Texas Hold’em has exploded in popularity in recent years. Following are a few tips and strategies that can lead to long term success at the poker tables.
Play Quality Starting Cards
In Texas Hold’em, the two hole cards a player is dealt lead to his first, and possibly most important decision each hand. Deciding to fold, limp in or raise your starting hand will set the tone for the next 3 rounds of betting.
Quality hands are pairs, 2 high cards, suited connectors, suited Aces etc…
Everybody has seen people win on TV with hands like 5-9 off suit and 2-3 suited, but they do not always show the hundreds of times the same players throw away these “garbage” hands.
There are no absolutes in poker, and there is certainly a place for a well-timed bluff with a garbage hand, but generally speaking, playing quality starting cards will lead to easier calculations and decisions for a player after the flop.
Position is Everything
The closer the player is to the dealer button (the later he is to act), the more liberal his hand selection can be. The reasoning here is the advantage of his position (being able to see what action other players take before he must act) will allow him to pick up some pots even when his hand does not connect.
If he limps into a multi-way pot from the button with K4 suited, and nobody bets out on the flop, he now has a chance to bluff at the pot and win it right there, make a probe bet to feel out the other players, or even check and take a free card if he likes his chances to improve on the turn.
The problem with trying to play a suited King from early position is that if any of the 6-8 players behind him decides to raise, he has to fold and give up his original bet, or call from poor position with a weak or marginal hand. Playing marginal hands out of position will typically cost a player in the long run.
Careful with “Trouble Hands”
One of the easiest ways for a player to lose his chips in Texas Hold’em is to go too far with a trouble hand. Trouble hands include hands like K-10 offsuit, K-Q and K-J, Q-J, A-J off and A-10 off to name a few.
These are hands that a player will want to make more than just top pair if he is going to invest in getting to the showdown. Their straight and high flush potential are worth much more than flopping top pair.
The biggest problem is that often, if 2 players are betting their top pair, the winner may be decided by the kicker. Flopping top pair with AJ when the opponent has AQ is a recipe for disaster. A player may find himself betting 3 streets when he is out-kicked from the very beginning.This is not to say that these hands can not be played. With proper position and conditions, these hands can win pots.
It is simply a reminder that if a quality player is betting and calling to the river, there is a good chance that top pair/decent kicker is going to lose.
Mix it Up!
These are just a few ideas to help develop a solid Texas Hold’em strategy, but a player must always be careful not to do the same thing with the same hand every time. Opponents will catch on quickly so it is important to deviate from the standards and mix up their play at different times.
Sen. Rod Wright just recently proposed a bill that would allow California residents to play online poker LEGALLY, but only at California run online poker rooms. The proposal is designed to bring some much needed revenue to the state. Basically it works something like this, if the bill is accepted, up to 3 companies get to bid on contracts to create these new online poker rooms. If it’s signed by the governor it will go into effect immediately, and the bidding / designing process can begin. However, it could possibly take years for the poker sites to actually be up and running due to legal loopholes and government bureaucracy. Continue Reading »
Well, I finally have cable again thanks to my Samsung 1080p HDTV (don’t worry I’m providing a link below to order one if you want as you MUST HAVE an HDTV or a converter box these days to get cable) so I finally saw Joe Cada win the 2009 World Series main event. I must say the scenes that they showed on television sure made Cada look like Moneymaker (they even called Cada a Moneymaker baby boomer.) 22 vs QQ and 33 vs JJ? Both hands are something like 81% to lose heads up so those are 2 very lucky almost back to back (on television anyway) suck-outs. They did show Cada make one good play though on the final day, his call against aggressor Darvin Moon with middle pair when there was a possible set on the board.
I don’t know about this editing they do nowadays though. They make poker look more like luck on television than a skill game. Moneymaker won in 02 with a series of suck outs, now Cada. Being that I only saw the final day I’m not going to say anything negative about Joe Cada, but if he’s playing online like he was on TV I sure would like to take a crack at him.
They did the same thing with Gus Hansen on the World Poker Tour though, only showing his wild play and not showing the skillful maneuvers he made to actually make it to the final table, or the moves he pulled to survive the final table. Poker on television is nothing like real life, Joe Cada must have made a lot of smart moves to survive that field that were simply edited out before the broadcast or else he’s the luckiest man in the world.
Then again online play does start to teach you that the losing pocket pair typically hits trips on the flop, even though it’s only supposed to happen roughly 11% of the time. It seems to happen quite a few times more than it should. I have something like 8,000 hands logged in the past 50 days, and the number of suck out’s I’ve seen is unbelievable. Queens beating kings, ten four suited beating aces (really weird all in pre-flop but I’ve seen it), etc.
Perhaps they have the pros editing these tapes to create more suckers, who don’t know anything about odds so those with extra cash to flush will make odd moves with weak pocket pairs.
As promised, here’s the television.
By the way if you click the link above to order the television the FTC has mandated that I alert you I’ll make a commission. Or you can copy down the model number, go to Amazon and search for it. You’ll pay the same amount of money, I just won’t get my $12 referral.
Yes, that’s right that robber got ahold of the wallet quite easily. Why? Because the wallet was a decoy of course. Why carry around an item that thieves love to steal when you can keep all your poker winnings in your poker money clip? Protect your cash, use the poker money clip. Keep your credit cards at home, avoid falling into the pit of despair of credit card debt. Manage your money. Spend what you have to spend. Use cash.
As the holidays are quickly approaching its about time to throw the royal flush of spades into the pool of poker stocking stuffers. The money clip not only holds your cash, works as a card cover, it also sits quite nicely in (certain) hats and works well as a pendant for a necklace or chain as well. Depending on what kind of poker product you are looking for, the royal flush may fit all your needs.
No, it can’t be read like a book, watched like a movie, or carry all your poker chips, but it is quite the poker novelty and a great addition to any serious poker collection.
To ensure that no one breaks their wallet when shopping for their poker loved ones, the royal flush will be on sale starting Black Friday. Orders of 3 or more money clips will be made available as in the past, our customers have wanted to share the money clip with many of their loved ones.
With 4 different uses and counting, the royal flush of spades may be the best versatile poker stocking stuffer on the market today. That’s just my opinion anyway.
So head on over to poker money clips to complete your holiday shopping.
Ready to pick up your poker money clip? This is a great poker novelty to pick up for yourself or a loved one. Makes a great conversation starter. Visit Order your money clip now to order! Supplies are limited so hurry!
The Top 10 Reasons To Order A Poker Money Clip
Note: This list is more for comedy than a real list as to why you should order a poker money clip.
Because your spouse doesn’t approve of “gambling” and knows how much money you have in your wallet at all times
Because your rubber band broke trying to hold your “gangster’s roll in place
Because that guy who wants to mug you doesn’t know all your money is in your money clip
Because you want to take a set amount of money with you to the casino and leave your credit card(s) at home (you’re a responsible gambler)
Because you booked your Vegas trip online (thus it’s already paid for) and know better than to take your credit card with you to the casino (thus avoiding the dreadful swiping away of the kid’s college fund at the withdrawal machine)
Because Money just looks cooler in the money clip than in your wallet
Because you hate reaching into your back pocket to buy back in to your poker game
Because you hate reaching into your back pocket to put away your poker winnings
Because you already own all the other cool (and not so cool) poker merchandise
Well, that’s a lie, its not really a skill meter. It’s more of a “how many hands have you played” meter. It doesn’t take into consideration how well you play or anything like that, it just keep track of how often you play.
Think Mafia Wars, Ninja Clash, or any of those other games where you click a button and you get experience points. That’s how this Facebook Poker meter works. You sit at the table, fold, fold, fold, and you get points. They give you experience for sitting, not for playing well, which I personally think is just downright retarded. Wow, I folded a hand and I got 5 experience points. Great. Not.
I was hoping the meter would actually be good, but alas it doesn’t take anything into consideration except how long you sat at the table.
Well my lotto ticket experiment just took a turn for the worse. I spent $28 on scratcher tickets today after a buddy of mine told me he won $210 the day before. So I went on a spree throughout town. I won absolutely no cash and I won a total of 3 tickets. I had a total of 17 tickets. So let’s do the math really quick. It somewhere around 1 in 5 wins a ticket and 1 in 11 wins cash. So I had 17 tickets and I won 3 tickets. The breakdown on that would be about 18% which is slightly lower than 1 in 5. We’re off about 2%. Then again, its 1 in 5.something so the #’s may be dead on today.
The reason I am not doing WSOP coverage is simple, I don’t have any television channels. I’m limited to Poker After Dark (if that’s even on any more) and the show with Vince Van Patton that I haven’t watched in years being that its typically re runs. No other reason than I have a bad television package.
The Fossil Man is a player I definitely do respect and here’s why. He placed 3rd in the $40,000 No Limit WSOP event this year. He has a bracelet. So Raymer is one of those players who cannot be considered a fluke *cough moneymaker cough* as Raymer actually makes final tables and has proven he has “staying power.”
That’s what I feel makes a good player. Do they have staying power. If the answer is yes then yeah they’re good. Think of the players you hear a lot about. They know how to play and its not a fluke they keep making final tables. When the name is rarely heard then either A) they aren’t good or B) they don’t play often. It’s usually A.
Facebook poker is growing exponentially in popularity as Facebook continues to grow. Now I just learned about this concept yesterday, people actually buy chips to use on Facebook poker. As soon as I heard about this I asked a very important question…..”Why?” Why would anyone spend money on something that has no value? I mean, I have some monopoly dollars people can buy if they want ‘em. Just pull them out of your pocket when you’re losing in Monopoly and hey you’re back in the game.
I see Facebook poker as a place to play some free poker and improve your skills. As of writing this I have somewhere around 250k and I rarely play. I look at it like Yahoo 2-4 hold em. I go play when one of my friends is online and I want to chat with them. The competition isn’t serious and neither is the chip stack.
Facebook poker does serve a very important purpose though in learning new skills, as does any free poker game. Some players are maniacs and don’t take the game at all seriously. You’ll run into some of these at your local home games as well if you’re playing for anything under $50. Same goes for casinos at the lower levels as the person is either drunk or just out to “have fun.” So, by learning how to play against these less than serious players online you’ll pick up some useful skills to make an extra $10-$50 in a night against your buddy who is only playing because you needed the extra body.
Also, you can try out different strategies that you never would have thought of trying in a real cash game. Why not try raising several pots in a row? It won’t cost you anything to test it out. Or how about start learning some odds and see why you shouldn’t chase certain hands through trial and error. Free money poker can teach you important skills that you can translate into real money. That’s how I learned how to play. You can also learn some sit and go strategies as well as tournament strategies if you play in the Facebook tournaments.
It’s a free education and you should earn your chips, not buy them. If you buy them you never really earned them and therefore will just dump them quickly. Play in the rooms you are comfortable in and work your way up. You’ll learn a lot about different types of players (mostly different styles of maniac) and you’ll learn about hand selection depending on the amount of players at the table.
Facebook poker is for fun and that’s what it should be looked at. Test out stuff to see if you can do it before you go play for the big bucks. Believe it or not you will get better, you won’t become a WSOP champion but you will build yourself a foundation to put toward going and winning the WSOP championship.
Also, being that it’s anonymous (well pretty much) you don’t have to worry about looking like an idiot if the 15 plays you made to try and steal the pot didn’t work. There is no judgment. Just play, don’t buy chips.
Pokermoneyclips.com has opened up the polls to the NEXT poker money clip. That’s right we want to know what you the public want to take with you to your poker tournaments. You can submit your votes right now at POKER MONEY CLIPS POLL. Yeah, I know people don’t like caps but its such an exciting time! Vote now.
I was watching War Inc last night (a movie about corporations running the world) and saw an ad for Pokerpalace.com. I thought that was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen. Just wanted to pass that along.
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May 22, 2011 | Posted by DavidGibson 
Categories: Strategy | 
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