately it has gained mounting popularity and has shown us through tournaments such as “The World Series of Poker” that even an average Joe, who has been playing the game for a relatively short amount of time, can walk away a millionaire. The way to win is to devise your own way of playing the game by building from a variety of tried and true Poker strategies available for you to learn.
The most important trick for a beginning Poker player to learn is how to “read” the other players. Unless you have an absolutely stellar hand that you are certain will win, then the strategy of reading your opposing players, to help determine what you should do with your own hand, is essential. You should begin by taking a few hands to observe your fellow players. Try to uncover if there are any habits your opponents have that coincide with a good hand or a bluff. Most great players try to conceal anything that could give away their hand, however, there may be very small, almost unnoticeable, things they are unaware of.
Another good way to try and determine what your opponent may have is by his verbal skills. He may try to distract you from your own hand by carrying on a meaningless conversation or taunting you when he is trying to bluff, be almost silent when he has a great hand, or over-acting like he has a outstanding hand when he actually has nothing. After a few hands, you may be able to decipher any patterns that your opposing players may have.
As you try to read your fellow Poker players keep in mind that they are probably trying to read you as well. Therefore, it is a good idea to try and not develop any noticeable patterns of your own. When playing with close friends, ask if there is anything you may do and are unaware of that could possibly give away your hand. Sometimes even something as little as an eyelid flutter can give devoted and observant opponents the advantage.
If trying to read your opponents doesn’t work out in the beginning, don’t get discouraged! The more you practice reading other players, the easier it will get. With each game of Poker that you play, you will be able to hone all of your skills and strategies until you are a true Poker master and, eventually, you may be ready to enter into the “World Series of Poker” yourself.
Tags: stellar hand, Online Cardrooms, good hand, Daniel Negreanu, Most great players
