Basic Texas Holdem Strategy - top ten tips
1, Be picky, the most common error new and inexperienced players make is to get too involved and play too many hands and this means they lose more often. This is a natural desire but fight it and avoid it at all costs!.
To consistently come out on top you need to have a strong understanding of which starting hands to play with and which to fold. Our Starting Hands guide will help you with this.
2, If you are dealt a strong pre-flop hand then play aggresively, this will get money in the pot early on and encourage weaker hands to fold. It is important you get them to fold early and get them out of the way as they can still get lucky on the flop. If they do stay in then make them pay!
3, If you are dealt a low value pair, then play cautiously and ONLY play if the betting is cheap, if when the flop comes you don’t get three of a kind or two pairs then we would suggest folding at this stage.
4, If you have options after the flop then play aggresively. If your hand has the chance of making a straight, flush or three of a kind then get raising.
5, If a uniform flop occurs - i.e. 7-8-9 then watch out - even with a top pair someone could make a straight. This also applies to suited flops. If three clubs appear for example, chances are that someone could make a flush.
6, If you are playing in a large game, then beware of ‘good’ hands. Example in a full ring game if six or seven players are still in a hand then its odds on that one of those players is holding something strong that is going to knock you for six - trying to bluff with a pair is just not going to work!!!
7, In short handed games or in heads up play it can be hard to get a good hand - so that a pair of 3’s you are holding may not be that bad so stick with it!
8, Don’t start playing more aggresively just because you are having a losing streak as this will not win back your losses. Luck will even itself out and bad beats are part of the game - just keep playing your game and you will be OK - losing your rag (going off tilt) is a bad thing!
9, Learn the probabilities of making certain hands in any given situation, play the odds well and you will play well - check out our hand probability chart here.
10, Play as often as possible - there is no substitute for experience.
11, (OK we said top ten tips but what the hell!) Study your opponents. Watch how they bet, flop, call and bluff. Do they act quickly, do they take time to act? If you’re looking to play regularly - make notes on the players you come across. Having notes to refer back to can give you an edge in future games.
12, Getting caught bluffing once in a while isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can even be worth deliberately getting caught playing a bluff in a certain way, thus making it harder for opponents to read your game. Just don’t throw away too much cash!!
13, Vary your playing strategy from time to time. Play the same way all the time, and good players will work you out.
14, Learn from your losses. They often provide you with more telling information about how to play the game than winning. Whatever happens, don’t give up.
15, Watch high-stakes tables. The higher the stakes, the better calibre of player it tends to attract. Watch these tables, study how they play and assimilate this information into your game. It’ll pay off against players at lower levels.
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