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Tuesday, 13 January 2009 00:48 |
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Whether playing Texas Hold’em in the real world or online, it is a well executed strategy that distinguishes the good players from the bad. Poker is more a game of skill than any other online casino game. It requires the player to be not just skilful, but well organised and prepared and capable of making informed decisions based upon the characteristic play of their opponents. Therefore a good solid strategy is the lynchpin of a successful player’s game and can make a big difference to the size of the player’s bankroll. The best strategic play is that which has been honed over a long period of time and plenty of practice and is something that cannot be simply listed as a set of instructions to follow. Instinct and experience dictate a large part of an expert’s strategy as no two games are exactly the same just as no two players can be expected to play the same way every time. The best strategy is all about knowing how to adapt to every situation in every game and still come out on top. However, everyone has to start somewhere and there are certain basic strategies that will apply to most game situations. To begin with, the most common strategies apply to the first two cards you are dealt and how these can be played to improve your winning chances, due to the relatively few combinations that can be created with just two cards. Let’s start with the best and worst starting hand scenarios. The best starting hand is a pair of aces, as this is the highest ranked pair and will set you up for the chances of an even stronger hand with the flop. To beat your opponents, you will need to make a two pair or better hand, although there is the slim chance that another player could be holding the other two aces in their hole. The worst starting hand possible is a 7, 2o (which denotes the cards are of different suits). It means you need four cards from the flop to make a straight or flush, which will in either case be low if it happens at all. If you only hit a pair, it will also be low and there will be other players that will almost certainly be capable of producing better hands if that’s the case. The best strategy if you are dealt 7, 2o is to fold and wait for a better hand to play. This knowledge already puts you ahead of novice players that will play this hand and lose on a virtually un-winnable hand. Any hands in between these two extremes should be played according to their merit, so a higher pair will be far more advantageous, although other combinations could also do well and you’ll have to trust your judgement on the chances of certain cards coming out in the flop, turn and river as to whether you play or fold early and save your chips for a better deal next time. When hitting a top pair, which means you have paired one of your hole cards with the highest card in the flop, while you have a potentially strong hand, there are some strategies to be aware of. While it is not possible to know for certain, it can happen that another player holds what is known as an overpair, which is a higher pair than the flop can produce. They may reveal their strength in a strong pre- or post-flop raise from an early position, which could also mean they may be holding a trip. This could be an early warning sign that you should fold. If you occupy a late position, you have a better chance to gauge if an earlier player holds an overpair or a high kicker. It also gives you the chance, if you hold a high kicker or strong pair yourself and no one else has come in with a big raise, to make a value bet which is small enough to tempt bluffers to stay in to swell the pot. When it comes to the turn and you are fairly sure there are no big hands out there, only make a value bet if you have a pretty strong top pair. This is because by keeping more players in the game, there are more chances that a higher card than your top pair may come out in the turn which could seriously devalue your hand. To avoid this happening, if you have a top kicker and are fairly certain you have the top hand judging by the other players’ betting it is sometimes a good strategy to make a protection bet of up to the value of the pot instead, in order to get other players to fold on drawing hands. If following your protection bet someone goes and re-raises you, consider the strength of your hand and fold if it is not strong enough to go all the way to the showdown.
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