Five Tips For Winning Hold’em Play

If you play hold’em correctly, you’ll have incorporated all of these tips into your game.

ü      Play few hands from early position. You’ll throw lots of hands away, but you’ll be saving money.

ü      Position is critical in hold’em. Certain hands that you would fold in early position can be raising hands in late position.

ü      Fit or fold:  If the flop does not help your hand, consider folding, regardless of how sweet it may have looked before the flop

ü      Many of your opponents will play A-K as strongly as a pair of aces or kings, but it is not.  A-K is a powerful drawing hand, but it usually needs help on the flop to win the pot.

ü      Hold’em only looks like 7-card stud.  In reality, it’s a is very different game due to the use of community cards, the positional aspect of the game, and the fact that on the flop you will see 71 percent of your hand for a single round of betting.

.

Six Tips for Winning Play on the Flop

Here are six tips that will help you play successfully on the flop.

ü         If the flop doesn’t fit your hand, most of the time you’ll have to release it. The flop defines your hand. 

ü         When you flop a big hand, give your opponents an opportunity to make the second best hand, but avoid giving them a free card that could beat you. 

ü         If you are new to hold’em, err on the side of caution.  It costs less.

ü         When you have a hand with multiple possibilities, play it fast.  It has value exceeding any of its component possibilities.

ü         Be selective about the hands you plan to play both before and after the flop, but be aggressive when you have a hand that warrants it.

ü         If you flop a draw, stick with it as long as the pot promise a greater payoff than the odds against making your hand.

Seven Slick Tips To Improve Your Play On The Turn

While the turn is not as difficult to play as the flop, here are some tips some for the critical choices you’ll face here.

ü      Raise when you’ve got the top two pair on the turn, unless the board is three-suited or otherwise threatening.

ü      If you’ve got an open-ended straight draw or flush draw with two or more opponents, call any bet on the turn.  However, if the board is paired, and there’s a bet and raise in front of you, be wary.  You could be up against a full house.

ü      Bet, or check (planning to raise), when you’re sure you have the best hand. Make it expensive for opponents who are on the come to draw out.

ü      If you hold a draw, try to make your hand as inexpensively as possible. 

ü      If you have a hand you would call with, betting — rather than calling — is a superior strategy if you think there’s any chance your bet will cause your opponent to fold.

ü      Be alert to picking up a draw on the turn.  It may allow you to continue playing a hand you otherwise would throw away.  

ü      “Should I checkraise or should I bet?” comes up frequently.   Unless you think your opponent will bet and call your raise, you should come out betting.

Five Tips For Navigating The River

Navigating the river can be tricky.  Follow this map and you’ll avoid the sandbars along the way.

ü      Once the river card is exposed,  your hand no longer has any potential value.  Its value has been realized.

ü      Your decision to check or bet if no one has acted, or fold, call, raise, or reraise if there has been action, can only be based on your hand’s realized value.

ü      When you make two pair it will usually be the best hand.  But if the turn or river brings a third suited card, be careful, your opponent could have made a flush.

ü      When it’s heads up, and the pot is large, it’s better to err by calling with the worst hand, than by folding the winner.

ü      Overcalling requires a hand strong enough to beat legitimate calling hands.