TH Gong :: Winning Texas Holdem Tips and Strategies

Top Online Poker Tips You Should Remember

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:47:04 +0000

Online poker rooms would be great places to test out your skills and find out the best playing strategy in poker games for yourself. At online poker room tables, there are chances that you will be faced with opponents that are more skilled than you.

First and foremost, you should do your research and study the basics of poker games. Memorize every potential poker hand out there, visit online poker forums, read poker books and chat with other players of poker.

After that, try out several free versions of online poker room games. 3-hand, 5-hand, Texas Holdem, Caribbean Stud, and Video Poker are all very fun to play.

Take complete advantage of any live deposit bonuses at your chosen online poker room. Almost every online poker room offers deposit bonuses for their brand new players that usually range from thirty to fifty dollars.

Place limits on money that you wish to gamble off before starting to play live poker games.

Whenever you play poker games, make sure you analyze the overall playing strategies and habits that your opponents put to use at online poker room tables.

As you start off, don’t play a lot of poker hands since you will definitely lose. Only play starting hands of higher value.

With your chosen low limits, it would be possible for you to play several live poker games for hours while spending less than you would on a regular movie ticket. Therefore, no matter how much you lose, you can think of this cost as small payments for nice evenings spent online, having fun.

Make sure that you only play poker within your current level of expertise. If you happen to be a novice at playing poker, don’t rush into online tournaments in poker rooms. After several months of trying to improve your skills within various live poker games, you can try your hand – but not from the beginning.

Find out how you can fold poker hands and learn when you should do so. If you don’t have anything, fold. There is not limit to how many times you can fold, so do so whenever necessary.

Become an expert at the art of picking out good starting hands of poker, making great use of pot odds, as well as aggressively betting any of your winning hands. We do not pretend to claim that our free tips on online poker will guarantee that you win a lot of money. Please keep in mind that this article was written for informational purposes only.

Why Texas Holdem is Best Played on the Internet

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:45:48 +0000

There are a lot of reasons why some people turn to Texas Holdem on the internet as a means to enjoy this well-known game. Before online Texas Holdem existed, people had to physically go to casinos, bars, or friend’s houses just to play a game of Texas Holdem. However, in today’s fast-paced world, these options aren’t always available to every player anymore.

A lot of players turn to Texas Holdem games on the internet since there are no casinos nearby for them to play at. And even if there were a casino close by, players of Texas Holdem might not wish to go since there is usually a high competition level at such places and huge buy-in requirements.

Visiting bars to practice strategies of Texas Holdem would not be a decent option, either; in fact, if your ultimate goal is to get better at your game, that should not be an option at all. At such games, several people take things far too seriously since they generally play for real money and have alcohol in their system.

If visiting friend’s houses to play games of Texas Holdem is what you do to enjoy your time, there could be one main problem with that: you will not face variable levels of competition. Whenever games are played against friends, you will end up picking up on their styles of playing in no time and won’t be able to gain any new skills that will help you in improving your overall game.

Playing online games of Texas Holdem would be the best option for a lot of people. Whenever you play games of Texas Holdem on the internet, you will be faced with various players and get to see how the game can be played with various strategies. You will also have the option to play with real money at minimal buy-in amounts.

The main reason why people turn to Texas Holdem on the internet would be its pure convenience. Playing on the internet means that game play can be done whenever it is convenient and it can be done from the comforts of home. A lot of players would rather play online since there are no distractions, no waiting and it can be found there 24/7.

Why not visit several well-known Texas Holdem websites on the internet today, so you can start playing for yourself immediately? It is possible to play Texas Holdem on the internet for free, though you also have the option to play with real money for convenient and enjoyable games whenever you feel like it.

Learning Poker – Lesson #9: Analyzing yourself and your opponents

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:39:30 +0000

We can’t say that analyzing is more important than the position. They both are very important. That’s why when you sit at the table you need to watch carefully and analyze the behavior of your opponents as well as your own reactions. It is not easy to do it but you can learn.

The facial expression, gesticulation, the body language can give you a lot of useful information relative to your opponents’ hands. You need to analyze them as well as to learn how to control your reactions since your opponents also will try to read you.

You need to be unpredictable, to change your playing style and not to allow them mislead you. Of course, your opponents will try to mislead you in order to make you take wrong decisions. This is their job. Stone face is not the only way to confuse your opponents. You can give a lot of wrong signals with your body, gestures, eyes etc.

The skill of reading the opponents needs to be developed. The professional players have already developed it. All you need to do is to analyze their reactions: when they call, when they fold, when they raise and what they do when they have certain hand. You don’t need to stare at them but to watch very carefully. And analyze. Analyze your actions too. Always analyze.

No matter whether you win or lose, you need to analyze your actions. Of course, it takes time to learn how to do it. Take your time and be patient. If you really try to develop that skill, you will definitely succeed. And one day, when you manage to make them read your hands wrong, you are going to win a lot of money and respect.

It is not true that good and professional players play only aggressively and don’t make mistakes. Of course, they do. They are humans. But they play very carefully and only when they have strong hands they use the aggressive style. You should do the same. Self-confidence is very important when you play poker. And self control. If you feel that you are not able to control yourself, just leave the table. That needs to be learned as well: to know when to stop. Just like in life. If you learn it, you already win the half of the battle.

Learning Poker – Lesson #8: The importance of position and possible combinations

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:37:57 +0000

The position at the table is extremely important. The worst position is considered the position of the player who is to acts first i.e. places the first bet during the pre – flop. This position is an early position and it is also known as “under the gun” (UTG) position. This is the third player, the player who is sitting next to the Big blinder (to the left). The third, fourth and fifth positions are the early positions. The sixth, seventh and eighth positions are the middle positions. The ninth position (cutoff i.e. the player who is to act before the last player) and the tenth position (dealer, or button) are the late positions which are considered the best. There are also Small blinders (sitting to the left of the dealer) who are to play before the last players during the pre – flop and first in the rest of the hands. Big blinders (sitting to the left of the Small blinders) on the other hand act last during the pre – flop and second in the rest of the hands. It is very important to build your strategy and make decisions based on your position at the table.

The possible combinations in poker are 2,598,960 total. Since we know that there are only 4 possible royal flushes (of each suit), you need to divide 2,5 million into 4 and you’ll know that you can form a royal flush if you play about 650,000 hands i.e. the odds are 1 to about 650,000; the odds for straight flush are 1 to 79,193; the odds for four of a kind are 1 to 4,165; for full house are 1 to 694; for flush are 1 to 509; for straight are 1 to 255; for three of a kind are 1 to 47; for two pairs are 1 to 21; for one pair are 1 to 2 (you can manage to form a pair almost every second game).

Learning Poker – Lesson #7: Different styles of playing and types of players

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:35:43 +0000

Before you start playing poker, you definitely should learn about the styles of playing and types of players. The main styles of playing are tight and loose. You play tight when you enter the game with strong hands only, fold when the hand is not very strong i.e. play very few hands. You play loose when you call and place bets even with weak hands i.e you play a lot of hands. There are aggressive players who usually raise and re- raise quite often. Against aggressive players you should call, raise and re -raise only in case you have a strong hand. On the other hand, there are passive players who don’t raise often, no matter how strong is their hand. Passive players usually raise when they have a really strong hand, otherwise, they call. But against a passive player you should not play a passive style. You can use this strategy only in case other players are aggressive.

Loose aggressive players are called Maniacs. As you can guess, these players play many hands and raise or call very often. The best technique against such players is to play only the strong hands and play tight and passive. Extremely tight players are called Rocks. They play don’t play a lot of hands and bets only on strong pairs. This technique is good only if you are playing against maniacs. Loose passive players are called Calling Stations. In the beginning of the game they usually call (very often) and later fold. Calling station is your goldmine (if you have it as opponent). Tight players usually win the calling stations. There are also weak tight players who know very well which hands are to be played but they don’t do it always right. Their decisions are usually standard but you need to be very careful when they bet or re- raise. TAGs are the tight aggressive players and they are probably the most successful players. They almost always play the right starting hands. Many professional players are TAGs. This technique is good when you play against passive players. LAGs are loose aggressive players. They play more hands but they are not very predictable. Anyway, the best technique against them is the tight play.

Learning Poker – Lesson #6: Poker hand ranking and evaluation

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:34:12 +0000

Before you start playing poker, you need to know how to evaluate your cards (hands). In order to do that, you must learn all poker combinations and the value of the cards. There are ten possible combinations you can get in poker (A combination of 5 cards). They are from the lowest to highest as follows:

The lowest combination is called high card – it may sound good, but it isn’t. High card means that you have five not related cards. In case tall players did not manage to form other combination, the winner is determined by the ranking of the cards. For example, A, K, 10, 7, 5 beats A, Q, 10, 8, 5 since A –K is higher than A – Q.
One pair is the next combination and it consists of 2 cards of the same rank and 3 not related cards. If two players have the same pair, the winner is determined by the cards which are not related.
Two pair is a combination consisting of 2 cards of one rank, 2 cards of another rank and one card which is not related. The higher rank determines the superior pair and the winner. In case two players have the same higher pair, the second pair ranking determines the winner. In case that these two players have the same two pairs, the winner is determined by the rank of the card which is not related. If they are also the same, the pot is to be split between the two players.
Three of a kind is a combination consisting of 3 cards of the same rank and 2 cards which are not related. It is also called set, triplets, or trips.
Straight is a hand which consists of 5 consecutive cards of mixed suits. For example, Q of hearts – J of spades – 10 of diamonds – 9 of diamonds – 8 of clubs (queen-high straight) will beat 10 of spades – 9 of spade – 8 of diamonds – 7 of spades – 6 of clubs (10-high straight).
Flush is a hand which consists of any 5 cards of the same suit which are not in sequence. If they were, the hand would be a straight flush. If two players managed to form a flush, the highest card ranking order determines the winner. For example, A-Q-J-7-6 of spades is higher than A-Q-J-5-4 of clubs;
Full house is a hand consisting of one three of a kind and one pair. The hand is also called full boat. The ranking of the triplets determine the full house. For instance, 10 of spades, 10 of hearts, 10 of clubs, 9 of diamonds and 9 of spades are to be called 10’s full of 9’s.
Four of a kind is a hand consisting of four cards of one rank and one not related card. For instance, Jack of spades, Jack of diamonds, Jack of clubs and Jack of hearts and 10 of spades. Four Queens beat four Jacks. The hand is also called quads.
Straight Flush is a hand consisting of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit such as 8, 9, 10, J, Q; 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 etc.
Royal flush is nothing but an ace high straight flush and it is considered the best poker hand since it is the highest. There are four possible royal flush combinations: 10, J, Q, K, A of any of the suits.

Learning Poker – Lesson #5: Basic folding strategy

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:33:12 +0000

You usually fold in the following situations:

When you have a weak hand;
When a tight player has opened the game in early position, you fold even if you have a strong hand;
When you believe that other players have stronger hands than yours;
When there are too many players;
When your hand is not strong enough, so you can’t call or check –raise;
When the players are too many and you are in early position;
When you do not intend to use bluffing strategy

Learning Poker – Lesson #4: Basic re-raising strategy

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:30:26 +0000

You usually re -raise in the following situations:

When you have calculated the odds (your odds) and compared to your opponents’ hands they are 2 to 1;
When you want to convince your opponents that you are not very experienced, especially if you are actually an aggressive player;
To make your opponent stop bluffing;
When you have a strong hand and your opponent is an aggressive player who probably will re –raise;
When you want to make experienced tight players to play passive with strong hands since that will decrease your loss.

Learning Poker – Lesson #3: Basic raising strategy

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:28:44 +0000

You usually raise in the following situations:

When you have a very strong combination and you want to increase the pot;
When you want to make your opponent to check during the next betting i.e. to scare him;
When you believe that in this way you will change the pot odds;
When you have a strong hand and you are sure that other players won’t fold;
When you are convinced your opponent is bluffing;
When you decide to bluff with not that strong hand;
When you intend to improve your hand during the next betting round and you want to make your opponents fold ( the players with higher combinations but not high enough to answer your raise) i.e. when you use semi-bluffing strategy;
When you already managed to form a very strong hand such as straight, flush or full house;
When you want to convince other players that you are a loose and aggressive player and you raise having not a very strong hand;
When you need to understand what are the hands of your opponents i.e. to “read” their hands.

Learning Poker – Lesson #2: Basic calling strategy

mark — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:27:30 +0000

You usually call in the following situations:

When you have calculated the pot odds and they are favorable for you;
When you need other players to accept you as a loose player;
When you have a strong hand but the game was opened by a tight player in early position;
When you don’t want the player after you to re-raise;
When you want to keep a player in the game who is bluffing and you want to keep it that way;
When you have a chance to improve your combination later (with draw or free card /s);
When there are only loose players at the table;
When you think you have the same strong combination as your opponent, so the chances to win and to lose are equal;
When you have a winning combination and you can raise but you want to keep the other players in the game since if you raise, they can fold;
When you want to bluff later;
When you figure that your opponent has a weak hand;
When you need to convince your opponents that you call quite often, so you can make them stop bluffing