Texas Holdem Poker

If you have spent any amount of time playing in MTT Hold’em tournament, you know how frustrating it can be when you make call downs on draws and they never hit.  The next thing you know your stack is down to nothing and you have little or no choice to go all in with a questionable hand.  Maybe you need to think about taking some more chances and try to get a big stack early on and actually hit the final table with the big stack instead of getting blinded out.

The first thing you have to decide is if you want to play aggressively or you just want to sit back and wait for hands.  While you can be successful by waiting around, you are doomed if you don’t catch cards early on and you are going end up getting bullied off of hands.  While you risk getting bounced out of the tourney early by playing this way, if you get a couple of breaks, you can find yourself deep into the tourney and able to cash a big payday.

Something that you may want to consider is pushing the issue when you are on a draw, especially if you can set up a check raise situation.  Ideally, you are going to set this up with an aggressive player that is bullying the table.  If he raising pre-flop on the bulk of the hands and then going forward with a continuation bet, he is an ideal candidate to pull this move on.  Doing this will also set you up later one when you have hit a hand.  You can do the same thing and possibly get a call when you are sitting on the stone cold nuts.

The ideal situation for this move would be three handed with you playing before the aggressor and after one other player.  Let’s say that the aggressor raises the pot before the flop to 4 times the blind.  You are sitting on the BB with KQc.  The flop comes out 10c-Jc-2d.  You are now sitting an open ended straight draw along, a royal flush draw and of course the flush draw.  In addition to that, you have two over cards that you can catch to improve your hand.  All in all, you have a total of 23 possible outs to improve your hand.

Now assume the other player in the hand is the SB and he checks the flop to you, you in turn check the bet over to the initial raiser and he fires a pot sized bet out there.  The SB folds and now it is up to you.  For arguments sake, assume the pot was $120 before the flop and he is now betting $120 into that pot.  It would be early in the tournament and you have $1,000 left in chips.  The call in this situation is a no brainer, you are getting 2:1 odds on your money and you have about a 90% shot of hitting your hand.   However, a call does not allow you to truly take advantage of this situation.  This is an ideal position to push your stack in and double up.

If the aggressor makes the call and has you beat and is not holding two suited cards with the Ace that will match the board, you are still in the driver’s seat.  You literally have half the deck to draw to him calling and having the lead is not a bad thing here.  The other scenario is that the aggressor folds his hand and you end up taking in a pretty nice pot.

Remember though, you make a habit of this move and you are going to get called down every time.  Save it for a time when you hold a significant advantage on your draw and even if you are behind, you are in a strong position to win the hand.  Then the next time you make the play and have a hand, the aggressor is going to think you are bluffing and will make the call.  When you turn over your set, his mouth drops and you rake the pot.  Well timed aggression will lead you to the final table.  Use it in the right spot against the right player and that chip stack will continue to grow.

Well, your just going to have to trust me with this one. No Limit Texas Holdem Poker is an easy game, with no perfect solution to becoming a winning player. Playing in a cash game or in a tournament are two very different things, but you can play similar games when approaching either. So I am going to try and walk some of you new players, or some old ones who are struggling through the easiest way to be a winner. Now this is important, this knowledge doesn’t guarantee you will win, but it should help you become more consistent. The irony of the whole thing is that you need to play a more boring, calculated game in order to help you get the success you are looking for. I am going to give you some basic knowledge on how to play out of the blinds, in early position, it late position and what might be the right times to make a bluff.

Playing out of the Blinds

When in a blind it is very easy to make mistakes, and commonly the worst position for all players at the table. Before you start calling pre flop bets from the big or small blind you need to realize that you will be the first to act after the flop. Therefore if you have a hand that will be tough to play post flop you might want to fold to aggressive raises pre flop. Some examples of tough hands to play are ace rag (ace with a low second card), small connecters and small pairs. Here is the deal with playing out of the blinds, sometimes you will be getting laid a good price to call a hand pre flop, this will happen when a lot players are in the hand maybe to a min raise or small raise, this will be the time for you to try and hit a big hand with your suited connectors or small pairs. As an example your playing $1/$2 and the person in first position makes a minimum raise to $4 and gets five callers before its your turn to act, the pot is $26 and you are in the big blind. It costs you $2 to makes the call and you have a pair of deuces, you are being laid a price of 13 – 1 (26 -2) to make the call, this is a perfect time to try and spike a set with the two’s. Basically pay close attention when you in the blinds, don’t let aggressive players in late position push around for to long and monitor the pot sizes to know when it is time to take a shot.

Playing in Early Position

Early position play is easy, you have nothing in the pot and there is no reason to step out and make big plays with mediocre cards when there are so many people to act behind you. No the range of cards you should playing, I will not give you that range, it varies from player to player. But you should be playing big pairs and high suited cards (AK or AQ), everything else should be an easy fold. If you like to get into pots well then I suggest you raise when playing less then stellar hands in early spots at the table and by this I mean a real raise not just a small min raise. When you do pick up a hand you want to play feel free to make a raise, in fact it is suggested. When rasing you need to put the pressure on all the players left to act behind you so raise a good amount, 4 – 5 or even 6 times the big blind. By doing this you will not allow other players, especially the blinds to sneak into the hand with lesser cards and beat you. So rule of thumb play tight in early position, make sizeable raises if you are going to play and don’t make unnecessary mistakes like big bluffs. The more you play the game the more creative you can get when playing in these positions.

Playing in Late Position

When playing this basic style, this is where you can make a lot of your money. When playing on the button (dealer) or in the cutoff (right of dealer), feel free to open up your game and take more chances. If the hand gets folded to you, feel free to raise with any two cards, the object might be to steal the blinds and quickly move on to the next hand. The stealing of blinds can be the difference between winning and losing especially if you are playing in a tournament. Here is where things can get a little more advanced, by raising often out of late positions, the players at the table will stop respecting the moves you make. By making these blind steals you can frustrate your opponent and when you do pick up a big starter, you have a better chance of getting action then if you don’t raise. When playing on the button you need to remember that you will be the last to act after every street, which can make it easier to pick up loose pots.

Bluffing

It’s a common thought, that you can not win at Texas Holdem Poker without bluffing. So here are a few basic pointers. It is a lot easier to bluff from late position, but always be aware of the slow players, and do what ever you can to not fall into there traps. The easiest boards (flops) to bluff are ones with high pairs, straight and flush possibilities. As an example your on the button and the flop comes A – A – 4, you have nothing, but the action gets checked to you. Feel free to make a bluff, your opponent will have no choice but to think there’s a chance you have that ace and might even fold the four thinking they might be drawing dead. If you make a sizeable bluff and get called, you will have to make the choice to bluff again after the turn or shut it down and give control back to your competitor.

This is not fool proof, but it is a basic strategy you can try out, have fun at the tables.

If you are new to the game of Texas Holdem and want to take the game seriously you need to avoid common mistakes. Texas Holdem is an easy game, but there is no perfect way to play. Some amateurs and beginners make the same mistakes over and over again. You cannot avoid mistakes even the best players in the world make them on a daily basis. The key is to recognize when you have made a mistake and take the measures to correct it the next time you are in that situation. I am going to help you and show some of the common mistakes you might be making at the tables.

First and most common mistakes that beginners or inexperienced players make is “getting married” to there pre flop hands. Its important to realize that pocket aces do not automatically win, the hand needs to be played out. Pay attention at all times, know what hands beat you and find out where you are at in the hand. To avoid losing pots with your monster pre flop hands, raise before the flop to hopefully eliminate weak hands. I always insist that players who want to become good Holdem players need to be able to put there opponents on a range of hands that they might be playing. The way to this is by paying attention to any patterns or tells your opponents might be giving you, use this information to make an educated guess on what your opponent might have

Example : Your playing a tournament and you are down to 6 players, you pick up pocket aces in middle position and raise 5 times the big blind and get called by the guy beside you. This player has played a tight game and pretty passive pre flop, earlier you saw him smooth call pre flop with an A – Q. The flop comes out with no ace, but three diamonds, which you do not have, you make a bet anyways three quarters the pot and get called. The board pairs kings on the turn, you check and your opponent moves all in, What do you think they have? You raised pre flop and got a call from a tight player meaning there hand is probably pretty strong, there is a possible three of a kind ( kings ) or flush out there that would beat you. Since you just got called pre flop you don’t really no where you are at so, based on previous knowledge you can make a prediction and I would think the opponent has maybe A – K or K -  J, possibly suited, possibly with a flush. This is probably a good time to lay down those aces.

Slow Playing – We have all seen on television a slow play work perfectly, but be careful what you learn on television poker. The main goal in every hand is to get the maximum value for what you are holding, don’t slow play just for the sake of slow playing. If you feel you are not going to get any action from your hand if you bet out, go ahead and slow play to get some value, but don’t wait to long to take control of the pot. If you slow play often you will start to get less action on your checks and your game will start to become one dimensional. The biggest downfall to slow playing is you let your competitors catch up with you, and possibly beat you at a showdown. If you want extra value from your hand, but don’t want to get sucked out on you I suggest check – raising. For example if you are first to act after you spiked top set, check and when some one bets out behind you raise them, and either play a big pot or win it right there. Slow play when the time is right, against the right players and for the right reasons.

Re – Betting - This is when you make the same bet size on two streets. For example you bet $5 on the flop and catch two callers, and after the turn you bet $5 again. You won’t see this very often in an experienced game, but when you do light bulbs will go off. An experienced Holdem player will take this in one of two ways, one that you have a big hand and are trying to get value, and they might lay down there one pair. On the other hand if a good player has a draw you will laying them the odds to call and suck out on you. Re – Betting can be an effective strategy when playing inexperienced players, but probably won’t work against veterans of the game.

Another common problem amateurs have is knowing when to bluff. To be a winning Texas Holdem player you need to bluff, but if you don’t know how you will lose an awful a lot of money. For a beginner I would suggest the easiest time to bluff is when a board is “scary” and there aren’t a lot of players in the pot. By scary I mean if the community cards have a high pair or the cards are all suited. Making good sized bets (half to three quarter pot) in late position can be a good way to make a bluff look easy. If you want to bluff you are going to need to put your opponent on a hand and trust your instincts on every street. If you are not comfortable, take a stab on the flop and if catch a call, slow down and see what happens the rest of the way.

This is just scratching the surface of the mistakes you might be making playing Texas Holdem. Remember everybody makes mistakes, the key is learning from them and fixing the mistake the next time you are in that spot. Pay attention at the table, keep your emotions in check and have fun at the tables and you will become a winning player in no time.

Bluffing is a key skill that every no limit holdem poker player needs to possess. While bluffing is considered a normal part of all poker, no game rewards a well timed bluff more than no limit poker. There are several things that you need to consider when trying to pull off a bluff.

First, how many players are there in the pot? If you are playing a hand in a pt with more than 2 players, then bluffing becomes almost pointless. The odds that someone has a hand are too great to justify risking chips on nothing. Bluffs are typically best executed against two players or a single opponent.

Next, what type of read do you have on your opponent? Is your opponent a tight, solid player? When they miss the flop, do they always check? Are they capable of a check-raise? You need to know you opponent’s temperament. Bluffing is more about playing the player than the cards, and having the proper read on your opponent is important for a bluff to be successful.

What type of board is showing? Is it an uncoordinated low board that likely missed your opponent? Is the board paired? One common bluff that you will see involves betting out into a paired board. I use this bluff quite frequently. There are times you will be played back at. When that happens, you will have to release the hand. When a certain scare card falls on the board such as an ace, a third suited card, or a card that could complete a straight, you have another opportunity to bluff depending on how the hand unfolded.

How many chips does your opponent have? This is more relevant to tournaments than in cash games. If your opponent is a medium stack and you put them to the test for all of their chips, they are going to be hard pressed to call unless they have actually made a hand. This type of move does not work as well against a short stack as many times once they have committed to a hand, they will play it to the river.

Allow yourself to get caught bluffing once in a while. Sometimes I will make a certain well time bluff on the river almost knowing that I am going to be called. After I make this bluff, I will then back off of bluffing for a while. When you get caught bluffing, players will keep in mind that you are capable of bluffing and you will get more action. When I make a certain type of bluff, sometimes I will make the same type bet or move with a solid hand hoping that the player puts me on the bluff. This type of value betting will result in a few raises and then subsequently larger pots.

There is an old say that if you are successful with 100% of your bluffs, then you are not bluffing enough and if you are caught the majority of times bluffing, then you are bluffing too much. The key is to find the right balance of bluffing. A well timed successful bluff can add needed chips to your stack. Good luck at the tables.

Bluff at  Titan Poker one of the best online poker rooms for playing Holdem Poker.