Texas Holdem Betting Tips
Good starting hand selection is very important
If you structurally choose to play better hands than your opponents then you will already have a great advantage over them. Especially if you are just starting out in Texas hold'em then good starting hand selection will keep you out of trouble after the flop.
The top ten best Texas hold'em starting hands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AA KK QQ JJ AKs AQs TT AKo AJs KQs The little 's' stands for 'suited' and the 'o' for 'unsuited' or 'of suit'. Good starting hands are those hands which either don't need to hit the flop (like big pairs) or often make the best hand when they do hit the flop. These hands make the best possible flushes and make top pairs with very strong second cards ('kickers').
The worst Texas hold'em starting hands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 72o 82o 73o
83o26 29
39
492To 59o 47
48
58
63Q3o
K2o
J5oA2o
A4o
A6oThe bad starting hands do not offer the possibility to hit a straight or flush with both cards; they are unconnected and unsuited. They will hit low pairs or top pairs with bad kickers and will lose you chips when your opponent hits the same pair with a better kicker. Don't play these hands. They will get you in trouble more often than not.
Keep an eye on your position
If you have the button or are close to the right of the dealer then you will be very likely to act last after the flop. This gives you an informational advantage over your opponents: you can see what they do before you have to act. Try to take advantage of this by playing more hands 'in position' then 'out of position'; play most of your hands when you are (close to the right of) the dealer.
Do not overplay single pair hands
Putting a lot of your chips in the pot with just a single pair rarely is a good idea. If you have a middle pair or a top pair with a weak kicker and are facing strong bets from your opponent then you are usually beat. Fold, keep an eye on this opponent and win your chips back when you are the one with the stronger hand and he or she isn't able to let go of the weaker hand like you did.
Don't slowplay big pairs
Big pairs like aces, kings and queens are great hands to be putting a lot of chips in the pot with unless you see the flop with many opponents. Then the chance of someone hitting a better hand than you will be bigger. Just raise your big pairs pre-flop to fold out the weaker hands that might flop a lucky two pair otherwise and to give yourself a higher chance of winning the hand.
Try to be the aggressor
If you are aggressive, meaning that you bet and raise a lot instead of just calling, then you give your opponent the option to fold to your bets. By taking initiative and being aggressive you therefore give yourself an extra possibility of winning the hand. Don't overdo it though; you don't want to be aggressive with a hand that would deserve a fold instead.
If you're playing the board, your opponent can see your hand
What this means is that if you make a hand with both your hole cards it will be more concealed for your opponents and the chance of your hand being second best is generally smaller. Don't draw to a one card straight, because it will be obvious to other players when there are four cards to a straight on the board. You will either win very little, or lose a lot to the player that uses both his hole cards to make a better straight.
Eventually knowing the odds is important
Having a rough idea of the odds of hitting your draws and of how to calculate pot odds is very important in order to play winning poker. Although for the first time poker player pot odds is not a subject to directly dive into (it takes some time to learn), it surely will be rewarding to follow this pot odds guide when you decide to play poker more often.
You can't win more than your opponent's stack
As obvious as it may sound, the smallest stack of you and your opponent will be the limit as to what you can win in no-limit games. If this stack is very small, it might not be rewarding enough to chase certain draws as you won't be able to win enough when you hit to make up for the times you miss and lose. Your 'implied odds' aren't high enough.
Texas Holdem Betting Tips Betting
Texas Holdem Betting Tips 1x2
Top 10 texas hold'em tips for the first time hold'em player. Good starting hand selection is very important. If you structurally choose to play better hands than your opponents then you will already have a great advantage over them. In Texas Hold’em, betting begins to the left of the dealer button and moves around the table clockwise. At the beginning of a hand, two players must make forced bets, called blinds, in the two seats directly to the left of the button. At any time, players have the option to call the current bet, raise the current bet, or fold their hand. For more info on this Texas Hold'em Tip, see how Jonathan Little takes notes on the poker table. #3 Slowplay For The Right Reasons There is a time and a place for slowplaying in poker, but not, for example, when you have AA preflop against a loose aggressive opponent. Slowplaying weak hands postflop is also a common newbie error. We complete a 10-part series of 'hold'em tips' with a discussion of bet sizing both before and after the flop, and in both cash games and tournaments.
Texas Holdem Betting Tips
Bet Sizing in the Post-Flop Stage of Texas Hold’em Let’s take a look at what happens post-flop. If you raise in the pre-flop stage, a continuation bet is expected. You should always correctly size your continuation bets around 50% - 70% of the pot size.