Free Poker

Texas Hold’em poker has exploded in popularity over the last few years. With the introduction of real money online poker games, Texas Hold’em has generated a brand new generation of players to the game of poker. This article will explain 3 basic strategies that will vastly improve your poker game.

Stop playing every hand!

The biggest mistake most Texas Hold’em players make is that they play far too many hands. If you are playing at a full 9 or 10 person table then realistically you should only be playing, on average, about 3 hands per round or orbit. Playing weak hands is a very easy way to bleed chips away. A good rule of thumb for beginners is to only play high pocket pairs, face cards like Ace/King and Ace/Queen and the monster hands like Ace/Ace, King/King, and Queen/Queen. If however there are several people already in the hand and its only the minimum bet to see the flop then its OK to play worse hands like suited connectors and smaller pocket pairs. There will be enough money in the pot to justify playing weaker hands.

Position is important

No we’re not talking about how you hold your cards! Position is simply where you are in relation to the blinds and dealer button on the table. Early position means you are either one of the blinds or one of the first 2 players after them. Middle position is the next 3 players, and late position is the last two, including the “dealer” or button. Position is important for several reasons but the information you can get about your opponents is the most important.

In early position it is not advisable to play weaker holdings because there are several players to come after you that could raise. The hand isn’t good enough to call a raise so either you’ll make the mistake of calling or you’ll just be throwing away a bet if you fold. In late position however, there aren’t many players that will act after you, so therefore you can play weaker holdings if there are numerous people in the hand, and you can also raise weaker hands in the hopes of stealing the blinds. This is especially important in the late stages of tournaments as the blinds become more and more significant.

Aggression Aggression Aggression

Aggression is a highly talked about but rarely understood topic in Texas Hold’em. First and foremost, aggression does not mean bluffing every hand or raising every pot. In order to be effective aggression must be used at the right times. A good example of aggression is what’s called “continuation or C-betting” what this means is that if you are in late position and raise a hand preflop, it is standard and usually the correct play to bet on the flop if its checked to you, no matter if you make your hand or not. This isn’t necessarily bluffing; it’s using your momentum of your initial raise to make people fold …even when they have better hands. In a nutshell “aggression” is basically just taking control of the hand and forcing your opponents to make a decision rather then just going with the flow of the hand.

There are hundreds of other standard tips that are very useful in Texas Hold’em. These are just the most common and the most important for newer players. Once you really understand why these 3 tips work, you will see a big change in your game. You will feel more in control and you’ll be winning much more frequently.