Texas Holdem Strategy and Tips

Texas Holdem Strategy for Beginners

When you sit down in a Texas holdem game for the first time, you'll probably be very confused about things like when you should raise and when you should fold. Even if you've read the books, all those notes you took will probably fly right out of your head when you're dealt your first hand. Here are some strategic shortcuts that you can use. You may even want to print this out and have it next to you for playing online.

Important note: this guide is intended for cash poker games (not tournaments) and limit Hold'em (not no-limit or pot limit Hold'em). And please don't try to use this strategy in a game higher than about $1/$2. Be sure to also take a look at the beginners' strategy for No Limit Texas Holdem SnG Tournaments.

Pre Flop Strategy

First, we need some shorthand to describe hands. KK means a pair of kings as your starting two cards. T9s means a ten and a nine of the same suit. K8o means a king and an eight of different suits. AJs means an ace and a jack of the same suit.

AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs, AKo, or AQs - RAISE

Don't worry about how many bets it already costs - just raise. Of course, if the betting is already capped, you can only call.

TT, 99, 88, 77, AQo, AJs, ATs, KQs, KQo, KJs, QJs - CALL or FOLD

If it's just one bet, then call. Once you've called one bet, then call however many more bets you must to see the flop. But if it's already two bets to you before you've put any money in the pot, don't call just fold.

All Other Hands - FOLD

This may seem like incredibly tight play, and it is. But you'll get the money this way. It will also give you time to watch the play of people around you and allow you to get comfortable with the game.

Playing the Flop

You can continue to play if one of the following things is true:

1. You have top pair or can beat top pair. Top pair is a pair with the highest card on the board. For instance, if you have KQ and the flop is Q-7-6, you have top pair. If you have QJs and the flop is K-J-3, you do not have top pair. If the same flop comes down and you have JJ or AA, you can beat top pair.

2. You have four to an open-ended straight. For instance, you have KQs, and the flop is J-T-3 (suits of the flop don't matter). Now either an ace or a nine gives you the straight.

3. You have four to a flush. That is, you have the king of hearts and the jack of hearts, and the flop is 7 of hearts, 3 of hearts, and deuce of clubs.
This limits you to two very specific situations: in case 1, you probably have the best hand. In cases 2 and 3, you have a very strong draw.

In case 1 (you have top pair or better), if you have top pair, bet or raise once, and then call any other bets. If you can beat top pair, bet or raise at every opportunity.

In cases 2 and 3, don't bet, but simply call all bets or check if possible.

Playing the Turn

If you still have top pair, then again, bet or raise once. After that, call all bets. However, if you only have top pair, and there is a bet and a raise in front of you, fold.

If you can beat top pair, particularly if you have three of a kind or better, keep raising as much as possible.

If you are still drawing at a straight or a flush, again, call any bets, but don't bet or raise.

Playing the River

If you have top pair, and were the last person to put a bet or raise in on the turn, then bet again. Otherwise check and call. Again, if there is a bet and a raise in front of you and you have only top pair, then fold.

If you can beat top pair, then bet at least once.

If you have three of a kind or better, then raise as much as possible.

If you were drawing and missed your draw (did not make the straight or flush) then fold. If you did make the straight or flush, then of course you have better than three of a kind and should raise as much as possible.

Position

In poker, "position" is the concept that defines how near you are to the dealer button. A player's position relative to the dealer button is important because it determines the betting order. In all but the pre-flop betting (due to the blinds on the first betting round), the player with the dealer button will be the last one to act. This provides the strategic advantage of seeing what other players do before committing to a course of action.

In poker strategy discussions, you will see "position" categorized as either "early", "middle" or "late". We call 'late position' the seat on the button and the 2-3 players just before it (counterclockwise from it). Early position is the players in the blinds and the first 2-3 players to the left of the blinds. Note: we say '2-3 players' for two reasons. First, not all poker players agree on exactly where the line should be drawn.

Second, the number of players in the game also impacts position. For instance, in a 5-handed game, 'early position' would generally be considered just the two blinds, in a 10-handed game the player just after the big blind is often considered to be in early position as well (there are still seven people to act after him).

Position is crucially important in all forms of poker, but particularly in Hold'em. Consider the very simplistic case where the river card has come down, you have the nuts and have just one opponent left. If he bets, you raise. If he checks, you bet. In short, you get to put one more bet in no matter what he does. Conversely, if you have the nuts but have to act first, you can bet and he may call or fold. You can try for a check-raise, but then your opponent might simply check behind you.

As another example, suppose that you call in early position with a marginal hand (such as a pair of 7's or 8's). If there is a raise behind you, you have gotten into an undesirable situation. But if you have that same pair of 7's or 8's in late position, then you can see how many players you may be up against if you raise. The general principle is that you need stronger hands to play from early position than you do from late position. If you play a hand from early position (knowing your bet could be raised or even re-raised) - you want it to be a strong one. Conversely, in late position you have the knowledge of what most of the players at the table have already done working to your advantage.