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They are listed from least to most complicated. Phils book is very basic but also accessible to anybody. Harringtons is a great balance of theory and examples. Sklanskys books are awesome but quite technical. Some examples in this talk are based on www.pokertips.org. They also have some terrific videos of online play (under exclusives).
Outline
Preliminaries Tight-Aggressive Strategy Betting and Pot Odds Playing Premium Hands Playing Marginal Hands Tournament HoldEm and M Misc. Tips
Preliminaries
Do not even think about playing for money until this stuff is second nature!
Poker hand ranks are shown on the left from high to low. Pay attention to tiebreakers; e.g., an ace-high flush beats any other flush.
Round of Betting
9 9
Round of Betting
Round of Betting
Round of Betting
The first three community cards are the flop. The fourth card is the turn. The fifth card is the river. Each of the flop, turn, and river is followed by a round of betting. After the river round is the showdown.
Your hand is the best five-card hand made from any combination of your hole cards and the five community cards.
10 A A 9 8 8
The player(s) to the left of the dealer put out blinds, effectively forced minimum bets (or half if a small blind is used). Each player is dealt two hole cards, face down. Play (or action) proceeds clockwise, starting from left of the Big Blind. Since the BB is considered to have bet, you must call that bet in order to stay in the hand. The Button, or dealer, acts last; future rounds start left of the dealer. (So the small blind acts first.)
Game Types and Difficulty Limit Poker is generally easier than No Limit
Limit Poker is a mathematical game; psychology is much less important than in no limit. Very strong players have somewhat less of an advantage. Strategies are simpler as you can only call, raise, or fold. The possible gains and losses in one hand are much smaller!
That said, tournament No Limit is much more fun! And it can improve your game very quickly.
Tight-Aggressive Strategy
Tight-Aggressive Play means that you: 1) Play only premium starting hands (tight) 2) Bet/raise aggressively when you do play a hand 3) Properly adjust 1+2 to take advantage of position To do this, you need to know: (easiest to hardest) (i) What ARE premium hands? (ii) What is position and how to use it? (iii) How to bet once youre in a hand. Lets tackle these one at a time.
WINRATE
Data from a major poker site. Observations are players that have participated in at least 500 hands of Texas HoldEm. VPIP = Percentage of hands player has voluntarily put money in pot WINRATE = Bets won per 100 hands
VPIP
I think by far the most common mistake beginning players make is playing too many hands!
The Big Ten Large Pocket Pairs High Suited Connectors A-A A-Qs Big Slick K-K A-Js A-Ks Q-Q K-Qs A-K J-J T-T
These are premium hands that should always be played and RAISED with pre-flop. If somebody else raises, you should almost ALWAYS RERAISE with A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K. Large pocket pairs are the strongest, followed by A-K. s refers to two cards of the SAME SUIT. Notice that A-Qs (Ace and Queen of the same suit) is a different hand than A-Q unsuited.
A decent starting strategy at an 8-10 person cash table is to play the Big Ten and fold everything else.
This is playing super-tight. Keep in mind that if you do this you will be folding 90% of your hands! Well talk about modifying this strategy a bit, but keep in mind if you follow my advice you will not be playing more than 20% of hands until you get very good or are sitting at a short-handed table (6 or fewer opponents).
A lot of first-time players would absolutely refuse to fold this hand!! Why should you consider it?
Suppose these cards come down on the flop. You just flopped top pair (highest possible pair on the table) with an open ended straight draw (any K or 8). But
10
You are a pretty big underdog to anyone playing A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, T-10, 9-9, J-10, J-9, or 10-9. You are also an underdog to A-J and K-J (you get out-kicked). You are basically drawing dead against K-Q (HIGHER straight!!) There is a flush draw on the board: If another club hits, anybody playing two clubs basically has you beat. Dont always fold this hand; just be aware it can be beaten!
1. If there are many players in the pot, even unskilled ones, there are simply a lot of hands that can beat you. 2. A skilled opponent with a good hand (maybe better than yours, maybe not) will put you on Q-J and make a big raise, forcing you into a difficult decision.
Well talk later about second best hands.
Where would you rather be sitting? Lets suppose you are dealt: (A-Ts)
10
Sitting in seat X, you must decide what to do immediately. Suppose that Z was going to make a big raise
Importance of Position
In HoldEm the dealer (button) acts last in all betting rounds after the flop. The chart on the right shows the EV (avg. bets won over a large # of hands) by position. Data is from PokerRoom.com posted on the Two Plus Two poker forums. SB and BB are the blinds, EP = early position, etc. Data suggests players are able to exploit positional advantage via good strategy (?)
Lets say were playing this hand. Flop #1: The flop misses you entirely. You have nothing and cant even make a very good hand on the turn. Check and fold. Flop #2: You hit the flop, and in fact hold the nuts. This is a no brainer: Bet or raise. Keep in mind, though, youre not unbeatable, and that you want to be called.
10
10
Flop #3: You have a drawing hand. Any Ace or Nine gives you a straight. Should you call, raise, or fold?
Answer: It depends. You have 8 outs remaining out of 47 cards, or about a 17% chance of making your straight.
Say there is $10 in the pot and you have to call a $5 bet to stay in the hand. You should probably FOLD. Would you pay $5 for a 17% chance to win $15? If there is $90 in the pot you face a $10 bet, CALL. You are paying $10 for a 17% chance to win $100!
Pot Odds are a useful guideline in making decisions. You should NOT use them as a hard and fast rule.
Pot Odds ignore action behind you or in future rounds. Even if you miss your straight on the turn, you could make it on the river and win an even bigger pot. They also ignore the possibility of you making your hand and still losing. Your straight could easily lose to a flush (note that the flop had two diamonds!!) or a monster hand like a full house. Skilled players modify pot odds to take these and many other factors into account. I would be more likely to call if the last card had been 2, if I were in late position with other callers in front of me, or if there had been multiple raises before the flop. POSITION MATTERS. I am more likely to call in late positionno worries about a big raise behind me.
Our Cards
10
Two-Card Probabilities
Of course if you dont make your hand on the turn, you could make it on the river.
Q J K 10 2
Our Cards
An open-ended straight draw has a 31.5% chance of making a straight by the river. But this assumes you would call a raise of any amount on the turn (BAD!!!).
More on Betting
Be the agressor. Betting is much more profitable than calling. It forces your opponent to make decisions, giving you information. Rarely he may fold the best hand! Have a plan. Decide how you will handle a raise or bets on later streets BEFORE you bet the flop (ideally at the very beginning of the hand, examples of this later). This can help a lot, as you dont fear raises and can more easily get away from a losing hand. Speaking of which Dont chase chips. Once you have put chips into the pot, theyre not yours anymore. They are also not going to get lonely. So dont throw good money after bad! (But be sure to make a note of people who do!!!)
Be aware of action in earlier rounds. What has happened in the hand so far is absolutely essential to deciding whether to bet, call or fold. For example, a bet on the flop from someone who just called (limped in) preflop almost always means the flop helped his hand somehow. A bet on the flop from a preflop-raiser may be a C-bet. A check usually means he either hit a huge hand or missed completely. If a preflop raiser is behind (after) you, betting is riskier. Should you call a raise from someone who showed a lot of strength preflop?
(1) or
Which is a better flop? Answer: probably (2) (top pair, top kicker)
K 7
(2)
(1): J-T, T-7, 7-6, and/or two diamonds has outs to beat you. You are also behind A-A, 9-9, 8-8, A-9, A-8, etc. (2): You ahead of everybody except A-A, K-K, 7-7, 2-2. K-7, etc. are much more likely to have been folded pre-flop. No straight/flush draws on the board. You will usually beat K-Q, K-J, etc. with your ace kicker!
Your goal is not to have the highest possible hand. It is to have the best hand at the table!
With premium hands, you need to make it expensive to draw against you. This is the other side of pot odds. This generally means putting in a sizable raise before the flop and being aggressive afterward. People often refer to a round with no betting as a free card. You generally want to be playing these hands against few opponents, ideally with hands only slightly weaker than yours (K-Q, K-J). The more people you let stay in, the more chance somebody gets lucky. This is why you bet/raise aggressively! In the second hand, if you get beat by K-2, it is your own fault. You did not raise enough pre-flop to make that hand fold. A-A wins only 35% of showdowns against 8 opponents!!
Flush draw: Any two cards on the board of the same suit. Here anyone with two diamonds is about 35% likely to make a flush by the showdown.
Straight draw: Any two consecutive cards, like 9-8. Anyone with JT, 7-6, or T-7 is about 31.5% likely to make a straight by the showdown. Gap straight draws (9-7 on the board) are less important as apart from A-Q, K-J, etc, these hands are often folded. Pairs on the board: Anytime the board pairs, there is a possible full house. When the board pairs, be aware!
This does not mean you should fear these hands; the right play is very often to bet more aggressively!!
or
Q 7 2
I bet around 30-50% of pot. This is a continuation bet or c-bet; one of the very few bluffs I recommend to beginners. You showed strength pre-flop by raising. Its hard to call here with, say, 6-6 or below. Even if youre called, you often still have draws (this is actually a semibluff). If you are raised, I would almost always fold.
10
Flop
J
Turn
Q
River
Both opponents, and anyone with two clubs, will be tempted to see another card. If the turn and river look like this, you would seriously consider folding to a large raise LOTS of hands have you beat. You absolutely must put in a large bet/raise on the flop (if not also pre-flop). This makes it so that opponents have to go against pot odds to draw against you.
Opponent A
Opponent B
10
6 6
or
You will usually only play these hands in late position, particularly with no raises in front of you. You will typically need help from the board to win with these cards, so you want to limit your pre-flop investment. Hit Big or Get Out. You should be looking to pick up a straight or flush draw, or two pair with the first hand, or (ideally) a set with the second on the flop. Beware of hitting one pair with the first, you often get out-kicked. You want to play these hands in big pots against multiple opponents. Remember Pot OddsWhen you hit these hands, you want to get paid off bigtime!!!
(1)
Not a great flop for this hand. You have second pair (Qs unlikely to be folded) and need to be aware of both the flush draw and the gap straight draw. An ideal flop. High (2) K Q 3 straight and flush draws (only an ace worries you) and the K, Q is likely to have hit someone else to bet against you. Play this like a premium handit is!! (some would call this a semi-bluff)
(1)
Not a great flop. With 8 opponents, it is about 50% likely someone was dealt a Q. The straight draw isnt a big deal (6-5 is usually folded); the flush draw is worrisome. I still might play this, particularly short-handed. A great flop. Lots of (2) A Q 6 possibilities for high pairs that will generate action. Remember that the value of marginal hands is deception. You want an opponent holding A-Q here!!
4
Turn
Two opponents, A and B, who raised preflop. On the flop, A bets around a third of the pot. You and B call. The turn: A checks. You bet the pot. B reraises you most of his stack. A folds (probably on a draw).
??
Opponent B (Button; raised pre-flop)
You are in a really difficult position. What does B have? What do you do?
Consider raising on the flop in this situation. If B has A-K, K-K, or 10-10, he will often make a big reraise.
M
Your M (or M-ratio, named after Paul Magriel) is the ratio of your stack to the total of the small blind + big blind (and antes, if applicable). Example: If blinds are 50/100 and you have $1500 in chips, you have an M of 10. Importantly, M is the number of laps around the table you can survive without having to play a hand. The hardest part of tournament poker is adjusting play based on your M (and other players).
Harringtons Zones
Dan Harringtons excellent books Harrington on HoldEm break M down into zones: Green Zone (M20): Play good solid poker as usual.
Yellow Zone (10M<20): Must take more risk. Marginal hands like suited connectors, small pairs lose value. Position becomes more important. Orange Zone (6M<10): Position crucial. You want to open (be first to bet pre-flop) with a raise (no just calling).
Red Zone (1 M<6): Move all-in preflop or fold. Period.
Call
Fold
Fold
Your action?
Observations
Button stack = $1200 (M=9) 1) I like UTGs move. The blinds are about to chew up >1/3 of her stack, and $500 is still a respectable raise (from early position, shows strength). If shes good she could be playing a very wide range of hands. Call
Fold
Fold Questions: How have UTG and Button been playing? Have they been using position? Have they shown down many losing hands?
2) Buttons play is iffy. Think about the Pot Odds you are offering to the SB and BB players. The SB is almost guaranteed to call. By that point the BB, who is large stacked, will only need to put in $350 for a shot at an $1800 pot. With only $700 left, very hard to fold post-flop. 3) The SB is either playing very badly or thinks he is very good and has total junk. As we said above, the Buttons call makes it attractive for the BB to call. Even with a bad hand, 5 hands to go till the blinds eat 50% of his stack. You must take chances like this to triple (or quadruple!) up. Anything else is capitulation.
Analysis
Button stack = $1200 (M=9) 1) I am more likely to call if I think UTG is a strong player. A Strong player knows she must be aggressive in this situation. If the SB is bad, many times a raise here takes the blinds, buying valuable time. Weak players wait for a monster. Call
Fold
Fold
2) I am less likely to call if I think Button is a very strong player. A call from a very strong player here is much scarier than an all-in. If he wants 2 more callers, look out. That said, I am usually pushing all-in here. This is just too good a hand. Youll be surprised how often the button will look disgusted and fold. You then have $550 of dead money in the pot and are likely at worst in a race with UTG. At worst, Button wins and youre down to $1800, which is still enough to compete with.
Lessons from this Example In these situations, newer players are usually overly passive. The call by Button and fold by SB are probably awful plays. This is often called an isolation play (driving Button out). Part of the value in our bet is the chance Button folds. Note the role of position. Short stacked, UTG is a half decent place for an all-in move. The BB is a pretty good spot when most/all of the action is pre-flop. Note how we took our own stack size as well as our opponents stacks and play styles into account. Better question: what do you do with Q-J suited here?
A Quick Word on All-In Bets Lets say you are the Button in this hand and have called (bad idea, but go with it). Lets say the BB pushes all in (as Ive argued). What do you do? What if he had only raised you $700 chips?
Misc. Tips
Know Your Opponents
A lot of beginning players will say I had K-Qs and the flop and turn were Kc-10d-7c-4s, should I call an all-in raise? Wrong. What did your opponents bet before and after the flop? What did that tell you about their hands? How have they bet previous hands? Did they check (slowplay) strong hands? Did they raise with weak ones? Have they been using position and if so, how?