|
www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/poker/poker.html
Texas Hold'em Strategy
|
When sitting at a no limit Texas Hold'em poker ring game or tournament, the first decision you must make is what cards to play and what cards to fold. After you are dealt your starting hand, two face down (hole) cards, a round of betting occurs. This is called pre-flop betting. You must decide if your cards are worthy of the bet made by your opponents. At different limits of ring games, and in different stages of poker tournaments, the strategies you will use with starting hands differ. |
Table Position : Hold'em Strategy
There are some key principles that you should be aware of when playing poker. Position at the table is the first one that we will look at.
Position at a poker table is key, but in low limit hold'em, you will make most of your cash getting involved with better hands than your opponents. Regardless of the strength of your hand or your table position, it is far more difficult to bully someone off a hand in Low Limit Hold'em, mainly because the limits are not high enough to present a big enough danger to you opponent or you opponent is not a great player. You will also make more money playing strong hands and let other players try to catch miracle cards (costing them money).
Consider a typical ring game with 8 players. In terms of table position, the first 3 seats to the left of the big blind are termed “Early Position”, the next 3 seats to the left are “Middle Position” and the final 2 seats (the cut-off and button) are known as “Late Position”. You should be aware of which "Position" you are in. This should be second nature to you. Position is very important in Hold'em. If you are on the button you will be last to act on the Flop, Turn and the River which is a huge advantage. When you are last to act you will be able to judge what you should do having seen the rest of the table act before you. You will also have more of an idea about where you stand in the hand. Acting first is a disadvantage as you cannot judge the strength of hands after you make your play.
The earlier in position you are, the more likely that it is that a player behind you has a big hand. If you are “Under the Gun”, you may have 6 players to act after you make your bet. For instance, you have A-10 Clubs which generally is good hand in short handed play. Now have you ever folded A10? I hope you have because there are a lot of cards that beat this. It depends on the strength of play at the table. Lets assume you are first to play, you bet.
Now, the 6 players behind you have the chance to hit AJ, AQ, AK, AA, KK, QQ and JJ, all of which would leave you in trouble. Up against any of these hands and you could very well see a re-raise, which would put you in a bad position. Now turn the tables. You have the same hand and watch all players act before you. When the play reaches you, you will have an idea of what you are up against. Think of it like this- the later that you are in the betting order, the less likely that someone behind you has a big hand and the more information you will be able to pick up on your opponents. The advantage.
Position- Another example
You are again “Under the Gun” with AA and you put in a big raise. To knock you off your Aces players will have to call 2 bets which will cost them money. If you are “Under the Gun” with A-K and you raise, a player with AA behind you can re-raise and you are now having to fork out 3 bets to try and knock him off his hand. Having table position also holds a certain psychological advantage. It is common to steal the blinds from late position. As a result your opponents will often think you are bluffing when you raise in late position.
You can use this to your advantage when you have a strong hand in late position, as your opponents will often think that you are pulling a fast one. However all this matters. They key in No-Limit Holdem is to get involved in the hand with the best hand. Low-Limit Holdem players will call you down so you should make sure that you have the cards. Don't be surprised when opponents call just a sniff. | 
