Texas Hold em is one of the most exciting poker games you can play online. While it is an easy game to learn, it has turned out to be a difficult game to master. Many players at the beginning of their career find winning an easy task, but as they get deeper into the money and tournament tables, they discover that Texas Hold’em is a difficult game that requires a lot of skill and knowledge. . In this article we will cover some of the most fundamental tips and advice that will prove to be very beneficial for new players.
learn to fold
If you don’t learn when to fold, you will end up losing huge amounts of money. There is an old and classic saying that says; Don’t hold them! fold them! This is absolutely true and it is the basic principle that you must understand about this game. But to follow this rule, you must also know which cards to fold. In general, you should fold starting hole cards that are below TJ and are not even. For example, you can play an 8-8 and even a 3-3, but you shouldn’t stick with a T-8. You can stick with an A-6 but you shouldn’t go blind with a T-7. To better understand this, you need to learn what starting hands to play, but in general remember not to hold anything below TJ. There are some times when you will win with a 7-8 making a straight and many more times when you will lose.
Another aspect is the flop. The Flop is one of the most crucial stages as 3 of the 5 cards on the board are revealed and players who make a connection to the Flop start betting the pot. So there’s no need to keep betting if you don’t make a connection on the flop. The only exception to this is if you have a fairly strong pair in hand and all of your open cards are lower ranked. For example, you have KK, the flop opens 4-T-9. But if you have a weak pair like 3-3 and the flop opens QK-9 and the remaining players start betting, consider folding since you are the underdog. As you understand, poker is quite complex. He demands a lot of judgment and even divination skills. Remember that each round is unique. In order to better appreciate your opponents hand you must estimate the flop in relation to their bets.
learn the rules and the classifications
People think they know the rules, but sometimes the game can be tricky. For example, in Texas Hold’em you can use all the cards on the board. There are many players who seem to ignore this rule; they fold after the river when the board has a flush or a straight and there seems to be no better potential hand between the players. For example, you have a QJ and your opponent a KT. The board has an AQJK-10. In this case, you can fold considering that, according to the betting, your opponent has a better hand, but the board has a straight and it is visible that there cannot be a higher straight. So you share the pot regardless of your hole cards.
Create a strict-aggressive image
A Tight player is a player who folds with weak hole cards but plays quite aggressively when he has a good or strong hand. To create a good image of yourself, lay out your cards at the Showdown stage (whether you win or lose) suggesting that your bets or raises were justified by your strong hand. This way, your opponents will believe that you are a player who bets only when you have a good reason to, and they will be more willing to fold in the next few rounds. You can take advantage of this image if you decide to bluff. But don’t overdo it, as bluffing is another skill that requires a lot of experience, especially estimating your opponents and their hands as well.
Understand your opponents
You must estimate the profile of your opponents at the table. There are players who bluff, who play only the strong cards, who play all hands, and players who bad beat all the time. Trying to understand what cards your opponents are playing can be difficult, especially at first, but it’s a must if you want to better control the game. Over time you will see players whose bluffs are exposed by other players. Try to remember who is bluffing and who is not. It can help you in later rounds. Look out for players who play too aggressively most of the time, and also look for players who expose their cards at the end of a round. This means that they want you to believe that they only play small or strong hands in order to take advantage of this at a later stage.
take your time to learn
You can try practicing your poker skills at the fun mode tables and the micro limit tables where bets start as low as 0.02 cents. In this way you will feel much more secure when taking risks. Texas Hold’em requires a lot of practice. So take your time to read up, test your skills and practice your knowledge before joining the high stakes tables.
Quick tips:
- Play at six-seat tables if you want easier control over your opponents.
- Free-roll tournaments are free to play and a good place to familiarize yourself with the tournament structure and rules.
- Always view poker in general as a source of entertainment and not a source of profit. If you are afraid of losing your money, don’t play in the first place. To take risks, you must be able to afford them. Play responsibly and you won’t lose.