Poker Strategy
Poker Strategy for Beginners
2006-05-04 09:09:14
Some ideas and concepts are common to all or most poker variations. In this guide we will explain how they work in the most popular poker game today, Texas Hold'em.
Pick your starting hands
The first tip to all new poker players is don't play too many hands. That is, play tight. You should realize that most of the time one of the other players has a better starting hand than yours. Sure, your hand may improve on the flop but most of the time, if you start out with a bad hand you will not have the best hand after the flop.
So, you have decided to play only decent starting hands, but which are they? Well, in Texas Hold'em, good starting hands are basically either two high cards or a pair. Hands like AK and AQ are strong, as are all pairs from AA to 99.
Smaller pairs and two not-so-high cards are more difficult. With AJ, AT, KQ you may be strong, but if your opponent holds a hand like AK or AQ you may be in big trouble if you hit the flop.
Pairs from 88 and down are playable, but the flop will often contain one or more higher cards (overcards). Then, if an opponent appears strong on the flop, you are probably beaten. The lower your pair, the more likely there will be overcards on the flop. For example, to play 22 after the flop, a third 2 on the board is almost a must.
Consider your position at the table
In Texas Hold'em, the order in which players act is the same throughout a hand. This makes the concept of position important. That is, where you sit in the betting order.
Late position means that you sit on the button or close to its right. If you sit in this position you will act late in every betting round. It is a great advantage to act late, since all opponents must show their intentions before it is your turn. When you sit in the early position, you don't know what to expect from the players behind you. You have no indications about the strength of their hands.
So, it is an advantage to be in the late position and consequently, you can play more hands from the late position than from the early position. Hands like AJ or 44 are much easier to play from late position. If the flop isn't good for you and someone in front of you makes a big bet, it is easy to lay them down. If no one bets, your hand may very well be good and you can go ahead and play it with confidence.
When you play, assert yourself
One of the costliest mistakes in poker is betting too little. When you choose to put money into a pot, you need to make it uncomfortable for anyone who wants to take it away from you. Betting strongly has several advantages. Firstly, you prevent opponents from seeing the next card for free and improving their hands. You cannot prevent players from seeing another card, but you should make them pay for it.
Secondly, every time you bet there's a chance your opponents will fold. Your chances of winning the pot increase with fewer players in the hand. If everyone folds, you win the pot without even showing the cards.
Special tips for Omaha
Starting hands in Omaha consists of twice as many cards as in Texas Hold'em. The first thing you need to realize is that there are not twice as many two-card combinations, but six times as many!
For example, the hand AKJT can be combined into six rather decent two-card hands: AK, AJ, AT, KJ, KT, and JT.
This is why, in Omaha, the average hand in showdowns is much better than in Texas Hold'em. For example, when three suited cards are on the board, someone usually has a flush, and so on.
To adjust to this, you need to be very choosy about your starting hands. Preferably, all four cards should be connected in some way, by rank or suit. For instance, a hand like 8766 is stronger than AK83.
Special tips for 7-Card-Stud
7-Card-Stud is very different from Texas Hold'em in that you get to see many more cards. By the time the betting round starts, you have have seen ten cards or so, which is more than you will ever see in a Texas Hold'em hand.
To use this information, you need to remember the dead cards, that is, the cards that other players have folded. If you don't have the best memory, at least try to notice cards that may be important to you or to an opponent.
For example, if you have three hearts in your hand, it may not be worth chasing a flush if you have seen five hearts in other players' hands.
