Aggressive Play in Texas Hold’em

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There are many different styles of play when it comes to Texas Hold’em. I want to teach you a style that works quit well for me. Whether you are playing with your friends or playing online, this playing style works well for a lot of people and it doesn’t have anything to do with how aggressive you should play, but with when you should be aggressive. That is the key.

A common mistake in poker is using the wrong level of aggressiveness at the wrong time. A lot of beginners play too aggressively and think they can bluff anyone anytime, or they have zero aggressiveness and fold all the time. Sometimes, playing super aggressive is good, other times, conservative play is best. The key is to know when to switch gears. As a general rule, you gradually turn up the aggressive play when:

Players get eliminated from the table. If you want to “buy the pot” on a stone cold bluff, the odds that someone actually has a hand to call you (and to beat you) is much greater when there are more players at the table than when there are just 3 players left. Does that mean you should never be aggressive early in the game? Not at all. See the next situation.

You are in good betting position and players before you either checked, called small raises, or folded. Good betting position means you get to see how everyone bets before you make your own bet. The small blind and the big blind positions are good betting positions because they go last. If you are playing against 8 individuals, the blinds are at 10/20 and everyone checks, perhaps you want to raise at when you are SB or BB. This will accomplish to things: It will make a few players fold; it will indicate to other players that you “may” have a hand and therefore give you more credibility if you attempt to bluff and buy the pot on the next round with an even bigger raise.

You have the short stack. Having the short stack means you have the least chips out of all the players. It means you need to make up for lost hands and that generally means aggressive play. But don’t be a fool! Other players know that the person with the short stack usually plays more aggressively so they’ll often call them even if they don’t have the greatest hand. Make your move at the right time.

You have the big stack. Having the big stack means you have the most chips out of all the players. Use them! If you are in the lead significantly, don’t be afraid to raise when you have nothing. Don’t let players see a flop for free. Make them pay! This is a good strategy when there aren’t many players left at the table, and when the blinds are starting to get expensive. This way, you are forcing the short stack player to be more aggressive. If he doesn’t turn it up, the blinds will eat up all of his chips. Using the power of the big stack is an effective tactic. Make them pay, but don’t go crazy either: They’ll beat you once in a while.

I encourage people to take things easy when the game starts. Play tight initially. First, you want to take the opportunity to study your opponents and their behaviors. You’ll quickly see who’s playing in every pot, and who raises constantly and who’s sitting back and studying. While playing super aggressive in the beginning can pay off, it generally leads to defeat. You can get lucky once in a while, but in the long run, you’ll loose more often then you’ll win. Don’t rely on luck.

The other benefit of studying players early in the game is spotting how people react to a raise. You can quickly identify the “pushovers” from the players who call everything. This is good information to have, because when you decide to make a move and bluff, you want to do it against the pushovers if you can. Unless they have a really good hand, they’ll fold. Again, beware: They won’t be playing conservatively the whole game. Watch for clues that indicate when they are changing their play style.

To conclude, I just want to say that winners are aggressive players. They just pick the right times to play aggressively. Think about it for a second. If all you do is call and check, then the only way you can win a pot is by having the best hand. However, if you raise someone, then you can win two ways: by having the best hand OR by making them fold.

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General Betting Strategy

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There’s nothing more important in Texas Hold’em than to make the right bet at the right time. That’s what the game is all about. Maybe you have the best hand, maybe you want to trap someone into raising you, maybe you have nothing. If you can’t make the right betting decision, it doesn’t matter. If you pick up two aces, and everyone at the table folds as a result of a bad bet on your behalf, then your two aces didn’t count for anything and were wasted. This article will provide you with guidelines on how you should bet when faced with certain situations.

What Should You Bet?
Normally, you determine the amount of your bet based on a ration between either the current value of the blinds, or the current pot size. Betting position will also influence your strategy. Normally, the first round of betting is based on the blinds, while the remaining betting rounds are based on pot size.

If you have nothing in your hands, and you are in a bad betting position, meaning you are one of the first players to place a bet before the majority of the remaining players, then you have a two decision to make: First, do you want to play this hand or not. Second, if I play do I want to bluff. Personally, I don’t like to bluff in this situation because the risks are greater, and the rewards isn’t that exciting.

In any Poker Games, Consider What You can Win and What You Can Loose

If you’re trying to buy the blinds, then it will require an investment on your part. If that investment exceeds th epotential winnings, it may not be worthwhile. If you win, you’ll make a little profit, but if you loose, you loose more than you would have gained. For example, if the blinds are 50/100 and you are the first to bet, then you need to bet at least three times the size of the big blind, so at least 300. You have nothing so you are hoping others will fold. There’s only 150 on the table, and you add 300 more. It’s not a very good deal for you, even if you win, you had to risk loosing twice the amount of your potential gains. Never bet like that with a weak hand. Sure, it does pay off once in a while, but in the long run, it will cost you more than it will earn you. When faced with this situation, I recommend you either fold, or call. If you call, it’s because you’re hoping everyone else will and you’ll get to see a flop without spending much. When the flop comes, your bad hand might turn out pretty good if you are lucky. However, if someone raises, then you better back off before you invest too much on bad cards.

If you have something good in your hands, and you are in a bad betting position then you have some interesting options. First, how good is your hand? Are we talking two high pairs, or are we talking Ace Queen, high suited connectors? All are great starting hands, but theymay not end up being worth anything by the time the river comes. So how do you play them? Well, if I don’t have a high pair but I do have two high cards, I like to get a pot going so that if I do get a nice flop, I can build on it. With A Q, I would raise 2 times the amount of the big blind. This does two things: It doesn’t scare everyone off so the pot grows as everyone else calls, and it doesn’t cost me much to see a flop, assuming non one else raises. This is a conservative play. If someone does re-raise, then it’s time to decide how aggressive you want to be.

Let me give you an example: 6 players with the blinds at 10/20. I pick up A-Q and I am the first to act. I open by raising to a total of 40. Then next three players call, making the pot total at 190 (4 bets of 40, SB at 10, BB at 20). Now, we at the SB position and that person bets 190 (the size of the pot). That last bet can only mean one of two things: the player is trying to buy the pot or the player has a strong poker hand. Let’s say the BB folds and it is back to you. The pot is now worth 380 and it will cost you 150 more to call and stay in. You have good cards. You have to put in 150 to win 340 (current pot size minus your initial 40). This is a good ratio so you would at least call for sure. There is a risk here. Maybe the flop will be good for you, but it may also turn out to be good for your opponent. You have to ask yourself a question. Do I want to take down this pot right now by reraising, or will I stick to a conservative play and just call. That decision depends on a few factors. If you raise, does the opponent have enough chips to re-raise and put you all in? If so, are you willing to go all in with A Q if it comes to that? Remember that any pair beats you at this stage. If you don’t catch cards on the flop, turn, or river, then you’re in trouble. So the real question is “Can I make the opponent fold, and if not, am I ready to go all in with this hand”. Do you think your opponent has anything, or did they make a move in an attempt to buy the pot? Your ability to make a good read will influence how aggressive you’ll be. If you decide to call, then that’s fine. You’re playing it safe. It may turn out good for you, and if it doesn’t, then you’ll have a chance to back down later without too much damage being down. If you raise, then raise by at least half the pot or more. That would be the absolute minimum raise, and it may not even be enough to make the other player back down unless they really have nothing.

If you raise by the pot size, that could be enough to make someone with a potential hand back down. For example, if someone has Q J, and you raise by a total of 380, it’s really starting to get expensive for them to chase cards. Suddenly, their hand doesn’t look that good anymore. Personally, I would raise by the size of the pot in this situation in hopes of taking it right away, assuming I can afford the loss. If the other player was the small stack and didn’t have that many chips, they are probably in “aggressive mode” and putting them “all in” wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Now let’s reverse the situations. You are now in a good betting spot (SB or BB) and you have a poor hand. Everyone before you called, or there was one minimum raise. When it comes to your turn, you can fold or call if it’s not too expensive and hope that you’ll get lucky on the flop. The other option is too bluff. This is a much better position to make the attempt because you have had a chance to observe everyone else at the table and your reading abilities will tell you if this is the hand to make a move. If you try to buy the pot, you must bet at least 3 times the amount of the current bet. If the blinds were 50-100 and everyone called 100, then raise to 300 or more. Again, with 6 players at the table, the pot is 600 by the time you get to bet, so betting 300 to win 600 is a good ratio. Betting more also means putting more of your money at risk.

Personally, I would go with the 300 raise at this point, knowing that the charade may continue during the next betting round. So if you get called, and the flop doesn’t help you out, you’re putting yourself in a difficult position. On the next betting round, if you slow down and check, then you’re showing a weakness and you will get raised. When that happens, you can fold, or really gamble and reraise. This is called a check-raise and it is often used by players who try to trap their opponents. In this case, it gives the illusion that you have a really strong hand. It works well if the other player has a weak hand, but if they have a strong hand, they won’t go way and you’ll loose a lot of chips.

This is where you are risking a lot to gain a lot. Your ability to read your opponent, and to fool them, will determine how far you can go. Consider who you are battling with. Has that person been conservative during the whole game or do they play aggressively? Again, consider the size of their stack and of your own stack. Who can put the other all-in if it comes down to that? And you do go all in and loose the hand, do you have enough chips left for a come back or will the blinds eat you up in no time? In other words, can you afford to double up someone else? These are questions you must ask yourself before making a bet.

Let’s now look at a scenario where you are in good betting position and you have a great poker hand. For fun, let’s say you are the BB and you picked up two Kings. Everyone called and it is now up to you. At this point in the game, you know you have an awesome hand. Odds are that you have the best hand but that may change after the community cards are laid down. So how do you play? Well, there are a few things to consider. First, consider going all in. That can scare people away. If everyone folds, then you’ve wasted your good hand and you’ll pick up just a few chips. However, if you are the small stack and you are in bad shape, going all in can seem like an act of desperation and players in your position normally play very aggressively so in this case, it may be a good strategy. If you’re the big stack, then don’t bother going all in. The other option you want to consider is trapping which means playing as if you have nothing and later raising. There is a risk to this strategy because in doing so, you are allowing other players to access cards from the flop. If someone has A-10 in their hand and they pick up an ace on the flop, they’ll have you beat. On the other hand, if the trapping works, it can mean huge rewards for you. In this scenario, I think that since everyone has an interest in the pot, a small raise can make the pot grow and thin the competition at the same time. Raise by 2.5 times the amount of the minimum bet. Some will likely fold, but others will stay in.

Be aware that experienced players normally view a small raise by the BB as a red flag. You’re telling them you have something. The logic is that if you wanted to make a move and buy the pot, you would have raised more. The only purpose of a small raise is to entice other players to stay in while making the pot grow, what people refer to as a call me bet. It’s not a bad play. Personally, I like to trap and risk giving cards to other players for free, but that’s just my style. Sometimes, I will bet by a lot (4 or 5 times the minimum bet), making it seem like I want to buy the pot. Betting will make other players fold but if you can get at least one or two to stay in, then you are in great shaped for wining a large pot. This is especially effective when you are the big stack because it looks like you are trying to push people around. Someone may just think they have you figured out as the table bully and they themselves will go all in. This is exactly what you want! The decision of betting or trapping will partly be influenced by how many chips you have in relation to other players, and how many players are in the hand.

Good luck!

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Flopping Top Pair

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A lot of new texas holdem poker players think top pair is a good hand and they often put to much money on that hand. Top pair is not a bad hand, but depending on the cards on the table, it may be worthless, even with a great kicker.

Reading the Board
Playing top pair is really about your ability to recognize a safe board from dangerous one. Pre-flop, the game plan is usually simple: Limp in or raise with a strong hand. After the flop, and when you have top pair, don’t get excited just yet. Take the time to look at what’s out there first.

Let’s say you had Jh-10d in your hand and the flop was Js-7h-6s. Although you have top pair, there are risks associated with this particular flop. First, someone could have a flush draw, someone could have two pairs, someone could have a straight draw, and someone could had trips. And of course, someone could have top pair with a better kicker. The more players that are involved in the hand, the greater the risks. If everyone was allowed to limp in, consider that it’s quite possible that opponents got a cheap flop with a bad hand, and that a band hand can actually turn out to be a pretty good hand with a flop such as this one. If a lot of people limped in, beware. If someone has a flush draw or a straight draw, beware.

End the Poker Hand
Basically, what you want to do at this point is end the hand. The only way to do this is to come up with a significant raise. It has to be big enough to discourage the person with the flush draw to peruse it. If people stick around for the turn card, consider the possibility that you are beat. If the turn card comes up as a spade, then you have 3 spades on the board so it’s possible someone made a flush. If the card comes as anything in the range of a low straight, it’s possible someone made a straight. If you stick with poker math only, odds that someone made those hands are low, but we all know it happens.

Poker Hand Strenght
At this stage, you have to make a decision about the strength of your hand. Either you keep pushing, risking loosing more in the event that someone already has you beat, or you slow down and invest as little as possible because you think you’re beat. Depending on your table position, you may get to see how everyone else acts before you play so that can be a great help. If you’re the first to go, you don’t have a lot of information to benefit from. Ultimately, keep in mind that you have a strong hand but it’s quite possible you are drawing dead already, especially when there’s a lot of players still in the hand. When you are unsure, you may want to simply back off or even give up the hand when faced with a raise. You’ll loose a little, but you could have lost a lot more. Sometimes, folding is the best move. If you are in a tournament and are running low on chips, you may need to be over aggressive and go all in after the flop. That’s what I normally do when I really need to double up. And it often works out to my advantage, but not always.

Raise with Top Pair
Just remember, when you flop top pair, always raise on your turn (unless someone raised before you of course), and always study the board to identify “danger flops”. This will help you gage the size of your initial raise. And of course, always study opponents carefully after your play. See how they react and get a sense of the strength of your hand. When facing a “danger flop” don’t commit all your chips unless you are desperate. In the event that you loose, at least you’ll have something left to climb back up the ranks. When your top page is a low or middle card, keep in mind that anyone with high cards who stay in can take you down on a lucky turn or river. That is why you need to push people out of the hand sooner than later.

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