Poker Strategy
Welcome to our Poker Strategy Articles section. Poker is a game of strategy. Anyone that tells you differently is ignorant or a losing poker player. If you study the game and the strategies, you will understand the tactics to becoming a winning player, improve your game, and ultimately win money. We at ITH have accumulated the most comprehensive collection of texas holdem articles to help you learn, gain confidence and most importantly WIN.
We incorporate strategiy discussions on everything from playing hands to winning the mental game. Peruse the sub-categories here or browse all our strategy articles below.
For more poker strategy content, visit our Poker Forum Strategy sections and join in the discussions!
Is he bluffing? A hand from the WSOP
A hand from the World Series of Poker Event No.
Floating – The Key to Advanced Play
Pot-Limit Omaha: FloatingThe key to advanced play Editor's note: The following is a special preview from Jeff Hwang's upcoming book, tentatively titled Pot-Limit Omaha Poker Volume II: Advanced Play.
Starting Out in Poker : Advice for Beginning Players
If only somebody would have told me this...
Poker Tips for Beginners : Three Decisions that are Never Wrong
Some decisions, both game and non-game, are relatively easy to make while others are more difficult. Everyone makes bad decisions from time to time, but the key to being successful is to make as few as possible.
Winning the PokerStars Nightly 100K
A mission to beat 900 players begins This article looks at some of the more interesting hands I played while winning the PokerStars Nightly Hundred Grand tournament.
More Poker Lessons From My Daughter
The expertise involved with calculating odds, surmising hand strength with incomplete information, negotiating with bluffers, and staying within a bankroll all offer lessons that my daughters will eventually learn to apply to other aspects of their life journeys. In this world, I think those are especially valuable lessons and applications for women to have learned.
Playing Sit n Go’s for Profit
When I first started out online, I deposited $50, played for a while and lost it. A few months later, did the same thing.
Variable-Ratio Reinforcement
Regulating opponents’ behavior - What follows is a special preview from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play
Who is the Most Confident?
Poker on the internet is in very many ways similar to live poker. It’s still poker after all and the rules, probabilities and everything else that really matters is the same.
Improving Your Game
Resources aplenty Do you remember when you started playing poker and read your first poker book?
NFL Betting Tips – One More for the Road
Before I go....I promised some NFL advice that so many of you were anticipating.
The Emotional Paradox of Poker
Remove all emotion from decisions, but …
Quiz: Wrap, Bare Nut Straight Heads Up
Wrap, bare nut straight heads up It's a 50¢-$1 pot-limit Omaha (PLO) game on the electronic poker tables at Excalibur in Las Vegas, and you are playing heads up.
The Nut-Flush Draw
A strong pot-limit Omaha hand - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
The Basic Floats in PLO
Naked, weak-stab, and semibluff In my last column, I discussed the basics of floating in pot-limit Omaha (PLO) and identified the key indicators - the weak stab, the continuation-bet, and a possible steal bet - that a float may be in order.
Playing Trash Hands in Limit Hold’em
The situation has to be right My last column looked at how to play the nuts in limit hold'em.
The Resteal Float
Floating back at a floater Occasionally, when you bet from late position, a player who suspects a steal may try to float you from out of position by calling your bet and then betting out on the turn.
Poker Psychology : Rationalizing Decisions
I’m running badly at the moment.
Pot-Limit Omaha: The Pivot Card
Its impact on post-flop hand valuations - This is an edited excerpt from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
Starting Hand Chart
Learn how professional poker player and best selling poker author Matthew Hilger plays his starting hands using our starting hand poker calculator!
Profile of a Typical Omaha Hi-Lo Fish
In this article, we will look at some of the most common characteristics that poor omaha players share.
The Realities of a Re-buy Tournament
One of the most important things to keep in mind while playing an R&A tournament is that the first hour offers a very different style of play than just about any other possible Hold ‘em table. Typically, you’ll have a fair share of opponents playing a loose/super-aggressive style (LAGs).
Some Pot-Limit Omaha Hands
A strategy analysis - Here are a few hands from the regular $1-$2 blinds, $5 bring-in, $500 max buy-in pot-limit Omaha game that a few locals and I started recently at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
Three-Betting Preflop
Marginal Hands - This is the fourth column in a series that highlights some of the hands discussed in the new book Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time, Volume II, by Eric “Rizen” Lynch, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, and Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet.
Multiway Pots in Limit Holdem
Test Your Skills
New Zealand Blues
When the flops keep missing - I recently returned from a nice two-week vacation to New Zealand.
Moving Up Too Fast in Stakes
Staying within your bankroll - Note: This is an edited excerpt from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
Online Poker Tells : Spotting the Sucker
“If you can’t spot the sucker within 30 minutes of being at the table then you’re the sucker.”
Long Term Perspective
Zoom in Zoom out....I recently tried out that Google earth thing.
Following Through in PLO
The betting machine - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
How Not to Tilt
Across different poker games, there is one thing that can be counted on: there will be players going on tilt. One often hears hold’em players complaining about losing large pots on the river (“oh man, another suckout, I can’t believe this”).
Limit Hold’em Quiz
Playing the Nuts Most players love to discuss hands when the value of a hand is not very clear.
Quiz: Playing with the Initiative, Combination-Call, and Value-Betting River
Playing with the initiative, making a combination-call, and value-betting the river It's a five-handed 50¢-$1 pot-limit Omaha game online (six-max).
Is Poker Gambling or Skill?
For some reason, poker players love to debate the question of whether or not playing winning poker counts as gambling. Intuitively the answer is yes, but winning poker players often don’t see it that way.
Using Ranges to Make Better Decisions
A limit hold’em example
Beginner Poker Mistakes : Misunderstood Concepts
As I sift through the ITH forums, it seems there is a recurring theme, whereby beginning to intermediate players make play errors due to misunderstanding certain concepts. After a long time noticing this, I thought it was time to compile an explanation for some of the most commonly misunderstood concepts in poker.
Limit Hold’em Tips : The Secrets of Success
Before talking about the merits of single tabling, I should give you a brief history of my playing career. I started playing internet poker three years ago after watching it on TV.
Draw Equity vs Float Equity – Part II
Float equity Editor's note: The following is a special preview from Jeff Hwang's upcoming book, Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: Advanced Play Vol.
Short Stack Strategy in Limit Holdem
Beware the Short Stack Much has been written on the impact of stack size in no-limit hold’em, including how to play both with and against a short stack.
Pot-Limit Omaha Hand Quiz 3
Big-blind-versus-small-blind play, small ball, floating, and the bluff-raise - What follows is a special preview from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play.
Online Tournament Game Selection
Important factors to consider - “You could be the 10th-best player in the world, but if you’re playing against the nine best, you’re the dog.
When to Raise Draws for Value
When and when not to do so Editor's note: This column is an excerpt from the, expanded edition of Internet Texas Hold'em: Winning Strategies for Full-Ring and Short-Handed Games. It includes a new chapter on playing multiway pots, as well as two new chapters for shorthanded games.
Tough Limit Holdem Strategy
We all have an idea of the archetypical bad limit hold’em player or ‘fish’ as they are often called. They are very loose, very passive, chase terrible draws, don’t value bet or protect their hand enough etc.
Pot-Limit Omaha Hand Quiz 2
Playing with the initiative - It’s a $2-$5 pot-limit Omaha game, and you ($2,500) are dealt the A J 10 5 in the hijack seat.
Stack Size is Everything in Tournaments
Keep track of the changing stack sizes I just completed working on the book Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time, Volume I.
Learning Pot-Limit Omaha
A natural transition for hold’em players - Over the last several years, I have felt a little lazy.
Pot-Limit Omaha: The PokerTek Angle
The future of Las Vegas pot-limit Omaha - Last issue, I mentioned the 50¢-$1 ($100 minimum/$200 maximum) pot-limit Omaha (PLO) game I am hosting on PokerTek's electronic poker tables (PokerPro) in the fully automated poker room at Excalibur in Las Vegas.
Applying ‘Douts’
Hand examples of applying odds and 'douts' when making drawing decisions A column I wrote a couple of months ago, titled "Outs vs Douts," generated a lot of discussion, as I received more e-mail than usual about the topic.
Skills Learned Playing Short-Handed Limit Holdem
In my first article I discussed the merits of single tabling. In this article I am going to look at what you can learn from playing shorthanded.
Playing With the Initiative After the Flop in PLO
To continuation-bet or not to continuation-bet - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
PLO: Top Drawing-Hand Structures
Big Straight Draws - Before I discuss shorthanded play in a future column, I should first write a bit about big straight draws and the top drawing-hand structures used to flop them.
Are Satellite Tournaments a Good or Bad Value?
It depends on the player - I read an article recently that reconfirmed to me why playing the online Sunday major tournaments is such a good value.
The Mississippi Straddle
To straddle or not to straddle on the button Editor's note: The following is from Jeff Hwang's book, Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: Advanced Play Vol.
Poker Tilt Tips : Your Guilty Conscience
Back in the late 90’s, before he became sidetracked with writing songs about Michael Jackson, George Bush and vomit, Eminem released a catchy song entitled ‘Guilty Conscience’. It was a song about the two voices that talk to you, one ‘bad voice’ (played by Eminem) representing temptation to commit crime or do what is wrong and one ‘good voice’ (played by Dr Dre) representing logic, reason and morality.
Working in Your Underwear: The Pitfalls of Comfort
Troy Headrick, aka BernardDogs in the Forum, gives some tips in how to avoid online habits that are not conducive to live play When I ran Cross-Country in High School, our coach would video tape us as we ran so that we could then view the tape and critique our form.
Beginning Poker Tips : Little Things to Succeed in Poker
At the time of this writing, England has just beaten Ecuador 1-0 in the soccer World Cup to progress to the quarterfinals. It was a scrappy game, in which England was on the better side but was unable to really put the game away.
Switching from Limit to No-Limit Holdem
After listening to Ed Miller speak at last year’s ITH convention, I made up my mind that I wanted to learn how to play no-limit cash games.
Small Buy-in Tournaments on the Internet
No-Limit Hold’em is the most popular form of poker in the world. Played in casinos, card-room and at kitchen tables around the world, the ease of learning Hold’em lends to the popularity.
Poker Bankroll Strategy
Zoom in Zoom out....I recently tried out that Google earth thing.
Bluffing in the WSOP Main Event Part 2
My last column looked at a couple of bluffs that I made during the World Series of Poker main event. One of them was successful and one of them cost me some chips.
Re-buy Tournament Strategy
One of the most important things to keep in mind while playing an R&A tournament is that the first hour offers a very different style of play than just about any other possible Hold ‘em table. Typically, you’ll have a fair share of opponents playing a loose/super-aggressive style (LAGs).
Staying in School, and Poker as a Career
Don’t quit school to play poker! - Editor’s note: This column is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
Draw Equity vs Float Equity – Part I
What do you get in return for your call?
Omaha Hi-Lo Tips : Beyond Basic Omaha
So you’ve mastered the basics. You understand the nature of the game, starting hand qualities, the importance of position, how high and low possibilities affect your pot odds, why a dry A2 is not the second coming…etc.
C-Bet Frequency in PLO
It depends largely on your opponent - What follows is an excerpt from Jeff’s books, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play and The Short-Handed Workbook.
One Week as a Professional Poker Player
The possibility of becoming a professional poker player is an alluring one for most players. Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to sit at home playing poker all day?
Don’t make the Biggest Mistake in Short-Handed Limit Holdem
My real passion is playing in shorthanded games. I don’t play nearly as much online as I once did, but when I do, I play mostly shorthanded.
PLO Quiz 3
A low SPR situation - Excerpt from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play and The Short-Handed Workbook.
Master the Basics
Sometime in the 90s, I enrolled as a computer science student at a certain Canadian university. The first year was tough enough.Let’s Play Poker!
