This is a really quick run down of texas hold em tips to move you up the poker food chain.

Tip #1 – Do not under any circumstances ever try to play a new player like you would a casual, semi-professional, or professional poker player.

This has been stated over and over throughout the website but it needs to be stated again. New players do not know anything about the game. Well, they may know that you bet and call and you have cards in your hand but that’s about it. If you try to bluff them they’ll call. Why? To see what you had. They’ll call with nothing just because. They’ll chase inside straight draws regardless of pot odds, they’ll go for miracle flushes for no reason at all. They may even have the winning hand and not even know it, which this writer has seen first hand. They turn over their cards, and wow they had a straight flush. So do not bluff, do not slow play, don’t even really try to pick up tells against a new player. Play the cards in front of you and wait until you have a winner. Against a new player the cards do matter.

Tip #2 – If the new player you’re playing with is a “rock” meaning they never play a hand unless it’s a good hand, fold if they bet.

Yes, this contradicts the above, but hey now you’re playing against someone you can read and who makes rational decisions. A new player who knows enough to know what beats what is someone you want at the table. They’ll bleed away chips in blinds and when they finally hit something no one will call. They’re an open book.

Tip #3 – Know the types of players at your table

This is critical. If you’re with a lot of calling stations who fold on the river, you may be able to squeeze some chips out of them by betting on the river with nothing. Bump up the pot, they’ll call. Turn card bump up the pot, they’ll call. River card, you bet they fold. Or maybe you have some tight aggressive players at the table. They bet, you fold. Perhaps it’s a lot of maniacs. They bet, you have something like jack ten which is a great drawing hand, you call to see what the flop looks like. Adjust your play accordingly to how the table is playing.

Tip #4 – Never, ever, slow play aces

You want people to either fold or go all in when you have pocket aces. Same typically applies with kings. Why? Because you already know you’re thinking to yourself “Hey, I’ve got pocket aces, time to make money.” Then six players wind up in the hand and you lose to something like a straight. Get as many people out of the hand as possible. Pocket aces do not match up well against multiple opponents. The more players in the hand, the worse your chances of winning. If you get them to move all in on you pre flop, the worse that can happen is you’ll be outdrawn. If you let a lot of people play the pot with you, you’ll drop a lot of chips.

Tip #5 – Know when you’re beat

This is pretty much the same as tip 4. If you’re holding something great like pocket kings or queens and someone starts betting at you, take a step back and assess the situation. They may have just made trips. This happens, and if you’re blinded by your hole cards you may not see the tell right in front of your face. This can be very costly. Don’t think you have an unbeatable hand simply because you started with a good pocket pair. The odds were in your favor pre-flop, but once you see the flop the odds have shifted.

For more texas hold em tips please navigate through the texas holdem section of the website.