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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Is he bluffing? A hand from the WSOP
A hand from the World Series of Poker Event No.
Playing (Being) Smart
Keys to success in today’s poker world - Today’s poker environment is much tougher than it used to be.
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.
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.
Pot-Limit Omaha: Game Selection in Live Play
Finding a game that fits the stakes you want to play - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
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.
Seat Selection in PLO
Guidelines - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
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.
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!
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).
What Makes a Bad Poker Player
At college I played on the football team. Now this isn’t exactly a bragging right in England where football is not nearly as big as it is over in the US, but nevertheless I loved the game and was fairly good at it.
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.
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.
A Proposal for the World Series of Poker
There has been a lot of talk within the poker community about the future of the World Series of Poker. The central debate has focused on whether or not the main event is too big in terms of the number of entrants.
The Emotional Paradox of Poker
Remove all emotion from decisions, but …
What do you do when you know you are beat?
Most people know that all of the great Hold'em players play their opponents and not their own hands. Most players believe this is just a matter of sensing weakness in their opponent and then exploiting this weakness by stealing a pot.
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.
Some Mistakes Down Under
The Aussie Millions If there is one poker trip that every poker player should make, it is to the Aussie Millions, held in the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.
Learning Pot-Limit Omaha
A natural transition for hold’em players - Over the last several years, I have felt a little lazy.
Schooling – Playing in Loose Poker Games
You are dealt Ac Kc in early position and you raise your premium holding. Three players cold-call your raise, as do both the blinds.
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.
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.
Am I Delusional?
Am I delusional?
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.
Misapplying Expected Value Calculations
A questionable play - There is a long-standing argument in the poker world between the math guys and the instinct guys.
The Three Biggest Mistakes in Short-Handed Limit Holdem
When browsing all of the available tables at online sites, one can see that shorthanded limit hold'em is quite a popular game. Why?
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.
Dominating Draws in PLO
A game of draws - The truth about pot-limit Omaha (PLO) is that about 99 percent of the game is played on the draw.
Leaks in Limit Holdem : Plugging the Right Leaks
This article will not tell you what is wrong with your game; there are plenty of resources out there to help you with that. This article will suggest ways that you can assess how important leaks are and prioritise accordingly.
Limit Holdem Bluffing : A Version of the Delayed Bluff
The check and delayed bluff can be a powerful poker weapon
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.
New Zealand Blues
When the flops keep missing - I recently returned from a nice two-week vacation to New Zealand.
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.
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?
Hand-Strength Classifications
Categorizing starting hands by playability Editor's note: What follows are edited excerpts from Jeff Hwang's book Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy.
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.
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.
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.
Starting Out in Poker : Advice for Beginning Players
If only somebody would have told me this...
Playing Poker Online
by: Kathy Watterson and Lou Krieger©
Omaha Hi-Lo Starting Hand Strategy Look-Fors
In the previous article, we discussed how winners play to scoop the pot. Winners always keep an eye out on how well their cards are coordinated.
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.
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.
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.
The Reverse Float
Floating from out of position Editor's note: The following is from Jeff Hwang's upcoming book, Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: Advanced Play.
Selecting Good Poker Tables : Finding the Best Fish
If you want to really excel at the poker tables, then the "need for action" that a lot of us have must be contained while you patiently look for a group that appears to have as many loose/poor players as possible. This reminds me of something that I read in a Doyle Brunson book (the man is such a great poker player....
Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
Focus on your poker instincts Beginning players are afraid to make mistakes because they don't want to look like a beginner.
Fixing World Series of Poker Structures for PLO
Pot-limit Omaha players are getting shortchanged - A few issues ago in my column on the bankroll schedule for pot-limit Omaha, I mentioned that while a typical buy-in for no-limit hold'em might be 100 big blinds, in order to be reasonably deep in pot-limit Omaha, you should buy in for more like 150 times the big blind.
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.
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.
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.
The Power of the Big Draw
When stacks are deep, the drawing hand has all of the power Editor's note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang's recently released book Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Beating Fish in Limit Holdem
Now, onto some thoughts about the best ways to profit from these subpar players. What are the best ways to accomplish this?
Long Term Perspective
Zoom in Zoom out....I recently tried out that Google earth thing.
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.
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.
Misapplying Expected Value Calculations Part II
Eric “Rizen” Lynch provides a hand analysis - A few months ago, I wrote an article about how some players are misapplying expected value calculations.Let’s Play Poker!
