A Texas Holdem strategy guide is something that can be both good and bad, it will work sometimes and others, it just won’t. This is because online Texas Holdem Poker can differ from game to game, opponent to opponent and the simple fact is, there are just too many variables to consider when playing. This makes pre-planning a strategy a difficult task at best. The only sure fire strategy that you can always count on is to play the player, not the hand
Texas Holdem Strategy – Learn the game
The first and MOST IMPORTANT Texas Holdem strategy is to know how to play the game. You will need to have knowledge of the hands, the rules (including the various Texas Holdem terms) and how to play the game. Without this, all strategies and techniques will be completely useless. If you want to learn how to play the game, visit our How To Page for a comprehensive Texas Holdem guide
Playing the player
Playing the player is probably the simplest Texas Holdem Strategy out there. It might take a little bit of practice to perfect, but when you do, it will be one of the most effective ways to win. As simple as it sounds, it will take a little bit of work and you shouldn’t expect to sit down at a table and immediately know what is going on. You will need to spend a few moments observing your opponents, looking for certain characteristics such as movement, twitches and in the online Texas Holdem, studying their betting methods.
In land based poker, you will be able to get a first-hand look at the people or person you are playing against, but online Texas Holdem poker is a little difficult because all you will see is an avatar or a preset image. To read the player in online poker, you will need to pay close attention to how they bet, when they fold and when they raise. If for example, a player goes all in without seeing the river cards, chances are he’s trying to bluff or if he keeps on raising big, he will most likely be trying to buy his way out of the bluff by scaring off competitors.
Card Counting
In many cases, card counting does not work and is severely frowned upon by the casinos but in the case of Texas Holdem, it is a necessary evil. It does not work the same as it would in Blackjack, but it will help you to guess the possibility of a player having a certain set of cards. For example, your hold cards are an ace and a jack and the river contains another ace as well as a jack. The chances of a player having the other two aces as well as the other two jacks are extremely slim so it would be safe to assume that you have a fairly decent hand and you would be able to bet. You will of course need to do some research into the various odds (similar to that of our blackjack graph found on our blackjack strategy page) but once you have it, you will be able to memorise it and carry on with your game. If you are a mathematical genius on the other hand or a mentalist, then both the card counting and reading the player will be extremely simple.
Betting
Before you play Online Texas Holdem Poker, set out a budget, one that will only permit you to play with and lose what you can afford. This will allow you to plan your bets accordingly and will prevent you from going all in on a pair of two’s. Careful betting will also allow you to carefully coax a player into betting more than they should. This is a particularly effective tools if you know that your hand is unbeatable and you want to milk the opposition for all they are worth. Instead of going all in on the first turn, you will be able to slowly increase the bets which will prevent the opposition from scaring and will allow you to win a much bigger pot.
Start slow and know the game
Even though a decent Texas Holdem Strategy Guide will go a long way in helping you to play a more effective game but in the end you will need to devote a lot of time to fine tuning your skills. The most effective way to do this is to learn the art playing online Texas Holdem Poker and then refine it playing with friends of family before taking your knowledge, skills and Texas Holdem Strategy into a high stakes poker game.
