Texas Holdem Poker

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.

As you start to play more and more Texas Holdem you will realize that poker players tend to have there own language. If you don’t understand the terms and ethics of the game it will make it uncomfortable for you at the tables. Holdem players will make up there own language and some lingo is used commonly by all players. There are also some ethical things you need to understand in order to be successful at Texas Holdem poker tables. I will try and help you understand some of these ethical and poker languages.

Slow Play - Slow playing in Texas Holdem is when you make a hand and decide to “lay in the weeds” and hide the strength of your hand. By doing this you can allow your competitors to put money into pots with lesser hands, and sometimes can get more value for your hands. Caution when slow playing, you may allow the other players to catch up with you and they might beat you in the end. Basically slow playing is when you check with a great hand and allow your competitors to bet into you, and it is a common strategy in No Limit Texas Holdem.

Slow Role - Slow rolling is an ethical problem that exists in Texas Holdem. If you get called out for slow rolling, you are being criticized for showing up your opponents. Slow rolling is when the hand is over and you delay in flipping up your hole cards when you have a great hand, winning hand. Don’t do this, showing up your opponents will give you a negative image at the table. If you have the best hand, turn it up and let the players know that you won the pot, to avoid embarrassing your opponents. In my opinion slow rolling should be a penalty in Texas Holdem and I suggest no one should do it.

The Nuts – When you have the nuts, you have the best hand possible at that time. Making the nuts, will make Texas Holdem a lot easier, there is no better feeling then knowing you can’t be beat. The nuts can change on every street, you might have the nuts on the flop, but the turn could make it possible for someone else to have a better hand. An example : The community cards are Ad – Ah – 10d – 5d- Qd, What is the nuts? You would have the nuts if you had a King – Jack of diamonds for a Royal Flush.

Card Rush - Card Rushes are when every time you look down at your hand you seem to have a big cards. Card rushes can last for a few hands or on great days can last for hours.  Ride out these card rushes and make some money when you can. Don’t get married to your card rushes they will come to an end and there is such a thing as a negative card rush. A negative card rush is when you are getting big pre flop hands, but can never seem to make a hand. An example of negative card rushes are when you pick up pocket kings and raise and on the flop there is always an ace that beats you.

Family Pot – When all players at the table are playing in the same hand.

Limping In - Calling pre flop instead of folding or raising the big blind.

Rail Birds – A rail bird is a person watching the game and is usually used as a negative comment. A lot of times rail birds will make inappropriate comments and might effect the game when they have no business getting involved.

Sharks and Fish - These are terms that you will hear people called at a poker table. A fish is a person that is leaking money a weaker player that other players will pick on. Obviously the shark is a strong player who will feast on the fish at the table. Basically don’t be the fish, play in games where you are a Shark instead. If you get called one of these terms use it to your advantage and exploit the table image that you have created for yourself.

Under the Gun - When you are under the gun, you are the first person to act pre flop. This player will be to the left of the big blind and is commonly the worst position at a poker table. Playing under the gun can be tricky, but you can get control of the pot immediately if you raise.

Coolers and Cold Decks – These are ways to complain about the cards and your luck. If the deck is cold or you hit a cooler, it seems as if “the poker gods” are against you. You could be making big hands and losing or starting big and getting no where in the hand. An Example: You start the hand with pocket aces (Ad – Ah) and the flop comes Ac – 10c – Jh, perfect you flopped your set bet out and get one caller. The turn isn’t a problem a 5d, and you bet and get another call. When the river comes Kc you have hit your cooler now your opponent might have made a flush or straight and you are probably beat. This can have one of two effects, one it could just slow the action and you still win with the best hand. Two your opponent made there hand and you will be forced to make a decision at the showdown.

This is hardly scratching the surface of language you might hear at a Texas Holdem table. Of course there is the common language like call, check, raise and fold that you need to know if you want to play. Certain hands have names of there own you get the “dead mans hand” (A – 8), you can make a wheel (A-2-3-4-5) or you could get sucked out on. Learning some of these terms can make your time at the poker table more comfortable and show the other players that you know what you are doing.