Hold Em Authority - Texas Hold Em Strategy and advice for all levels of players

Most people who start their poker career at an online casino, probably start out with Texas Hold´em Poker and not one of the many other poker games such as Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Stud or Draw Poker.

Why is it that Texas Hold´em Poker seems to take the lead?

Well, first of all people quickly realize that Texas Hold´em is fairly simple to play, and therefore also one of the easiest poker games to learn. Two cards are all you have to worry about keeping track of in your hand.

Because of the fact that Texas Hold´em Poker isn’t too complicated to learn and because this poker game is shown massively on TV, it is no wonder that people new to online poker will start playing Texas Holdem before any other game. The great number of new Texas Hold´em Poker players actually benefit the more experienced poker players. Thus, the competent Texas Hold´em Poker players always have a continuous supply of players that may lose a bit money to them due to their inexperience at the tables.

Texas Hold´em is a very enjoyable game to play, and as you become more skillful, the fun really starts since you’ll start to win some cash. Some players make big money playing Texas Hold´em, but there are only few professional poker players who can make a living off it. You may not be a pro yet, but you have great chances of adding cash to your income by playing poker if you put the time and research into the game.

Texas Hold´em Poker has become the game of choice for the majority of new poker players. However, if you have the time and if you feel like adding a little depth to your game, you might start trying the other poker games. Who knows – in the future we may see a different poker game take the lead as the most popular, so why not start practicing now?

Did anyone watch the World Series (of baseball, not poker)? If you were on a short vacation, you might’ve missed a Boston Massacre. The Colorado Rockies had a 9 day layoff as a result of their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and as much as they told the media this layoff wouldn’t affect them, it did. Hitting is a game of timing, pitching is a game of disrupting that timing. When one has played baseball for six and a half months straight with no more than a 3 day layoff (the all star break), a nine day layoff can come as quite a burden to a hitter’s timing.

Timing is a big part of the game of poker. If a player has poor timing, he/she could lose a lot of money. Timing seems to develop with a feel for the game. The more feel you have, the better idea you have of when the right time is to make a play at the pot.

I’ve recently started playing poker again after a long layoff. My timing sucks right now, and there’s no two ways about it. I’ve lost that feel for when players are making reckless moves at my pot, and I’ve lost that discipline required to get myself deep into tournaments without the best of cards. I’ve lost more money than I should because I haven’t made a conscious decision that I want to get better - I just expect myself to be as good as I was before I had the layoff. It’s taken me until now to realize what’s really going on, and I hope that I can save the rest of you from making my careless decision.
What’s the cure to losing that timing and feel for the game after a long layoff? For one, don’t stop playing. If that’s not an option, it’s best to ease yourself back into the game. Put yourself in the best position you can to win or at least break even. Typically that will involve stepping down a level or two from where you’re used to playing. If you don’t let your ego get in the way, playing patiently at these lower limits will help you re-develop that feel you know you once had back in the day.

If only the Rockies could’ve eased their way back into the World Series by playing a couple more games against the Diamondbacks while they were waiting for the AL winner, maybe everyone would’ve had time to enjoy the fall classic a little more.

Here’s an alarming but undeniable truth about the world in which we live: there are a lot of poker cheats out there. That’s right, for all of us who enjoy a nice, honorable game of poker, there are more than a few slimy, unscrupulous individuals who will employ any means necessary - no matter how devious or derelict - to take what we rightfully have a chance to win.

(For any of you poker cheats reading this who may be offended by descriptive words like “slimy,” perhaps it is your own guilty conscience producing these feelings of negativity. Clean up your act, fellas. It’s never too late to live a respectable life.)

Well, nobody likes to listen to a droning, self-important sermon, so rather than continue to castigate all those poker cheats out there for being the lowdown, worthless dregs of society that they are, let’s shift our focus to look at some of the ways in which poker cheats go about their foul business.

Poker cheats have many tools to work with. They can count cards, either with a partner or on a solo basis. They can use phony gambling chips or load the deck when it’s their time to deal. The way a player will cheat depends to a huge extent up on the venue in which he or she is playing. In other words, it only makes sense that in order to rip off an Atlantic City casino, you would need to employ slightly more sophisticated techniques of malfeasance than would be required to pull a fast poker cheat at your next-door neighbor Lenny’s weekly $10 Texas hold’em game.

What do we typically see at the online poker table? Obviously the main problem is collusion, in which multiple players working together will tell each other what they are holding so no one makes a poor decision against one another. An easy way to determine whether someone is colluding with another is the dumping of chips to a buddy deep in a tournament. I’ve seen players go all the way to the end of the hand, putting all their chips in the middle save a few, and then fold when the partner in crime bets out. They do it this way because it is impossible to get drawn out if the other player folds. If you know anything about pot odds, you’ll be able to tell when this may be going on, because the odds will be screaming for a call and the player will fold.

Another problem is players asking for a loan. Obviously, you let someone borrow money at your own peril, but many of these players do not honor their word when they promise to pay you back.

But whatever technique is used, nothing can change the fact that all poker cheats are secretly looking to lose. Before long, their cheating ways will catch up with them, and then it’s time to pay the piper. The price can be quite high, indeed.

I’m gonna give you a rundown of a hand I played at a cash table.

I was dealt 10s in late position, and I believe there were 4 callers before it got to me. Mistake number one I made in the hand was not raising. I just called, 2 more callers, so it’s about a 7 way pot. The flop comes 456 rainbow. Someone bets a quarter in early position, and I raise about 1.50. I think I should’ve raised more to drive out any draws, but anyway, chalk up mistake #2. Three callers. The turn comes, 8. This is where I’m unsure of what to do. When my opponent called, I figured he was on a draw, I was right, but not exactly right. He checked, and then I checked. The river came, blank, he checked, I checked. He had A3, so I took down the pot.

One of my friends was screaming at me to bet on the turn. I don’t like that play though. I’ll figure out what he’s got, but I’ll lose money in the process if he raises me. Here’s what I mean:

1. If I bet small, I’m representing weakness, and I might get raised because he senses that, so I lose money.

2. If I bet big and get raised, well, I’ve lost a lot of money.

3. If I bet and he calls, well, then I’ve still got a chance of winning, but who knows what he might be slowplaying, or what he already had, such as two pair, or a set.

It’s an interesting thought to bet on the turn, but I can’t justify it because I feel that I could lose so much more than I could win. It’s a tough situation, and I don’t know if there is a true right answer for it. Again, knowing your opponent and the way he/she plays might be the only edge you can gain with your decision making in this sort of situation.

Good luck turning on the television these days and flipping through your whole list of channels and not finding poker on one of your channels.  The World Series of Poker 2007 is starting extremely soon, and after it is played, the taped broadcasts will start playing repeatedly eight times a day for the next eight months.  Televised poker is really everywhere, and a person can get hooked on it quite easily.  For some, it’s all about watching to see who wins the tournament, but for others, it can be used as a learning tool.

Or can it?

I’m at a point in my poker career where I’m not 100% sure I’m learning the right things when watching poker.  However, I do think I’ve figured out what I should be taking from these broadcasts, and it is more of a general idea of how to play the game rather than specific hands.  For example, you can see Phil Ivey put his tournament on the line with bottom pair and win the hand against someone holding top pair simply because the other person gives Ivey too much credit.  Obviously, Ivey knows his opponent as well which helps a great deal.  The amount of thinking that goes on in the highest level of poker is so much more than what goes on in most internet games - a lot of the plays these professionals make just don’t make sense at our lower levels.

That being said, my focus is on the general strategy that it takes to be successful in large poker tournaments.  Many players have many different styles, but the one commonality that they all have are that they are willing to put it all on the line when they have to, and they can make a big laydown when they need to.  Sounds simple, but if you don’t have the stones to go all in with what you think might be the best hand because the bet is too big, you will not succeed in high-level poker tournaments.

I plan on tuning in to the WSOP 2007 partly because I want to see how many players there will be this year, and partly to see whether my theory holds up in this large field.  Will the winner have to make some monster laydowns and some ballsy calls in order to win it?  Since the main event will be played over the course of at least seven days, my guess would be yes.

Are you competitive? An only child who has to entertain him/herself on a daily basis? Are you really bored right now? Why do I ask these questions? Well, I am all three right now, and I just recently invented a game at my workplace that times my ten key speed and tracks my improvement. Yes, I’m a huge dork, but I’m also competitive, bored, and an only child. Moral of the story, if you’re the same way, you may like this little game a friend of mine invented

Sometimes we need a break from the grind of poker, however, sometimes we don’t want to take a break, even though we should. Honestly, this little game could help a beginner find ways of making him/her self better in a heads up match. This article is courtesy of him, so I’ll just turn the typing over to him:

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Recently I’ve been trying to find ways to improve my game that are a little different than others. Aside from playing on Ultimate Bet almost daily I’ve been playing a one person game that I made up myself. I’ve been trying for probably a year to figure out a game that I can play alone, but still takes skill to win.

Over the last two weeks I’ve went from losing 60% of the time to winning 90% of the time. I encourage anyone to give me some insight on how I can make this game more difficult or if there are any big holes that I haven’t seen yet.

Here’s the game:

I play Texas Hold ‘Em when I play this game, but I would imagine that you should be able to play Omaha High and other games with small revisions.

What you need:

-1 poker deck of cards (no jokers)

-80 poker chips (one color)

-A Table

-Hands

Directions

This is a one player, heads-up match against a ghost player. Give yourself 40 chips and put 40 chips opposite yourself that will represent the ghost player’s chips.

Shuffle and cut as much as you feel and deal 2 cards face down to yourself and the ghost player. To begin, play 1 / 2 blinds No Limit. You are always in the small blind. Eventually blinds can be raised, but if it gets too high it becomes an all-in fest.

You can look at the hand in front of you as much as you want, but the ghost player’s cards stay hidden until a showdown situation occurs.

Pre-flop play goes like this…it is 2 chips to call and you can fold to the ghost whenever you choose, giving up your 1 chip small blind. Any chips you put in the pot before the flop gets paid out of the ghost’s chips 1 to 1 (meaning if you bet 10 the ghost player will call 10). After the pre-flop betting round you can burn and turn up 3 cards. This is the final betting round in the game. Any chips that you put into the pot after the flop get paid out from the ghost’s chip stack 1 to 2 (meaning if you bet 10 then the ghost player will only have to call 5). The ghost player calls all bets that you make. After this betting round all cards can be turned face up and the last 2 community cards can be put on the board, no betting the turn or river, best 5 card poker hand being the winner as usual.

That’s pretty much the game…let me know if there is any confusion, or if you think I need to castrate myself.

Courtesy of: Andy Schirm

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All thoughts of castration aside, I think a couple ways of modifying the game are these:

1. Have the ghost player always pay out 1:2, like the ghost does after the flop in Andy’s game.

2. Add a player to the mix – you’ll get paid off more with your big hands, yes, but you’ll pay the price much more when you’re putting lots of money in with mediocre hands.

Enjoy the little sidetrack from your daily grind!

The cards are dealt, you’re under the gun.  You look down at your cards, expecting to fold, but lo and behold, you find some bitches.  Two of them to be exact.  Well this is great, but now what?  I never really thought it was much of a decision until today when I had them utg and raised 3 times the big blind.  I ended up winning the blinds, which was just fine with me, but one of my friends who was watching me said “nice take, but I don’t like the raise.”

My friend and I discussed the hand, and this is what I gathered from his point of view: limp in, slowplay.  He expects a raise to come with someone eventually (especially at such low limits), and then he will reraise when it gets back around to him.

Interesting thought, but I just don’t know about it.  This is the way I played it today.  I try to vary my play, so who knows if I’ll play it the same way every time.  Anyway, I bet the pot under the gun, and everyone folded to me, and I won my .35.  I told my friend that if I win .35 every time I have QQ, I’m gonna be rich someday, and I’m fine with winning a little at a time.

Now I’m not saying said friend’s theory is wrong by any means, in fact, I’m sure a lot of players play it the same way he suggests, but here’s why I personally don’t play the bitches like that:

1.  By not raising, you are banking on someone else raising, which, depending on the table, may or may not happen.  As with pretty much anything poker, observation is key.

2.  If no one else raises, but 4 people call, the probability of you winning the hand has gone from a very high percentage to a very low percentage.  I realize it’s only a quarter, but if you lose a quarter (or more) every other time, you need to make some real profit on the other time that you win money.

3.  Going along with #2, even if only 2 people come in, chances are 1 or 2 of them are going to have an A or a K, and then when one of those hits on the flop, how do you play the hand?  You probably have to muck it, and once again, yes, only a quarter, but still, money lost that could have been won.

4.  If you do represent preflop and get a caller, you figure he/she has to have a good hand, possibly a middle pair, possibly AJ, AQ, etc.  You can really narrow down the amount of hands your opponent is playing when he/she has to call a raise.

That’s my opinion, and it is just that, an opinion.

As I mentioned in a previous article on tournament hand selection, it is better to raise or fold than it is to call. I didn’t elaborate on why that is true, so hopefully this article will give a little more insight on the advice.*******

First and foremost, raising gives you much more information about your opponents hand than a call would. For example, let’s say you called a raise preflop with A 10. The flop comes 10 5 2. Regardless of your position, you’re faced with a pot-sized bet. If you just call here, what do you know about your opponents hand? He/she represented strength preflop and now on the flop, so it’s very possible he/she has an overpair to the board. What are you to do if he/she makes another pot-sized bet on the turn? At this point, it’s getting very expensive, and you still don’t know where you’re at in the hand.

Now let’s assume we are in the same situation on the flop, but we elect to raise instead of call. Our opponent will do one of three things in response: reraise, call, or fold. If he reraises, chances are we’re beat. I don’t care who you are, maniac, rock, whatever; if you’re reraising like that, chances are, you’ve got a monster hand. Moving on, if he calls, depending on the player, we could be ahead or behind. This is really the only scenario we have to worry about, as the information doesn’t become very clear to us. If he folds, that’s fine, nice pot. See all the information we were able to gather with a raise? So simple, yet sometimes it’s easy to overlook.

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Secondly, a raise may eliminate a suckout. Let’s take the example from above. If our opponent makes a pot-sized bet on that 10 5 2 flop and we just call, what are we going to do if a J, Q, or K comes on the turn? The situation becomes more complicated then, not to mention we still don’t have a clue what our opponent has. If you raise and he/she folds, you don’t have to worry about a suckout.

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Finally, and this applies a bit more preflop but can be applied postflop as well: isolation. If we get dealt AA preflop and we just call, we’re running the risk of butting heads with anywhere from 1-6 other hands. Against 1 person, AA is a huge favorite, against 6 others, we’d be lucky to win 1/3 of the time. A raise helps eliminate opponents so we can focus on a single, or maybe 2 opponents. It reduces our thought process when we have to worry about less people.

Again, raising or folding is better than calling, so work that raise into your poker arsenal, and don’t be afraid! By raising, you’re actually making life easier on yourself!

I’m not much of an expert in this department, as my tighter style of play isn’t really conducive to acquiring a large stack. However, I was able to call on my friends at Poker Listings for some help on the topic, and they came up with some great material. Enjoy!*****

In a poker tournament, every player wants to be the chip leader, or at least have a really big stack. However, when you reach that position you will find that it’s not all that easy to handle. If you don’t play your big stack correctly you will see it slowly (or, even worse, quickly) disappear, and when you’re knocked out of the tournament you will ask yourself: “What happened? What did I do wrong?” This is some advice on how to avoid that painful experience.

Early stage of the tournament

Your aim in the beginning of a poker tournament should be to build up your chip stack. Don’t focus on knocking opponents out of the tournament (the money is too far away at this stage). If you get lucky and find yourself with a large stack early on you should keep playing your usual style. There is no need to take big risks. Try to hold on to your strong position without becoming passive or reckless.

Middle stage of the tournament

If you have a big stack in the middle stage of a poker tournament you should play aggressively and use this advantage to pick on opponents with smaller chip stacks. Make raises that virtually put them all-in. If you get an opportunity to eliminate another player you should try to take it if you have a reasonably good chance of winning the hand. However, you shouldn’t get careless - things can turn around really fast in a poker tournament. It’s a good idea to stay away from confrontations with other large stacks unless you have really strong cards.

Late stage of the tournament

If you have a large chip stack late in a tournament, you should generally play very aggressively. Make big raises even though your cards are not very strong. However, you will need really good cards to call if one of your opponents makes a raise. Normally you should only play hands against players with smaller stacks than yours, since they will be afraid of getting knocked out. This tactic will give you a lot of pots and further strengthen your position in the tournament. Just like in the middles stages, rivals with big stacks should be avoided unless you have a very good hand.

Playing pocket pairs can be tricky at times, and making the right decision about how to play them depends on a lot of factors. In this article, I’ll try to break down the elements you should think about before and after playing a pocket pair. Also, in this article, I’ll deal with pocket pairs 99 and lower. I think that 10 10 through AA should be played aggressively preflop and not folded for much of anything, unless you feel in your gut that you’re beat by someone.*******

First, Position. If you are Under The Gun and hold 44, chances are someone has a hand that is better than yours, or at least as good as yours. Generally, I figure that I probably don’t have the best hand, and will only limp in with these small to medium pairs under the gun if the blinds are still relatively small. If the blinds are large, however, it’s not worth the risk. You only flop a set about 1 in 8 times, so realize that your hand won’t improve most of the time.

Late in a tournament when the blinds get big, I think you should either raise or fold; calling is not an option. A lot depends on the type of table you’re at as to what decision you should make (raise or fold). If the table is tight, make a solid raise. If the table is loose, and you expect someone to call your raise, what are you going to do when a flop of A 10 7 hits and you’re holding 66?
Second, in relation to position, action behind you needs to be addressed. Generally, it’s hard to justify a call with 22-66 when there’s been a raise behind you, even if you are in late position. 77-99 require a bit more judgment, but if you don’t hit a set, chances are, there will be overcards on the flop and you’ll have to fold the hand. Ideally, you want to see a cheap, multi-way flop. That being said, your ideal situation with a small to mid pocket pair is 4 or 5 callers with you being in late position.

If you’re in late position and no one has entered the pot, by all means, raise the pot. You do already have a made hand (a pair), so why not be aggressive and steal those blinds?

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The general rule of thumb, and one that should definitely be applied in a multi-way pot (3 or more players) is: No set no bet. If you’re isolated against one other opponent and you don’t think the flop hit him/her, take a stab at the pot. If you’re only in the hand with the Big blind, take a stab at the pot. If you bet when there’s multiple people in the pot, though, you can get yourself in a world of hurt, unless you flopped a set of course, which leads me to my next section…

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What happens when you hit a set? Well, the options are really endless, and obviously depend on the situation. If there are no flush or straight draws possible on the board, I think you should slowplay the hell out of your set. If there are draws out there, though, exercise a bit of caution. You’re still in line to win a nice pot, but if you slowplay too much, you’re letting players see cheap cards that could make their hand better than yours.

So, in summary, exercise caution when entering the pot with your small to mid pocket pair, and if you don’t hit a set, don’t bet.