Texas Hold'Em

Texas Hold'Em Strategy & Tips

Many Texas Holdem Poker players develop their own strategy of play via playing experience. Indeed this is a tip in itself; to just log into Littlewoods and play! However, if you're looking for a little extra knowledge, there are various tips and strategies that can help you play with confidence.

The pocket cards

Firstly it is important to consider your position on the table at the beginning of each hand. It is widely recognised that the closer you are to the left of the dealer (including the blinds) the more of a disadvantage you have. The reason for this is because the player who is last to bet (the dealer) has information on all other players in terms of their decisions. A player to the right of the dealer can make initial betting decisions based on other player's decisions, a player to the left of the dealer does not have this advantage. With this in mind a valuable tip to remember is to only play a weak hand if you are in a late position and you are unthreatened by player action previous to your turn. I strong hand can be played in any position but you should definitely consider not raising the bets with a weak hand in an early (left of the dealer) position.

There are 169 possible starting hands in Texas hold'em, almost half of which are considered as weak. Knowing which hands are weak and which are strong is knowledge increased with a healthy understanding of the rules and after suitable experience at playing the game. In its most basic form, a strong starting hand is one with a matching pair, high cards in the same suit or just high cards. A weak hand may be considered as one with unsuited low cards, and/or a large difference between the card values.

The flop

The flop (three community cards drawn) is often considered the most important part of Texas hold'em. The flop will tell you if you have a good hand, whether you've got a chance of winning or whether you have nothing at all. It is important not to relay on much more than the flop to determine your final hand outcome. If the flop reveals nothing that can help your two pocket cards and shows something that's could possibly benefit somebody else you should consider checking where possible and folding your cards.

Again, knowing what you can benefit from the flop is something that you can learn while playing with Littlewoods. Experience will help you to make your decisions correctly for example; if you have 3 of a kind from the flop- bet and raise, or if you have a flush or better play un aggressively as to not warn off your competitors.

Is it worth it?

So if you've got a good starting hand and the flop has been beneficial to you it's time to consider how to play for the 'turn card' and the 'river card'. If you're still in the game at this point you need to consider the pot odds. This is a process of comparing the chances of winning the hand to the potential payoffs. Firstly divide the potential total pot amount (how much you stand to win) with your required call price (how much you need to add in order to stay in) to get the pot odds. For example if the pot amount was £5 and you needed to put in £1 to call that's a pot odd of 1:5. Now work out the odds of hitting a high hand from the next two cards (providing you haven't already from the flop); if the odds of getting the card you want is higher than the pot odds you should fold (see table below). For example, if you need 1 diamond from 2 cards to complete a flush draw, there are four suits available so you have a 1:4 chance of gaining a diamond. If you had to pay £1 to meet a £3 pound pot your pot odds would be 1:3; lower than your card odds. Therefore you should consider folding your hand. This strategy does not consider other players cards and the element of luck which is paramount to the game of poker but it is a mathematical decision that you can consider whilst playing online. Consult the table below to get an overview of the odds.

Summary

This is a basic strategy to play but Texas hold'em is mainly about playing in your own way confidently. Play and learn the game with confidence with Littlewoods Poker.