Poker Strategy – Beginners Every poker player needs to have some sort of poker strategy. A good way to start building your strategy would be to familiarize yourself with the following: Texas Hold’em Poker Starting Hands -Getting to know what the best and worst starting hands are in Texas Hold’em and how the pre-requisites for playing those hands change with your position at the tables are vital to building a good foundation as a solid poker player. Top 10 Best Hold'em Poker Hands - If you play with one these 10 hands, you’re in good form. - Ace-Ace - This is the best Hold'em poker hand you can hope to have. It's the cream of the crop, and will win more times than any other starting hand.
- King-King - This 2nd-best hold'em hand is still a very strong hand which will win you a descent chunk of change.
- Queen-Queen - Two queens or "ladies" are a fairly good hand. Sure, kings and aces will beat you, but you've got the upper hand on jacks and lower.
- Ace-King - Ace-king is a strong but delicate hand. It is the strongest of the drawing hands, but the flop needs to work with you to give you a pair of aces or kings for it to really pay off. Suited it is slightly stronger than unsuited, as then you can also make the nut flush much more easily.
- Jack-Jack - A pair of jacks, ten-handed, will win almost 20% of the time. If the flop shows a queen, king, or ace, be careful, but otherwise, it's smooth sailing.
- Ace-Queen - Ace-queen is the second best drawing hand, and when suited, will win about 20% of the time as well.
- King-Queen - King-queen, especially suited, is a great drawing hand that is only fearful of an Ace falling on the board.
- Ace-Jack - Ace-jack is another great drawing hand. Suited is always better here, but unsuited is still playable.
- King-Jack - King-jack, especially in later positions, is a fine hand to play, but can be beat by any of the hands listed above and should be folded to big raises. Statistically, suited it will win just under 19% of the time, but unsuited that drops to just 15%.
- Ace-Ten - Ace-ten is still a good hand -- you've got the ace, and can make a straight if the miracle J-Q-K falls on the board. But be cautious when playing it too strong, especially unsuited, if all you end up with is a pair of aces, you may just be out-kicked.
Top 10 Worst Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em - These hands are almost-always-fold'em hands in hold'em and are also very important in improving your poker game and not playing like a “donkey”. - 2-7 - 7-2 off suit is considered the worst possible hand in Texas Hold'em. They are the lowest two cards you can have that cannot make a straight because there are 4 cards between 2 and 7. Even if they are suited, you will make you a very low flush, and if either card pairs, it's going to be a very weak low hand. Because it is the worst, some players will play it for fun and in online games, it is known as "the hammer."
- 2-8 - This is the same basic problem as above, only you've got an 8 instead of a 7. Still pretty bad for a high card. Suited or not, this is a fold'em hold'em hand.
- Tie: 3-8 & 3-7 - The 3 makes this hand able to beat the two above it, but with the 3-8 you still can't make a straight and the 3-7 still, well, just bites.
- 2-6 - Even if the board gives you a miraculous flop of 3-4-5, you will have a straight; someone with a 6-7 will have a higher straight. If you get a flush, someone will probably have a higher flush. Against even 4 players, this hand will lose about 90% of the time. Not great odds at all.
- Tie: 2-9, 3-9, & 4-9 - The only thing these three hands have going for them over the hands above is the 9. If the 9 pairs, you'll have a middle pair that could still be beat by anyone holding pocket 10s, jacks, queens, kings, or aces, yet you might be fooled by a board filled with low cards into thinking you have the best hand and losing a lot of money. No straights can fill the gap between these cards, either. Be wary.
- 2-10 - This hand is legend because Doyle Brunson captured two W.S.O.P Bracelets with it. But it's not a good hand -- Doyle Brunson is one of the all-time best in the game and unless you're a Texas road gambler who's logged thousands of hours at the table, you shouldn't try and win with the Doyle Brunson.
- 5-9 - Another hand people play because it's fun is the old 9 to 5, the "Dolly Parton." If you're playing to win, it's not a good idea to play hands because they have a funny name. That may be how you pick the winning horse in a race, but poker's a game of consistency, and over the long term there's no doubt this hand is a statistical loser.
- Tie: 4-7, 4-8, 5-8, 3-6... - All these hands will rarely win, especially unsuited. Fold 'em. Just fold'em. Yes, even in the little blind. If you see two low cards in the hole, unless you're in the big blind and you can see the flop for free, toss’em.
- Face card + low card, unsuited - One of the most common mistakes I see beginners make is that when they see any paint in their hand, they play it. J-2, Q-3, K-4 whatever -- and most of these hands are losers. They're junk that may win a few pots, but more often will lose you huge cash when you find the other player has a higher kicker and the winning hand.
- Ace + low card, unsuited - This is another common beginner mistake, playing any ace. It may win occasionally, and heads-up it's a fine hand, but at a table of 4 or more, this hand shouldn't be played if there's a raise in front of you. You're going to be outkicked a lot with Ace-little, and it's going to feel like a kick in the nuts when the other player shows their higher ace.
Understand Position in Poker Now that you know what hands to play or not to play one of the terms you hear often at the poker table is "position" as in "I've got position on you," or "I hate getting this hand in early position." Position in poker refers to where a player sits in reference to other players. If someone says "I've got position on you" -- it means he's sitting to your left, and will always act after you. Most often, position is used to define where a player sits relative to the dealer and whether you'll be first or last to act in a round of betting. Dealer Position insert picture Your position at the table is always relative to the dealer for that hand's position. That's one of the reasons the dealer button rotates around the table in poker, so that everyone gets equal time in every position. Being in the dealer position, or "on the button," is the most popular position in poker in games like Texas Hold'em, since after the flop, the person on the button will always be the last to act in each round of betting. You can get away with playing more subsidiary hands on the button because of this advantage. Early Position - Players to the three seats to the left of the dealer are said to be in "early position." This is considered the worst position in poker, since you have to act first without knowing how any of the other players are going to play their hands. Because you have to decide whether to fold, call, bet, raise without much information on the other players, it's a good idea to only play the best of cards here.
Middle Position - The players highlighted above are in middle position. It is sort of like a middle ground of positions. You get to see how the players in early position play their hands before you have to act, but there are still quite a few annoying players to follow you.
In general, you can play a little bit looser in middle position than early position, but you still need to be cautious.
Late Position - The best position to have in poker is late position, which is defined as the dealer and the players just to his right.
Being in late position allows you to have a lot more information about how the hand is going as you've seen how the majority of the table has decided to play their cards before you have to make your own choice of whether to call, bet, raise, or fold. Additionally, if no one has bet in a round, the players in late position may win the pot simply by betting a fair amount, this is called "betting position." Many poker players know about betting position and may call a bet as a bluff when the dealer or one before him bets, but it works often enough that it's worth trying once in a while.
Basic Poker Tells Read Your Opponents and Improve Your Game
One of the key skills most good poker players have is the ability to read their opponents at the table. That is why you hear a lot about “poker tells.” A “tell” is any physical reaction, behaviorism or tendency that gives the other players information about your hand. If you learn the most common tells, you can not only observe your own behavior to make sure your body language isn’t telling all your secrets, but also watch for the habits and tics in the poker players you’re at the table with. If you can accurately read your opponent’s tells, you’ll make the right decisions against them more often and win more money. Everyone has their own unique tics and tells, and it’s great to watch players and try to pick up on their unique tells. There are also a few involuntary and common tells that you can watch for even the first time you sit down with someone. As a general rule, remember that when a player acts strong, he’s probably weak, and when a player acts weak, he's probably got a really strong hand. Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Good Hand!"
Acting Uninterested in a Hand While Still in It - This is typically a sign of a strong hand. The player is pretending that he’s not excited about his cards – but he is. ·Shaking Hands
During a hand, if you notice a player’s hands are shaking as she places her bet, she probably has gotten a really sweet hand. Perhaps the nuts and is excited at the potential win. · Rapid Breathing
Some players can control the shakes, but it's harder to control the unusual heart-racing that one develops when you see pocket aces or hit the flop really hard. If you can see a player's chest visibly rising and falling, they have an excellent hand Sighing and Shrugging
If a player makes a show of sighing or shrugging, and says things like “Oh, I may as well call,” or even “I don’t know why im calling this?” he probably is overacting and is trying to hide a big hand. ·Glancing at Chips after Looking at Hole Cards
When a player looks down and sees her strong pocket cards, she may glance over at her chips to see just how much she can bet. Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Weak Hand!"
Staring Down Other Players
If an opponent is staring you down, he’s trying to represent his supposedly strong hand. Usually though, he has a weak hand – he might have something, but it’s something that can be beaten or drawn out on. ·Holding Breath
Often, inexperienced players will hold their breath if they are bluffing. Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Drawing Hand." Checking Hole Cards after a Flop
If the flop shows the possibility of giving someone a flush or straight draw, watch for people re-checking their hole cards. They’re checking to see if they have a piece of it – whether that red Ace was a diamond or a heart. The player doesn’t have the flush or straight at that point, because if they did, they wouldn’t have to check, but she is seeing if she has a draw to it. Taking a Long Time before Calling a Bet
If a player looks into the pot and seems to be doing some calculating in his head, he most likely is. He’s probably figuring out the pot odds to see if it’s worth it to try and catch the cards he needs to complete his drawing hand.
A final note with regards to poker tells: A more experienced player may give off false tells, so the first thing to read about other players is if they’re novices or pros. As well, keep a close eye on whether a players tells have changed to catch them out.
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