Texas Hold'em Strategy

Texas Hold'em strategy is quite simple, online poker players should try mastering Texas Hold'em before they move on to other poker games.

Hole-Cards:

The combinations on two cards is quite limited but the best combination is A-A combination.  Your chances of being dealt this combination occurs every 220 deals, it's a good idea to bet as much money as you can on this hand.  After a A-A combination the next best hand to hold is a high pair (K-K, Q-Q) or an Ace with a high kicker (A-K).

Pairs:

Pairs are not to be discarded, they can be converted to triples or even four of a kind on the flop.  On average you will be dealt a pair every seventeen hands and if you stay in you stand a chance of converting your pair to a trip on the flop once in 8.8 times, odds of 8 to 1 is not bad.  When evaluating pairs you need to know there are big gaps in the value of pairs.  Aces, Kings and Queens are high, Jacks, 10's and 9's are of medium value and anything below is considered low value pairs.

Ace with High Kicker:

An Ace with a high kicker is a combination of and Ace and a King or Queen.  It is of more value than medium to low pairs especially if they are suited.  This hand is worth betting on.

For example, you have an Ace and a King and An Ace appears in the flop you then have the highest pair and the highest kicker, the King.  If the get a pair is Kings then the Ace is the highest kicker.  The only other hands to beat you is a triple, straight, flush or four of a kind, all fairly rare hands.  A hand with an Ace and Queen as a high kicker is good but another players hand of an A-K will beat you if there is an Ace in the flop.  Hands with an Ace and a medium kicker (J, 10, 9) could be useful but I would not bet all on them.  When deciding to bet on hands with an Ace and medium kicker you should consider that a pair of Jacks or 10's would be a better pair of hole cards.

Ace with Small Kicker:

An unsuited Ace with a small hand is definitely not a good hand as it ranks below a combination straight or flush.  A hand with an Ace and small kicker that is suited is well worth a try due to the chance of an Ace high flush.

An example.  You hold an Ace and a 5 suited, three of the community cards need to be of the same suit and you will be holding an Ace-high flush.  An Ace-high flush could also be nuts according to the other cards on the table.

Unpaired High Cards:

Hands with high cards such as a King and Queen or a King and a 10 might be the best ranked hands before the flop but they could easily lead to trouble on the flop, more so if they are unsuited.  Let's say you have a King and a Jack, you could flop a King and have the highest pair but if you flop a Jack it is unlikely that you will have the highest pair.  If you are holding an Ace and a 9 that is not suited you are definitely taking a chance.

Flush and Straight:

Straights or Flushes are hands that can win the pot!  Holding cards of the same suit or that are consecutive is just the start of a five card flush or straight.  These types of hands are called "drawing hands" as you need to draw a series of cards to improve them.  Hands that are consecutive and straight are better bets than just a plane straight or flush, obviously.  Hole cards that are 9-8 down to 5-4 suited are worth about the same as a small pair.  Combinations that are suited but cannot make a straight, such as 9-3 or 10-2 are best discarded.  Combinations that are unsuited but consecutive, the higher the better, are worth betting on but anything lower than a Queen - Jack combo can be considered to have less value than a small pair.

Other Combinations:

If both your hole cards are low cards (Jack and lower), unsuited and there are large gaps between the cards (e.g. J-7, 8-2) it is best not to bet on them.  This does not mean that hands of 5-4 unsuited or 3-2 suited is worth betting, they aren't.

Table Position:

Your position at the table in Hold'em, relative to the dealer, is important.  The closer you are to the dealers right arm the better your chances are of deciding if you have a good hand.  This is due to the fact that fewer people speak after you.  The dealer is in the best position because he has the last say (excluding the first round where the Big Blind has the final bet).

This is best explained using an example.  You are sitting after the big blind and get dealt a better than average hand, say an A-10.  You call and a later player raises and others call (you'll have to call as well to match the bet).  The flop reveals 8-6-2, which is of no help to you.  You check but the other players bet, the player that bet has a possible pair or A-K, all you have is an A-10 so it would be best to fold.  Let's say you are the last to speak and the other players all check, the A-10 hand seems better.  A bet might force some of the other players to fold.  To be able to bet in the early positions requires a stronger hand than to bet in the later positions.

Flop Strategy:

Texas Hold'em flop strategy depends largely on what kind of player you are but always remember that you need a strong hand when betting early in the round.  Players that bet later will have guessed at the type of hand you have by the way you bet.  A thing to remember is that the communal cards belong to all the players, if there is a pair of Aces on the table chances are that somebody is already holding two pairs or even triples.

After the flop strategy:

The flop is crunch time, good pairs of hole cards can be rendered worthless while mediocre hands can become very strong.

Flop does not help:

If the flop has not improve your hand, fold.

Flop improves hand slightly:

The flop has helped you slightly and you now have a medium pair, the chances of getting a flush or straight by choosing the right card/s on the fourth and fifth street.  The chances are slim that you will get these top combinations at this stage so it would be wise to fold.

e.g.  You hold a 10H-9H and the flop is AH-JC-9D.  You now have a medium pair (9H-9D), possible flush (two Heart Cards), possible straight (any K or Q)  and so on.  Now if the other players are betting the chances of them holding a hand that beats yours is very high.  If you are to win the game you have to get a K and Q on the next two rounds.  What happens if you get a K on the fourth street and another player bets?  The chances of you getting a Q on the fifth street is slim indeed, would you be willing to risk all those chips?

Hoping to fill in flushes and straights are poor bets especially in pot limit and no limit games.  Imagine calling a huge bet with a hand like that.

Flop does help you:

When the flop does help you (if you have used the hole card strategy) you should bet.

If you have bet on a medium pair of 9-9 and the flop comes up 5-K-9 you now have a triple and it is worth betting on.

Your hole cards are an A-K, which is a good hand to bet, and there is an Ace in the flop, you now have the strongest pair with the highest kicker (A-A-K), this is a good hand to bet on as it can only be beat by two pairs or a trip.

If you are holding a pair and there is no card in the flop that is higher than the rank of your pair (i.e. Q-Q and the flop is 10-5-8) then you most likely have the strongest pair but you need to bet with caution.  An A or K could appear in the fourth or fifth street and your Q pair would probably not be the strongest pair any more.

The following hand can lead to a lose or win on the flop.
Situation A;  you are holding a medium pair (8-8) and the flop show A-8-K you now have a triple but someone with an A or K could just have paired and with the fourth and fifth streets still to be dealt and Ace or King could give them the winning trip.
Situation B:  your hole cards are 8-8, same as above but the flop is an unsuited 6-8-2.  Your hand is now worth betting on.  A flush is unlikely as no player can hold 4 suited cards and there is no card with a higher rank your thus removing the chance of another player having a higher trip than you.

A hand with two pairs after the flop is not necessarily that good.  Your hole cards are 5-5 and the flop is Q-8-8, you have two pairs but all the other players will also have a pair.  A player that has a Q will beat your two pair.  This kind of flop has not helped you with your hand as you need a full house or four of a kind to win if another player has a Q in his hole cards.

Suppose your two pairs came from the flop like this; your hole cards are JC-10C and the flop is 10H-JS-KD, your hand is quite strong but a players with hole cards of KS-10H (higher ranked) and QH-9S (straight) will still beat your hand.  Even someone with a KH-6D combo might be betting on his pair of Kings and if a 6 appears in the turn or river would require you to get a Full House to win.

Fourth Street Strategy;

Fourth street seldom brings any action as hands that are in are seldom improved.  Flushes are what you need to keep an eye on, if there is three cards of the same suit after the turn then your opponents may have a flush.  This is where our skill as a bluffer comes into play, the player that is holding a possible flush may bluff and check, to try and get you to bet.  You might at this stage try and bluff as well...you might also be holding a flush.

Fifth Street:

When you get to the fifth street you are either going to have a good hand or not.  Completing a flush or straight on the turn or river (by the back door) is always possible but not probable.  These are games of chance, you are just increasing the odds by playing with a certain strategy.

Bluffing:

The pros on at huge poker competitions have bluffing down to an art.  Blinds are used to force players into bluffing as they will eat away at reluctant players pile of chips quite steadily.  Some things to look for in no limit hold'em is players with small piles, you may be able to bluff them out of chips as they will be reluctant to bet their chips on poor hands.

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