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Texas Holdem Poker Tips
When you really love the game of Holdem, tips are welcomed because it means you'll play more often and more successfully. Everyone loves tips; they're hard-earned information that can only be gained through winning and losing.
First up is TEACH. There is no better opportunity to learn a subject than to teach it. Students have a way of asking the very questions you don't have answers for and that encourages you to get the information you need, naturally. Who to teach? Start with your family members over a casual game after dinner. Then come your friends who have never played, or co-workers who have been talking about the game around the office and want to get started. Volunteer to teach it at the senior's center and tap into that maturity and calm like a deep stream you won't find at a table with young, competitive, over-energized 20-somethings.
NEVER PLAY WITH A SHORT STACK. Picture yourself as a racecar driver and you're about to enter the Indy 500. Would you take the course with only a half tank of gas? Of course not and neither should you enter a Texas Holdem game with a short stack. You are immediately at a disadvantage and on the defensive. No one is impressed with you and you're a target for a power player who will eat your chips. The only power play you have is to wait for a strong hand and go all in. Hopefully you have enough to get someone else interested in joining in-otherwise you can do this high-risk play over and over and only come away with the blind. Just not a good place to be, and no one should start a game under that constraint.
HOLDEM AND BOOZE DON'T MIX. Okay, I know what you're thinking. You played Hold 'Em with the crowd and drank beer without a problem, so why can't you drink now? The problem is that drinking with friends got by because there wasn't a great deal at stake. Plus the others were drinking as well. In a professional, tournament setting, you're asking to stack the odds against yourself. Not only will your instincts be affected, but you will lose the ability to think clearly, to calculate odds and to mask any tells you might normally have. Uninhibited, you're liable to play recklessly and the others at the table will target you to get rid of an unwelcomed wild card. If you're involved in tournament play, you're also risking getting hung over and being too ill to complete your games. There's really nothing worth that.
GET RID OF THE FEAR. First of all, you should never enter a Holdem game unless you are capable of losing your chips without affecting your family or living expenses. First of all, it's just not smart. Secondly, it adds enormous pressure to an atmosphere where you need to keep a calm, clear head. Playing conservatively is known as playing the cards close to your chest. You are going to be a target for any strong player at the table-they tend to live on the tilt and you would confound them. The fear of losing a hand will prevent you from capitalizing on specific opportunities that take guts and power. There are times when you'll need to be very aggressive, and fear will get in the way.
PLAY AROUND. While it's always fun to play with people you're close to, you'll be limited. It's too easy to fall into a pattern and the challenge leaves the game; people even begin to respond as expected rather than in their own best interests. Don't fall into this very comfortable situation-reach beyond. You can do this by signing up for some local tournaments to begin with. The territory is still familiar, but the faces have changed. You'll be surprised at the range of their participation. Some will be there thinking they know it all and are here to get recognized. Others will come because they want the winner's money; they are desperate and that will show in their play. Yet others will be there simply out of curiosity, or maybe they've come to accompany a friend. They won't be terribly serious but sometimes these folks actually win simply because there is no pressure on them.
From the tournaments, why not try out some of the online games? The pots can get sizable here and there's the chance of progressing the ranks to get a spot at a pro tournament.
First up is TEACH. There is no better opportunity to learn a subject than to teach it. Students have a way of asking the very questions you don't have answers for and that encourages you to get the information you need, naturally. Who to teach? Start with your family members over a casual game after dinner. Then come your friends who have never played, or co-workers who have been talking about the game around the office and want to get started. Volunteer to teach it at the senior's center and tap into that maturity and calm like a deep stream you won't find at a table with young, competitive, over-energized 20-somethings.
NEVER PLAY WITH A SHORT STACK. Picture yourself as a racecar driver and you're about to enter the Indy 500. Would you take the course with only a half tank of gas? Of course not and neither should you enter a Texas Holdem game with a short stack. You are immediately at a disadvantage and on the defensive. No one is impressed with you and you're a target for a power player who will eat your chips. The only power play you have is to wait for a strong hand and go all in. Hopefully you have enough to get someone else interested in joining in-otherwise you can do this high-risk play over and over and only come away with the blind. Just not a good place to be, and no one should start a game under that constraint.
HOLDEM AND BOOZE DON'T MIX. Okay, I know what you're thinking. You played Hold 'Em with the crowd and drank beer without a problem, so why can't you drink now? The problem is that drinking with friends got by because there wasn't a great deal at stake. Plus the others were drinking as well. In a professional, tournament setting, you're asking to stack the odds against yourself. Not only will your instincts be affected, but you will lose the ability to think clearly, to calculate odds and to mask any tells you might normally have. Uninhibited, you're liable to play recklessly and the others at the table will target you to get rid of an unwelcomed wild card. If you're involved in tournament play, you're also risking getting hung over and being too ill to complete your games. There's really nothing worth that.
GET RID OF THE FEAR. First of all, you should never enter a Holdem game unless you are capable of losing your chips without affecting your family or living expenses. First of all, it's just not smart. Secondly, it adds enormous pressure to an atmosphere where you need to keep a calm, clear head. Playing conservatively is known as playing the cards close to your chest. You are going to be a target for any strong player at the table-they tend to live on the tilt and you would confound them. The fear of losing a hand will prevent you from capitalizing on specific opportunities that take guts and power. There are times when you'll need to be very aggressive, and fear will get in the way.
PLAY AROUND. While it's always fun to play with people you're close to, you'll be limited. It's too easy to fall into a pattern and the challenge leaves the game; people even begin to respond as expected rather than in their own best interests. Don't fall into this very comfortable situation-reach beyond. You can do this by signing up for some local tournaments to begin with. The territory is still familiar, but the faces have changed. You'll be surprised at the range of their participation. Some will be there thinking they know it all and are here to get recognized. Others will come because they want the winner's money; they are desperate and that will show in their play. Yet others will be there simply out of curiosity, or maybe they've come to accompany a friend. They won't be terribly serious but sometimes these folks actually win simply because there is no pressure on them.
From the tournaments, why not try out some of the online games? The pots can get sizable here and there's the chance of progressing the ranks to get a spot at a pro tournament.
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