Play Poker- Essential Strategies

 

 

Part 3

Essential Strategies

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   Know your starting hands. When you’re starting your initial round of betting, it’s important to know whether or not the hand you have is worth playing. In Texas Hold’em, you have two cards to start, and you’ll need to decide if you should play them or fold.

   • Hands to raise: Pairs of tens, face cards or Aces are almost always a good hand to raise with. An Ace and a King or an Ace and a Queen are strong hands as well. If you have these hands, bet before the flop to raise the value of the pot.
   • Hands to call: An Ace with a face card, or two consecutive face cards of a different suit are strong hands to call with. Two consecutive non-face cards of the same suit can work in your favor. Low pairs should call, but not raise.
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   Know when to hold and when to fold. The key to being successful at poker is knowing when to fold your hand and accept a smaller loss, or when to hold onto it and risk a larger loss knowing that you have a good chance to win the pot. If the flop comes and you’re holding a hand that doesn’t play, check and fold. You don’t want to keep betting money at a hand that won’t win. If the flop comes and you have a strong hand, bet at it. This will force weaker hands out and raise the value of your pot.

   • If your hand could play if the right cards come up, then you’ll want to determine if it’s worth holding out for them. Calculating pot odds can go a long way towards helping you make these decisions.
   • Pot odds are calculated by determining the percentage chance that you have to draw the card you need. To calculate them, count the number of outs you have. These are cards that will improve your hand. Multiply the number of cards times two, then add 1 to get the percentage. For example, if there are 10 cards in the deck that could improve your hand, you have about a 21% (10 x 2 + 1) chance of getting a card you need.
   • Next, you’ll need to determine if it is worth betting. Calculate the pot+bet, which is the pot total plus the bet to call. So if the pot is $120, and the bet to call is $20, then the pot+bet is $140. Multiply your percentage of your outs with the pot+bet. In the previous example, a 21% chance with a pot+bet of $140 would look like 0.21 x 140 = 29.4. This means you should call bets lower than %29 of the pot, or around $40. ^[1]
   • Working out the pot odds is only a guideline and doesn’t take a lot of variables into account. Use it as a basis to judge the worthiness of a hand.
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   Understand the psychology. Playing your opponent is arguably more important than playing your cards in poker. You have to be able to read what your opponent is doing, as well as trick them into not knowing your plan.

   • Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. You will lose hands, it’s guaranteed. Don’t let setbacks affect your attitude and playstyle.
   • Change up your pace. If you’ve been playing your cards close, and not betting wildly, start bluffing a bit more. If you’ve been bluffing, go back to playing tighter. Switching often will keep opponents from being able to predict your actions and guess your cards.
   • Read your opponent. Adjust your playstyle to your opponents’. Look for players that are betting carelessly, and try to trap them. Learn to see the tells, which can give you an estimation of their hand. Some basic tells: a hand over the mouth is usually concealing a smile; shaking hands is nervous, but that could be a good nervous or bad nervous; if a player glances at his or her chips when the flop comes, they probably have a strong hand; if a mediocre player is staring at you, he or she is likely bluffing.
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   Think on your feet. Don’t get bogged down with systems, react to situations as they arise. Every poker situation is different because of the human factor.
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   Plan your bankroll accordingly. When you are learning, you should never invest more than what you would consider “fun” to lose. Don’t add to your bankroll after losing everything you’ve invested. Wait until you are comfortable losing that amount again.

   • When you start winning on a regular basis, adjust your bankroll to maximize your earning potential. The general rule of thumb is you should be able to afford to lose 200 bets at the highest limit. So if the limit is $5 bets, then your bankroll should be $1000.
   • Track your wins and losses. This will help you figure out if you are winning or losing in the long run. Also, depending on where you live, you may have to pay taxes on your gambling income.