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Texas Holdem / Poker Strategy Author
Tony is a high limit specialist, rising in limits initially in Limit Hold'em, and now playing Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo full time. He currently writes on general theory, and is the host of his own forum in the ITH forums. To ask Tony a question, simply visit the Ask Pilchard forum and express your mind! |
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| An Overview of Holdem Poker Strategy |
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| Written by Tony Pillinger | |
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Tony Pillinger, better known as "Pilchard" in the poker Forum, contributes his first article on Hold'em poker. The article looks at some basic rules to follow when making decisions in Holdem Poker Basic Rule (No:1)
Basic Rule (No:2) There are only two ways to win a Holdem poker hand: a) You get all of your Hold'em poker opponents to fold; OR b) You end up with the best Holdem poker hand at a showdown. You want to maximize your return from Holdem poker. (Your return is the difference between the amounts of money your opponents put into the pot on the Hold'em poker hands you win (minus the rake) AND the money you put into the pot on the Hold'em poker hands you lose). Basic Rule (No:3) In Hold'em poker, your opponents’ actions are determined by their own reasoning. Let's look at these basic rules of Hold'em poker in more detail. Basic Rule (No:1) In Holdem poker, the playing characteristics of your opponents, the texture of the board and the size of the pot determines how likely you are to get all of your opponents to fold. In tight aggressive Hold'em poker games, you may see lots of Hold'em poker hands won without a showdown. In loose passive Hold'em poker games nearly all Hold'em poker hands will go to a showdown. You need to try and evaluate at every stage of a hand what the probability of a showdown is given the betting to date, the players involved, the board and how your holding impacts the board. Ignoring tactical reasons for poker betting (such as a free card, a free showdown, or a semi bluff), a common Hold’em poker mistake is betting a poker hand, which is not likely to be the best hand at a showdown where it should be obvious that the hand is going to a showdown. In general, in loose passive Hold’em poker games with numerous opponents, you should play the strength of your holding and not try to fold everyone. In Hold’em poker, you bet and raise because you want to make the pot bigger in a hand you expect to win. In Hold’em poker, you bet and raise in the full expectation of being called but wanting to charge your opponents to try and outdraw you. Consequently, in most typical and loose Hold’em poker games, ending up with the best poker hand becomes the most important factor and SELECTIVE poker playing is essential. If you start with the best Hold’em poker hand, the greater the chance that you will end up with the best hand. However, in tight Hold’em poker games, getting your opponents to fold can be a real factor and if you are against one or two opponents on the flop, betting without a strong Hold’em poker hand can be justified on the grounds that you stand a good chance of getting your opponent(s) to fold. Basic Rule (No:2) You check, fold, bet, call and raise in an attempt to maximize the gain on the Hold’em poker hands you win and minimize the loss on those you lose. The best way of minimizing loss is not to play the hand in the first place. If you think that your poker hand is not as strong as someone who has acted or is not likely to be competitive against the Hold’em poker hands after you, you should generally fold. You maximize gain by getting opponents to put money in the pot when you have the likely best Hold’em poker hand. Now maximizing gain and minimizing losses are almost contradictions as being aggressive with a good Hold’em poker hand can mean maximizing your loss when somebody draws out on you. However, on each round of poker betting you have to assess the information you have and ask yourself: A) At this moment in time, have I got the best Hold’em poker hand, given the board, the number of Hold’em poker players, the character of the players involved in the pot, and the poker betting to date in this round and previous ones? By best Hold’em poker hand, I mean the Hold’em poker hand likely to be the best on the river. In a small field this would include the chances of your oppponent(s) folding and in a large field the fact that although you are not favourite you are a percentage favourite in regard to the number of players who will call a bet. If you decide you have the best Hold’em poker hand, evaluate how vulnerable it is to being overtaken by the river. You should normally bet, but in the right circumstances, you may try for a check raise. In general, you should only slowplay in situations where the pot is small and/or your Hold’em poker hand is VERY strong. B) If you do not fall into part A) and do not feel a bet is the right decision, you should check and fold (therefore minimizing your loss) UNLESS you have the ODDS to call. There have been numerous articles on how to calculate pot odds and implied odds in regard to whether to call a bet. Basic Rule (No:3) In Hold’em poker, you need to take into account how other Hold’em poker players respond to your decisions when playing. How Hold’em poker players respond to your bet/check gives you more information the next time you have to make your decision (be it on the same round or the next). Remember: Your opponents’ actions are determined by their own reasoning. The reasoning may be flawed but no Hold’em poker opponent ever acts randomly. Maniacs may overplay their holding and weak Hold’em poker players may be too eager to fold but at the time when they make their decision they have a reason for it. The key thing is trying to work out their mode of thinking. Fortunately, the vast majority of Hold’em poker players tend to adopt a consistent betting pattern and use their reasoning to act the same way in similar situations. For instance, some Hold’em poker players will check call a big hand on the flop and always go for the check raise on the turn. Others will only raise from early position with big cards. Understanding how Hold’em poker players think is crucial because you can then respond accordingly when it is your turn. Once you understand this you can be more confident with your betting. For example, there is nothing wrong with betting the turn and folding to a raise if you are reading the board and player correctly. As you play more and go up the limits, sometimes you can get too caught up with advanced concepts and tactics and ignore the fundamentals. You win a Hold’em poker hand by getting your opponents to fold or showing down the best Hold’em poker hand. You want the pots you win to be as large as possible. Alternatively, if your hand is not competitive you want to invest the minimum. Finally, in Hold’em poker, your opponents have a reason for their chosen poker betting action. If you can get a grip on their thought processes the easier it is to put them on a range of possible holdings and therefore evaluate the relative strength of your own holding. The above three rules of Hold'em poker, although basic, are very important and should form the basis of every Holdem poker decision you make. You can learn more about Troy in his Member Spotlight |
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