Limit Texas Hold'em: Basic Strategy For Beginners Articles | Poker

By: Richard Bleuze

Limit Texas Hold'em can prove deceptive to less skilled players. A false notion held by some players is that you can simply sit and call down the hands whenever you have pot odds, without taking much notice of your opponents. In fact, this is how a majority of Limit Texas Hold'em players act on low-limit tables ($4/$8).

In my opinion, a solid poker player is one who has mastered the following key skills of poker.

Mathematics

A solid poker player knows the general probabilities of the game. For example, they know that you have about 1 in 8.5 chance of hitting a set when holding a pocket pair, and that you have about a 1 in 3 chance of completing a flopped flush draw by the river.

Be sure to have pot odds when drawing. Only call a bet if the pot justifies the call.

Always analyze your relative strength in the hand. Make a habit of always anticipating the holdings of your opponents and be sure to further evaluate as more information is revealed in later rounds. You will never be truly successful unless you get under the skin of your opponents.

Good players understand the importance of outs. Outs are simply the number of cards that will improve your hand. Count your outs, multiply them by two, and add one, and that's roughly the percentage shot you have at hitting.

Good players can figure out the pot odds. Knowing outs is meaningless unless it's translated into rational, calculated betting. Knowing you have a 20% chance of hitting, what do you do then?
Under this heading, I would also suggest that you know which hands have a better chance in winning!  Play only premium starting hands. In a regular game you should see no more than 20-25% of the flops.

The first thing that you must learn in Texas Hold'em is which starting hands are good and which ones should be folded preflop. Although the answer depends on the number of people in the game and the type of game, here is a general guide to use.
Note: the following guidelines are only for fixed-limit Hold'em

Hands to raise with:

ace/ace
king/king
queen/queen
jack/jack
ace/king
ace/queen
10/10

Hands to call with:

ace/jack
king/queen
king/jack
queen/jack
jack/10
10/9 (same suit)
9/9
8/8
7/7
ace/7+ (same suit)

Table selection.

Beware of tight-aggressive tables and avoid strong players overall as they will read you and take your money. Look for loose games where at least 30% see the flop on average and play their hands too far.

Discipline

Good poker players demand an advantage. That advantage is that a winning poker player expects to win and hope to get lucky as a poker fish (sucker). He just hopes others don't get lucky.

Good poker players understand that a different game requires a different discipline. A disciplined player knows when to play and when to quit. He recognizes when he is on tilt and is aware when a game is too juicy to just quit while ahead.

Psychology

A good player is not a self-centered player.  When a poker pro walks into a poker room, he always empathizes with his opponents. He tries to think what they think and understand the decisions they make and why they make them. The poker pro always tries to have an answer to these questions:

1. What does my opponent have?
2. What does my opponent think I have?
3. What does my opponent think I think he has?

Knowing the answer to these questions is the first step, manipulating the answers is the second and more important step. A poker pro manipulates the answers to questions #2 and #3 by slowplaying, fastplaying, and bluffing in order to throw his opponent off.

Bluff rarely. Poker is not just a mathematical game. It is also a game that entails a lot of psychological combat. Three of the most important psychological weapons in poker are bluffing, semi-bluffing, and slowplaying.

Bluffing is almost useless in a low-stakes limit game (anything less than $2 to $5). Rarely will a hand not be called to showdown, so there is no point in scaring people out of the pot. Bluffing becomes a much more powerful tool at high-limit games. When you play at a higher limit, it's best to bluff when you 'represent' something and there are only one or two opponents in the pot.

Understanding Risk vs. Reward

Pot odds and demanding an advantage fall into this category as well as mathematics (and you thought why learn math in school).

Poker players are willing to take a long-shot risk if the reward is high enough, but only if the expected return is higher than the risk.

Good poker players, understand the risk-vs.-reward nature of the game outside of the actual poker room. They know how much bank they need to play, and how much money they need in reserve to cover other expenses in life.

You should be risk-averse with your overall bankroll. You need to have enough money at the table so that you do not affect your bankroll too much. If you worry too much about losing, then you will make mistakes at the table. You need to leave yourself with the chance to fight another day.

Know the pot and be readly. When few players are in the pot and it has been checked around to you, a possibility of taking the pot in last or late position might arise. Only do this if it looks as though the board did not benefit anyone. Also, be sure to consider the types of players left in the pot.

Bet or raise when warranted - don't just call

The structure of Limit Texas Hold'em invites drawing hands, which might even bet into you. If you believe you have the best hand you should almost always bet/raise. You do not want to give any free cards.  

Typically, players are supposed to bet when they have a good hand. Players who don't have good hands are supposed to fold. Of course, if it was this simple, there would be no need for this article. Most players play contrary to this idea, attempting to be a cunning or deceptive player. Don't fall into this trap when you are just learning to play.

Your betting strategy should be built upon this simple idea, but you must know when to stray and bet in situations when you otherwise wouldn't bet.

Vary your play

Occasionally limp on "raising hands" and bet/raise on some "calling hands." Do this both before and after the flop in order to avoid predictability in your playing style.

Fold in time

You will save money if you fold in time. Do not draw when you know you are beat and the pot does not warrant a call.

As a final note, Texas Holdem, like any other game, has fundamental/basics that must be mastered before excellence can be achieved.

A few places to play online are:

5Dimes  

BookMaker 

Poker.com