Hold’em Poker Strategy Guide

The following basic guidelines will hopefully speed up the learning process for any player new to Hold’em poker.

Luck v skill

It is often said that Texas Hold’em takes minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. At times the game can appear very simple and may create the illusion that the results are dominated by luck. In the short-term period of a single session or tournament a seasoned professional may lose heavily, whilst a complete beginner may prosper as luck can play a significant part. Over the long-run, luck evens itself out with the difference between winning and losing dependant on skill. The following basic guidelines will hopefully speed up the learning process for any player new to Hold’em poker.

The right poker skills

Poker rewards players with patience and discipline above all else. Inexperienced players have a tendency to play too many hands and then lack the discipline to fold in later betting rounds when the evidence suggests they are beaten. The key to winning is learning how to maximise your earnings on your best hands and having the discipline to cut your losses when you recognise you’ve run into trouble.

Play money to real money

If you have practiced your skills on the play money tables and feel you are ready to take on the challenge of real money poker, be prepared to make a few adjustments to your game as making the transition requires a much more conservative approach from the style you may be accustomed to. The betting patterns in play money games have very few similarities to those seen for real money as players rarely fold, considering they have nothing to lose. Alternatively, freeroll tournaments offer a much more competitive and realistic experience as there are often cash prizes to win. In a play money side game a player can simply add more chips every time they go bust, but if a player loses all of his/her chips in a tournament they can no longer continue and therefore lose their seat. These factors ensure the game is more conservative as players have a genuine motivation for looking after their chips which results in a more accurate representation of real money poker games. For beginners, freerolls or low buy-in tournaments are probably the most cost efficient method of learning the ropes. Afterwards, the tournament skills picked up can be adapted to real money side games with some adjustment in the strategy.

Hold’em poker basic strategy

Position

Before outlining which hands you should be looking to play and how to play them, it is very important to first realise the importance of your position in relation to the button. When you are seated on the dealer button, you will be the last player to act on every betting round (apart from the first round when the big blind position is last to speak). This is a great advantage as you gain the benefit of knowing what your opponents have done before you, which gives you more clues about the hands they are holding. However, if you are the first person to act on every betting round, there is no way of knowing what the other players are planning to do. This can create some difficult situations where it can be hard to know what to do. The implications are that in early positions you should only be playing the very best hands before the flop, and only fairly strong hands should be played from middle positions. In later positions a few more hands become playable, particularly if the pot has not been raised.

Hands to play

Check out our guide for the hands to play.

Knowing your opponents

Knowing how to play the cards will only get you so far until you learn to adapt your game to suit your opponents. The note taking facility is a useful feature as you can categorise opponents by their style of play so the next time you face them you will be better prepared. Whether you are in the hand or not you should be constantly monitoring the other player’s styles. Do they play too many hands? Do they always chase to the River? Do they overrate certain hands? Do they fold most of the time? How often do they bluff?

Bluffing

Pulling off a great bluff can be very satisfying but if it is attempted too often it can become a costly mistake. Some players will attempt to bluff on a regular basis in the hope that when they do hit a good hand, others will not believe it so are more likely to call. The pots won by such players are likely to be bigger than average, but they will also lose more on the hands when their bluffs fail. This risky style of play requires more skill and is likely to cause greater up and down swings. When starting out, a much tighter approach would be safer whereby the pots you win will be smaller but your conservative approach will allow you to get away with the occasional carefully timed bluff.

In low limit games where several players stay in the pot, bluffing is not particularly successful as usually there will be at least one opponent with a good enough hand to call with. As the bets are limited to small fixed amounts, it is harder to bluff in general, whereas in no limit a big raise puts a lot more pressure on an opponent if they only have a marginal hand. In higher limits, the games are generally tighter allowing a greater scope for bluffing. Successful tournament strategy requires the ability to know when and how to bluff, particularly in the later stages as players become worried they may not make it to the money.

Chip stack sizes

An important aspect of tournament play is to adjust your play according to your stack size and your opponent’s stack sizes. If you are low on chips (less than six times the big blind) it is often better to try and make a stand by raising all-in with a mediocre hand rather than waiting to be eaten away by the blinds. If you are lucky enough to have a large stack in comparison to others you can put pressure on the shorter stacks and perhaps take a few more chances. Don’t get careless though as the situation can change very quickly in a no limit tournament and you could quickly find yourself back down to an average stack. Try to avoid getting involved with other big stacks unless you have a premium hand as it is often not worth the risk of potentially ruining a comfortable situation with one needless mistake.

Blind stealing

As the tournament progresses, the blinds start to become more and more important on the fight for survival. During the first few rounds, the blinds represent only a small proportion of the total chips on the table, so winning them will not make much of a difference to your stack. Towards the end, the pattern of the game often changes to a fierce fight for a the blinds as it is often the case that a short stacked player can significantly improve their position by successfully stealing the blinds a couple of times. Players will start to take more chances, particularly in later positions where the likelihood of stealing is increased. Therefore in the early stages of a tournament you can afford to wait for the right opportunities, but later on if you are in trouble you cannot wait around hoping for aces. When you are in late position, no-one has yet called and the players in the blinds tend to fold often, it is often worth considering a steal raise with only mediocre hands.

General tips

Bankroll

The golden rule is ‘never play with money you can’t afford to lose.’ In games where the limits are too high you may actually play worse as you are too concerned about losing. You may find yourself not taking chances when you know you should be because you are playing ‘scared money.’ Putting yourself under this pressure takes the fun out of the game and is certainly not advisable. If you have aspirations for playing higher limits, take one step at a time and wait until you are consistently doing well at the lower limits before considering moving up. Do not get carried away with a couple of good sessions as short-term fluctuations in luck must be taken into consideration.

Going on tilt

‘Don’t throw good money after bad’ is another golden rule. Most players are prone to going on tilt every now and again after a bad run of cards or a couple of bad beats. They will start playing too many hands in a desperate attempt to get even. Try to keep your composure at all times and don’t be ruled by your emotions.