No Limit Texas Hold'em Strategy for Beginners
Being that Texas Holdem is one of the most popular poker variations for both on and offline poker, and that the Texas Holdem rules are easy to learn you’re going to find a lot of beginners looking
Mike Greenberg is a dedicated poker player who always tries to improve his game. He operates the poker site Toptexasholdem.com where you can find his educating articles and thoughts on poker strategy. Mike Greenberg shows that you don’t have to be the best player in the world to make a profit from poker. If you stick to the basics and play solid poker, you can beat the games at reasonably high limits. Michael's website is www.toptexasholdem.com to play the game. This is both good and bad news if you’re an experienced player looking to make a bundle. It’s good news that it’s easier to trap and beat inexperienced players. The bad news is that new players are very tight with their money so you might not have the opportunity to strip a beginner dry. At times, it’s better to compete with a quality opponent—a player who is confident in his abilities and so might be looser with his stack.
If you’re a beginning No Limit Texas Holdem player, let the above scenario tell you something: there are experienced Holdem sharks out there who want to rip you of your stack. Not to scare you into never playing the game, but you shouldn’t dive in too readily to high-stakes games if you’re recently making the leap from Limit Holdem or another variation. There are a few basics about Texas Holdem strategy you should know before sitting down at a No Limit table.
Some basic things you should learn before you play are good beginning hands, cards that are good against one or two players, as well as how position and opponent traits affect the flow of the game. It’s a good idea to sit and watch the game play at a table unfold. This is useful for two reasons: one, you’ll learn how experienced players play their cards, and you can get a feel of the “mood” of the table. In large tables, online players can come and go, but most often the core group will be there for the long haul, so keep an eye on these players foremost.
If you’re playing heads-up, three-way, or a larger table, a lot is going to depend on your positioning as well. If you get raised, you have to make the decision if you call or raise again. If the person before you is in the first position, you’re in a much different situation. You have to gauge that person’s hand—based on the current game as well as games in the past. It may take up to thirty games to get a full sense of an opponent’s habits. If he’s in the first position, does he raise loose or not?
One of the best pieces of advice for beginning players is this: be prepared to lose. The reason there are so many tight beginning players is by design. They are all learning the game, testing out new tricks, not getting to trigger-happy with a pair of kings that can be beat with trips. If you’re not immediately looking for the big score, you can take some time to learn which hands work and which don’t. If you fold early on a good hand, don’t fret too hard. Your opponent is none the wiser and you can use the experience to improve how you play a similar hand the next time around.