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!
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.
Lose Weight while Playing Poker!
How do you lose weight and gain pounds at the same time? OK…maybe I have played a little with the word pounds (except for those in the UK) but read on a little further.
The Emotional Paradox of Poker
Remove all emotion from decisions, but …
Online Poker Tips for Beginners
Matthew gives beginning poker players a few online poker tips - I receive lots of questions by email and in the Poker Forum from beginners asking for poker tips on getting started with with online poker.
The Danger of Optimism : Texas Holdem Odds
In most things in life, there is little danger in being optimistic. In fact studies have shown that optimists tend to be happier and more successful than pessimists.
Floating in Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better
Slightly different parameters, but the same principle I spent a few days playing in Downtown Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker this year.
The World Series of Poker Bubbles
Take advantage of them I've been fortunate enough to cash in three of the last four main events at the World Series of Poker.
Multiway Pots in Limit Holdem
Test Your Skills
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.
6 Reasons to Start Playing Omaha Hi Lo
When I first started to play internet poker, I headed for the texas holdem tables. One day, while distracted, I accidentally joined a single table Pot Limit Omaha Hi Lo tournament.
A Shorthanded Limit Hold’em Hand
Breaking it down I recently played an interesting hand online during a shorthanded six-max limit hold'em game.
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.
Why Pot-Limit Omaha Games Must Get Smaller
It’s crucial to the game’s growth “You can shear a sheep many times, but you can skin him only once.
Las Vegas Pot-Limit Omaha
Small-stakes game officially born - On Wednesday, July 22, I walked into the poker room at The Venetian with a plan.
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.”
Poker Bankroll Strategy : Wipeout
It is not a comfortable thought, but every poker player might one day have to deal with the possibility of losing their entire bankroll. There are a number of ways that this might happen, but essentially it will boil down to one of the following:
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.
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.
Profiling Errors
Be careful! - This is an edited excerpt from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
Raising Draws for Value in Limit Holdem
I read a lot of hand examples and answer a lot of questions in the poker forum at my website, and there are some common errors that I consistently see. Beginning poker players, and even some players with a decent amount of experience, have misconceptions on when they should raise and when they should call.
Mixed Hold’em
A new game form Over the years, there has been a lot of debate over which form of hold'em is the best test of players.
Final Table Training for the WSOP Main Event
Preparing Darus Suharto - I had the pleasure of hosting an event to help Darus Suharto prepare for the World Series of Poker main event.
Choosing a Poker Site : Decision, Decisions, Decisions
Some of the most important decisions you will make during a session are made at the outset, before a single card is dealt to you. In this month’s article I am going to look at those decisions and the thought processes you should go through when making them.
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.
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.
Reflections on My Results at the 2008 World Series of Poker
A disappointing tournament The 2008 World Series of Poker was extremely disappointing for me.
Poker Pitfalls Resulting From a Faulty Mindset
Players need more than the technical skill set to achieve success There are dozens of poker books on the market that are designed to teach the technical aspects of the game.
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.
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.
Is he bluffing? A hand from the WSOP
A hand from the World Series of Poker Event No.
Luck in Poker : Four Hands
I am a big advocate of reviewing hands in order to improve your poker game. In fact, as internet players, it is one of the most powerful tools we have.
Am I Delusional?
Am I delusional?
PokerTek, Excalibur, and the PLO Revolution
The pot-limit Omaha revolution has begun Toward the end of October, I got a call from Lou White - vice chairman, co-founder, and former CEO of PokerTek, makers of the PokerPro electronic poker table.
PLO Quiz 4
Playing from the Mississippi straddle, bottom set, value-betting the river - Preflop: It’s a $5-$5-$10 game with a Mississippi straddle.
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.
The Complete Guide to Playing Poker Maniacs
Every player at some point has the experience of playing with a maniac. Nothing changes a poker game quite as much as a loose aggressive player sitting down and taking charge of the game.
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.
Winning the Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Event
Restealing is important I recently won the Full Tilt Poker $750,000-guaranteed event under the moniker "IonlyplayAA.
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.
Poker Tracker Tips : Tracking Your Progress as a Beginner
Terry Wynn, aka Darvon from the Forum, takes a look at how Poker Tracker can improve your play
Heads-up Limit Hold’em : A Complete Guide
I play a lot of heads-up limit hold’em. In fact, it probably accounts for about 30% of the hands that I play on a day-to-day basis.
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.
NFL Betting Tips – One More for the Road
Before I go....I promised some NFL advice that so many of you were anticipating.
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.
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.
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.
Playing (Being) Smart
Keys to success in today’s poker world - Today’s poker environment is much tougher than it used to be.
Pot-Limit Omaha Hand Quiz
Playing top two pair, and the nut-flush draw - Here are a couple of hands from a $2-$5 game at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
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).
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.
Using Ranges to Make Better Decisions
A limit hold’em example
River Bluffs in Limit Hold’em
'The River Rule' I have a rule on the river that I follow religiously, which I appropriately call "The River Rule": Never try to make a good laydown on the river in limit hold'em.
Pot-Limit Omaha: The Bankroll Schedule
Flameproof your bankroll - You write a poker book and everybody gets the wrong impression.
Poker Luck and Skill : Variance or Bad Play?
“Your upswing was obviously pure luck (variance) and the downswing was obviously mostly caused by terrible play... at least that's the opinion I've been reading in other threads around here.
Poker Emotions : Is Poker Controlling You?
Anyway, something that really stood out to me was a subject that had nothing to do with actual trading: most of these rare extremely successful traders (including the ones who had families) were completely immersed in the world of the markets. A lot of them were into currencies or foreign markets and would often be in and out of bed during the middle of the night as they glued themselves to their monitors.
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!
Playing Pocket Pairs in Tournaments
The situation dictates how they are played - Volume II of the Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time series by Eric “Rizen” Lynch, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, and Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet was recently released.
Bluffing in the WSOP Main Event Part I
One of the great things I love about the World Series of Poker main event is the big stacks you get to play in relation to the blinds. When starting out with $10,000 in chips, you can find spots to make plays that would be difficult to make in other types of events in which you start out with a small amount of chips.
High Value Limit Holdem Bluffs
Bluffing in limit hold’em is an interesting science. In loose games it is usually inadvisable to bluff because your opponents will call down with very marginal holdings.
Long Term Perspective
Zoom in Zoom out....I recently tried out that Google earth thing.
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.
Omaha Hi-Lo Odds – Put Tilt in Perspective
Perhaps the biggest reason why people lose money at poker is tilting. And perhaps the biggest reason for tilting is having unrealistic expectations.
The Journey : Stages of Poker Development
We begin the journey the first time we play poker.
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.
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”).
Poker Bankroll Mistakes that Cost the Most
The only way to make money at poker is through your opponents’ mistakes. Consequently if you make fewer mistakes than your opponents then you will make money in the long term.
PLO Practice-Hand Quiz No. 2
Raising preflop, the combo float, and value-betting the river It's a $1-$2 blinds game, $5 to bring in.
Automated Poker
Is the future here?
Positional Advantage in Pot-Limit Omaha
The ambiguity of the bet - This is an edited excerpt from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.Let’s Play Poker!
