Basic Texas Hold'em Strategy Part 1

Evaluating your Cards and the Table

The first decision you make in any round of poker is evaluating your cards. When you look at your cards make sure that you give little or no information to other players. A positive reaction to your cards might scare away other players if you drew a good hand, decreasing the value in the pot. In Texas Hold’em this is especially important because the only cards that set you apart from your opponents is your two cards.

Knowing what is good

A good general rule to follow is to fold immediately if you draw a non-pair with both cards less than ten. These hands put you almost entirely in the hands of the flop, meaning that it is essentially completely up to luck for you to get a winning hand. Actually your chances are statistically less than other players unless the flop gets you a straight or a flush. However some players will choose not to fold in the case of eight and nine of the same suit (or similar situations) because of the possibility of a straight or flush. This is normally regarded as an aggressive play that is more likely to lose in the long term.

            In terms paying in it is important to realize the value of the ante. If the big blind is low enough it may is worthwhile to pay in to see the flop even if you have weak cards. This forces you to pay into the pot every round but if played right, it can reverse this loss and then some with the potential of a great hand. Especially in Texas Hold’em you will often draw poor or completely useless hands. After a series of bad hands, a player might be tempted to play aggressive off of a mediocre hand (because it is good compared to the previous weak hands) unless they can bluff effectively it often leads to wasting chip attempting to grow the pot when you don’t have the cards to win. The good hands will eventually appear, but you must be willing to wait and not play too aggressively with your chips.

The Flop

One of the biggest problems with newer players is the idea that they cannot back out of the round after the flop. In their mindset, once they invest into the round they see backing out as losing chips. However it is much more accurate to describe backing out of a round as maintaining tempo. Losing heavily in a round makes you play more conservative, and therefore limiting your possible gain. More than often the best option is to check. Checking gives you a chance to see more cards if your hand is weak, and if it is strong, you can convince other players that it is not.

Example of Texas Hold'em odds: