|
Texas Holdem Betting Strategy
A
bet is a gamble that one of two possibilities to the game
of poker hold true:
1.
"You have the best hand and you'll wager money
on it" or,
2.
"You have a poor hand, and you will fold if you
are forced to wager on it".
Typically, players like to bet
when they have a good hand. Players who don't have good hands
are supposed to fold. Of course, if poker was so simple there
would be no need to even think about betting at all. Most
players play contrary to this idea and they often attempt
to bet into a pot with bad hands (second best hands) and slow
play the good hands (meaning they do not bet enough when they
have the winning hand). Don't fall into this trap when you
are just learning to play. Stick to the winners and fold 90%
of the time before the flop – if you can do that –
only 5% of gamblers fold into the flop over 89% of the time
– and they are the winners at the table. I know this
is almost impossible to do but if you can do it you will definitely
win money. As a matter of fact one of the top professional
poker players in the world, Phil Hellmuth jr., gives all beginners
a big tip by listing his “TOP TEN” playable hands
in Texas Holdem as follows:
| 1 |
A -
A |
2 |
K -
K |
| 3 |
Q -
Q |
4 |
A -
K |
| 5 |
J -
J |
6 |
10
- 10 |
| 7 |
9
- 9 |
8 |
8 -
8 |
| 9 |
A -
Q |
10 |
7 -
7 |
|
For additional insight to the
game of Texas Holdem please purchase Phil Hellmuth’s
book “Play Poker Like the Pros” and read it over
and over again until his teachings become second nature to
your style of play. To be able to put Phil’s words into
practice takes extreme patience but at the end of the day
listening to a World Series of Poker Champion is a reasonably
safe bet (excuse the pun).
Here are other situations that
if played properly can help you improve your game:
Example one: Blind-stealing
When you are in the dealer's
position, and only you and the blinds remain in the game,
a raise is often called "blind-stealing". This is
because the blinds often fold, whereas if you didn't raise
but simply called, the blinds would simply check. This is
a very sneaky way to make a buck or two, but this strategy
alone will never make you rich. It’s more of a way to
end the game fast and have a new hand dealt.
Example two: The steal-raise
If you are last to act and all
players have checked to you, and you start the betting so
as to limit the number of players in the hand or better yet
to hopefully win the pot by default. This strategy is called
a steal-raise. Don't use this exclusively, as better players
will be onto you quickly and begin check-raising against your
hand. It is good to use a steal raise when you have an excellent
drawing hand such as a nut flush draw. Players will tend to
"check to the raiser". If you draw to your hand,
you now have a larger pot to win. If you don't, you can always
check, and hope the fifth card makes your hand.
Example three: The check-raise
Check raising is checking to
your opponent, with the intention of luring them to bet, so
that you can raise them back. Your intention is to lure them
into a false sense of security so that you can raise them
and increase the pot (remember, after one bet is committed,
it’s more likely they'll commit to two anyway).
Example four: The opener
This reckless move is often
done by people who bluff. It is when the person first to act
raises, making all other players call two bets at once. It’s
inteniton is to limit the number of players. Basically, this
move amounts to a backwards steal-raise. The effect will almost
certainly cause many players to fold, but the ones remaining
will either be equally aggressive or truly have a great hand.
This is also known as betting for information. This tactic
is best used with few players in on a hand and is actually
a good move when you have great cards.
Example five: Squeezing
Squeezing is a tactic only used
in a short-handed game. It's betting when you have a good
hand currently, and you suspect another player or players
may be on a draw. For example, you have top pair with the
best kicker. Chances are they won't make their draw (be it
a straight or a flush draw, etc). Your goal is to limit their
pot odds.
At
the end of the day betting in Texas Holdem is an aspect of
the game that is learned through experience and not usually
taught in an online texas holdem web site, however it is safe
to say that you should have some really good cards most of
the time when you are betting … otherwise you may be
an unhappy gambler.
|
