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CRUSHING ONLINE SINGLE TABLE TOURNAMENTS

With the advent of the internet, certain types of poker have become ever more popular. No Limit and Limit poker has increased in popularity and also tournament poker as it is this form of the game that is so heavily marketed. But one of the most popular forms of tournament poker at this present time and especially online are single table tournaments or SNG’s for short.

Over in no more than an hour, they can be played by anyone that does not have the time or inclination to play cash games or longer and bigger tournaments. It is obvious to see why they are so popular and they can be played for various amounts of money and can be played for serious profit if you can master the correct way of playing them.

Professional poker player, coach and author Carl “The Dean” Sampson shows you how in his new explosive e-book…CRUSHING ONLINE SINGLE TABLE TOURNAMENTS! In this easily downloadable e-book, “The Dean” shows you how to approach these quick fire games and turn them into a serious revenue stream by presenting the reader with clearly defined strategies and objectives that shows you just how to play at every single stage of the tournament.

For those of you who are unaware of the credentials of “The Dean”, feel free to read up a bit more about him in the “Meet the Dean” section of the site. But at this present time, Carl is one of the most profitable online players in Europe and an expert on single table tournament play. In fact “The Deans” style of play is so powerful and so effective that the e-book is endorsed by non other than former WORLD POKER CHAMPION AND FOUR TIME WORLD SERIES WINNER TOM MCEVOY.

For a mind bogglingly cheap price of $67, the reader will rapidly catapult themselves into the category of player that your opponents will dread and fear in these types of games. As if that is not enough, you will also get access to several FREE gifts as well as direct access to a personal poker forum where you can chat and talk poker with other members as well as “The Dean” himself…..an absolutely invaluable golden extra. So do yourself what could turn out to be one of the biggest favours in your poker career to date and get yourself armed to the teeth with CRUSHING ONLINE SINGLE TABLE TOURNAMENTS.

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The Road to Webville: A day in the life of an online pro

The beautifully lithe sun-kissed female bodies strolled past me one after the other, their bikinis barely covering their assets. The beach was as golden as the sun and so was the company, oh god….this is what heaven must be like. The life of a poker pro feels good as each passing lovely gave me the eye as well as an obvious come on.

The only thing that was spoiling this seaside paradise was a very annoying buzzing sound that kept getting louder and louder. Suddenly without warning, the ladies started to fade and the beach began to appear less golden. What was happening? Bleep…..Bleep……Bleep……Bleep, on and on it went, my eyes opened to see the digits 5:30 am staring me in the face.

That damn alarm clock really gets on my nerves at times especially as the tone is so utterly annoying and doubly so when it drags me away from the bikini clad beauties. I never did like getting out of bed at set times but there was a reason for this if I could only remember what it was. I staggered out of bed and wondered downstairs into the kitchen to make a coffee. My head started to clear and I suddenly remembered why I was up at this godforsaken hour.

Oh yeah, I was going to play poker and to try and capitalise on a site where there was a heavy mix of American players, many who which would be playing in the wee small hours stateside and could be therefore much the worse for wear. I had scheduled a 6:30am start, plenty of time to get a shower and something to eat and finally clear my head. This was the first time that I had bothered to do anything like this as I had only previously played online at times that were comfortable to me.

The large volume of traffic outside was comforting as it made me aware that other ordinary souls were up for work even earlier than me. I was at my desk by 6:10am and doing what I always do before an online session, playing a few simulated hands on my “Turbo-Texas Hold’em” program to get my head into sync with actually playing poker.

This is an often overlooked side to online poker, the sheer speed at which you can actually play. Whenever you play in a bricks and mortar card room, there is always a time delay between the moment you intend to play and the time that you are actually being physically dealt the first hand. This time delay can be several hours and it helps you to mentally prepare for the session ahead.

It is different though online as you can literally jump out of bed and be playing poker within a couple of minutes tops. I finally log on and I am now into the sites poker lobby. I look for my bread and butter game which is limit hold’em and I see three tables going at my usual $30-$60 level.

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I now bring up the files from my documents on the players that I have taken notes on from previous games and then miniaturise it on the screen. A quick check of my notes revealed that I did not actually have any information on anyone who was active at this time although I had not been playing on this site for all that long.

I selected a game to watch, one of the tables had a better flop percentage and average pot size than the other two so I decided on that one. I like to watch the game that I am about to be playing in for about fifteen minutes or so because you can “feel” the players out in that length of time.

The game looked relatively standard, there was one player who was raising more than the norm but the rest of them seemed average to me. I have often been asked why I do not use software like “Poker Tracker” or something similar to assist me when playing. I have several reasons for this but the main ones are that software of this type is actually not allowed on some of the sites that I have played but the most important reason for me is that I want to be in control of what information I take.

I have my own system of note taking that has proved very successful and I have certain things that I look for. Another reason is that I want to know what a player is possibly feeling now……this minute and not just blindly follow some notes of what they did two weeks ago. Has a player just had a series of vicious outdraws and has then started raising like a crazy man, are they tilting, possibly feeling tired etc. Just because you cannot physically see them does not alter the fact that there are human beings behind those avatars and screen names and they suffer from emotions just like everyone else.

If you try and become at one with the screen then it is surprising just what information can actually be gathered. Much of which would be beyond the capability of poker software. I do not multi-table for this reason also. Multi-tabling may work for certain players but a massive amount of information is lost when you do this and your earn rate per table falls dramatically. Another reason that I do not multi-table is that it starts to feel that I am not actually playing poker, just some glorified fruit machine.

By 10:30 am, I am ahead by 24 big bets which is $1440 but I have also had my share of luck. This is far and above what my hourly earn rate is but you have to take the rough with the smooth especially in a game like limit hold’em where the overlay of a good player is nowhere near as great as it is in no-limit hold’em. I get dealt A-K again, it feels like I have had this hand a hundred times today and another pot comes my way.

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I do not let my emotions carry me away when my session goes through the $2000 profit mark at just after midday. The day before yesterday, I had lost over $1500 on another site. Limit hold’em can be a very frustrating game to play especially at the lower limits below $10-$20.

It is 1:00pm and the games are drying up and I must admit to no longer feeling my best now. The early start is beginning to take it’s toll as one by one the yawns start to creep in. This started to happen just after midday and I have now played for a full hour while not being at my peak. Why have I done it?……….I have no idea!

A bad beat in a $600 pot is my signal to call it a day. I am happy with the result not just because of the $2150 win but because my reason to rise at 5:30am seemed justified as the level of play did not seem as strong as it had been previously.

I log off at 1:10pm and end what has been a very good session, I need to rest now from the constant glare of the screen. Sometimes I wonder just how people who work in computer jobs actually do it. Depending on how I feel, I may go back online in the early evening and play some no-limit on a different site. But if I do this then there is no way that I am repeating the early start tomorrow, that feels too much like work to me.

I tend to alternate my play between limit and no-limit hold’em to prevent the game from becoming a bore. Relentless ring games can get to be pretty tedious and this is why many players play tournaments. But I have always preferred the flexibility and steady income that ring games provide. If I am not feeling at my best or I want to stop playing for any reason then I can, whereas tournaments kind of lock you in to playing for a set period of time. I guess that this means that I will never get to be on TV but I can sure live with that.

I go through my session notes and update my files, I have found a couple of very weak players at $30-$60 that I will lookout for the next time. I mentally go through the session to see if there is anything that I could have done better. I conclude that I let several big bets slip away which sort of annoys me because I am somewhat of a perfectionist at limit hold’em.

What to do next, do I go out for a walk or watch TV. Common sense would dictate that I should be giving my mind a rest from poker so what do I decide to do, why some more work on my first poker book of course. I could be taking a nap to prepare for a possible evening session online but that seems very dull. Whenever I sleep these days, I invariably dream about poker in some capacity. Usually I am playing in some game with funny characters, many of which I have never met. Last night I dreamt that I was in a game where we were all using biscuits for chips. Man do I need a change of job!!

This article has been reproduced with permission by Carl ‘The Dean’ Sampson. Carl, a professional Online Poker Player writes for Poker Pro Europe, World Poker Tour and Online Poker Pro as well as being the author of 2 paperback books! You can visit Carl at http://202203.sharkpool.hop.clickbank.net/

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Just some tips to help you win

Tips For Tournament Play:

PLAY LESS HANDS! The less hands you play, the more money you will keep. This doesn’t just go for tournaments but for poker in general. Play only the best possible hands you can! The ones that will give you the best value for the money.
One time I saw a guy make it to the final table who WASN’T even there half the time! That’s right! He made his fortune at the start of the tournament then posted and folded his hands. He made it to the final table by not playing any hands! This goes with the advice above, the less hands you play the better
IF somone is ALL-IN and someone else call’s you best BE OUT of the hand. Unless you have an AWESOME hand (and sometimes even if you do) you should fold!
Maintain yourself throughout the tournament. If you suffer a BADbeat, get over it! Think through every move you make.
Always leave yourself outs!
Unless your playing for a WPT title — Play for a PLACE not for first. Your play should always be enough to place at the final table and as long as you make it there you are going to win something. So just aim to place, and if you win — hey thats an added bonus. But play to win and winning is in placement!

OLD TIPS found on the internet:
Click between game tabs to refresh your table listings
This trick is useful mainly for SnG (sit and go / single table) tournaments, which are notoriously quick to fill up. Many times, you’ll see “Wtng for 5 players” as the table status, but when you click on the game, it will have already started. This is due to the table status not updating quickly, which you can force by clicking between tabs. Of note however, is that Party Poker and Poker Stars has recently upped the refresh rate of the tables substantially, so this isn’t a major issue like it used to be.
Keep player notes on opponents
I cannot stress this enough. So much so that I will be writing an article on how to take some good notes in the future (updated: Player Notes page now up). While you always want to be paying attention to how people are playing, in online poker, players are always coming and going, which doesn’t give you time to feel them out. Taking notes cam help you when you play these opponents again. Even if you aren’t going to play this person it again, taking notes makes it much easier to keep a mental track of how each player plays and what to expect from them. The big things to note are: smart or stupid, aggressive or passive, tight or loose, straight up or bluffs, bets out a draw or not and what kind of hands do they play or pre-flop raise with. Yes, this is a lot of information to note, but it will help you in the long run.
Get hand histories when players don’t show their at the river this one is IMPORTANT
Great Party Poker trick that I’m sure many people have figured out. Many times on the river, only the winning hand is shown – but you are very interested in seeing what the loser was holding too. Simply click on the hand number at the top right of the screen and request the hand history for that game via email. Depending on how busy Party Poker is at the moment, you should get an email with the history in a matter of minutes.
Scroll to the bottom of the history and you can instantly find out what the other player was holding. I normally do this in conjunction with player notes, to get me a good idea of what a player is willing to play with on a river. Showdown information is always the most critical, as you can analyze their decision making process from the ground up.
Wait a full table rotation before posting the BB
This tip is probably debatable by many of the players out there. In my opinion, unless you know what you are doing, this tactic will save you money in the long run by letting you not only get mentally prepared for the game, but also gives you invalable time to evaluate your opponents. The worst thing that can happen is to get dealt a strong hand early and then get caught in a massive raising war between two players you don’t know. They could be two maniacs for sure, but what if one of them is a maniac and the other player is super-tight? Most likely, that super tight player is holding the nuts while you are bumbling by with top pair or two pair. Not a good move. So be patient, take notes in the meanwhile and save money in the long run.
Turn on your sound, turn down the music
It’s no secret that us humans work better using more of our senses, otherwise we wouldn’t have been born the way we are. Yes, it may get annoying to hear the dinks, beeps and chip sounds of the game after awhile, but hearing those audible cues are vital to your play. You are much less prone to make mistakes when you can hear and see what people are doing, as opposed to just seeing it. For me, I notice it helps my timing when I am trying to figure out if I am onto a online tell or not, based on the delay during the other person’s actions.
Show the avatars (people in chairs), but don’t stereotype them
This is probably the most debatable tip I’m guessing, because if you’ve turned them off, you probably really don’t like the avatars to begin with. And if you do like avatars, well, they’re probably on already. I just want to get my two cents in about this Party Poker tip by saying that even though avatars are computer graphics, it’s again human nature to easily identify faces. That means we can more easily associate a personality to a face, so it makes it easier to remember how someone is playing when we can attach a face to a playing style.
That being said, I’m sure there is some negative influence of these faces as well, because we probably tend to associate a certain avatar with a playing style. For instance, I’ll admit that I used to mentally associate one of the avatar pictures with bluffing. I think this was caused by a long string of coincidences, when different players using that avatar would constantly bluff, so I just starting linking that specific avatar with bluffing. Don’t let this happen to you.
Learn to leave the table
This is really just a general poker tip, but it still nabs even the poker pros at times. At Party Poker, if you find that you are being outplayed, outclassed or just unlucky at the table, it’s ok to leave. Don’t think about getting your money back or getting revenge on the bastard that rivered you for the 3rd time now. If you are losing money at your table, you do NOT have good table image no matter what you might think. Not only are you not in a good mood, which puts you on tilt (admit it or not), but other players will be more likely to make plays against you. This makes your game harder in more ways than you want. With so many tables, just get up and go, it’s that easy.
I can’t stress this enough if the game gets short-handed (6 or less players) and you are not familiar with short-handed play. This is an easy way to lose a lot of cash if you don’t know what you are doing. I see this happen all the time, when a table breaks up and I’m stuck with two solid players and three guys who don’t realize they are about to get run over. Don’t be road kill when all it takes is a single click.
Buy-in more than necessary at the poker table
If you’ve been doing your homework, you’ll know that you should always sit in with at minimum 20 times the big blind at any poker table. In the realities of online poker, this should be more along the lines of at least 40 times the BB. Personally, I like to sit down with practically 100x the BB. You should think about doing this too. Why? First, don’t ever be in the position of holding the nuts and not having enough money to raise the pot. I’ve seen this happen too many times, where a guy will have flopped a full house in a $3/6 game, but only have $12 in his bankroll. He could have made a killing if it weren’t for the fact he was playing with a small stack. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
If you are worried about losing your money, you should stop playing poker, switch tables or take a break. Second reason to buy more than is necessary, is for intimidation factor. Opinions may differ, but faced off against a big stack, my feelings are that a good amount of players (but not all) show a bit more respect (read: fear) and will play accordingly – which is to your benefit. Now, don’t read this as buying in for $1,000 in a $1/2 game, because then people will think you are just nuts, but $400.. now we’re talking.
Move out of the $5 tournaments ASAP
This isn’t as much a trick as it is advice. The $5 sit and go tournaments on Party Poker are cheap, but at a price. With a $1 entry fee, this amounts to a 20% rake, which is no light task to beat. If you are good enough to win enough $5 tournaments that you can beat this rake, you are good enough to be playing at the $10 tournaments. There really is no difference between the two; and in my opinion, the $10 tournaments might even be easier because you don’t get filled out tables of nothing but calling stations. Try as you might and throw the book of poker at me, but there almost nothing humanly possible you can do at an entire table of maniacs or calling stations. The game makes more sense at $10 and even more sense at $30.
Protect your computer!
This may sound like some paranoid or strange advice, but it never hurts to take extra precautions when it comes to protecting your computer and poker information. Anti-virus software of course is nice, but in reality isn’t as much a threat as spyware or trojans. I recommend getting Ad-Aware 6, which is a very popular (and free!) spyware killer that will thouroughly clean your system out of tracking junk on your computer. Firewall software is great too and highly recommended. Windows XP comes built in with it’s own firewall that you can enable, but other software like BlackIce defender are even better. Chances are nobody will be coming after you for your poker passwords, but why chance it?

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How Technology Can Help Anyone To Become A Poker Winner

How Technology Can Help Anyone To Become A Poker Winner

With the immense popularity of poker games on the Internet, players from all over the world can now play not only to entertain themselves, but with a great possibility that they might win cold hard cash. This makes every poker game even more exciting and worth the suspense!

But, let’s face it, it’s not that easy to win big time.

A poker player faces tough decisions every single move. He usually has four choices to make: check, bet or call, raise, or fold. To make a wise decision, he needs to figure out the approximate expectation of every possible move and pick the one that has the best return, if there’s any, or simply fold.

Then again, even the best player can get distracted, tired or reckless at any time during the game.

The biggest problem a player can have is the fact he is losing too much money at the tables just because he’s following the wrong advice. Indeed, there are too many players out there are using old, outdated strategies that worked years ago.

Well, there’s good news for you. Current technology seems to be in favor of anyone who wants to make some serious cash at online poker. A software supposedly designed by the MIT students has been making quite a commotion amongst poker players since the source code was leaked to the general public just recently.

Just like a state-of-the-art computer chess program, Deep Blue which defeated a world champion many years ago, the same technology has entered the online poker community which allows anyone to compete with the pros. It’s called the Online Poker Analyzer (OPA).

The software was designed to help people learn how to play and win poker games. So powerful, it was rumored to be banned by the casinos on the Internet. They sure hate to see the drop in their profits just because one tiny software comes up.

You see, the poker software works to calculate the odds against you, and if the return is greater than the odds, then it will tell you to make the bet. If the odds are in your favor, then the OPA will tell you to place your bet as heavily as you can. This is how the pros win the game constantly.

Since there is a lot of psychology involved during a poker game, a psychological tactic is very significant towards your winnings. But that’s not a problem for a poker software, because it can read, analyze and evaluate the best possible move for you to take, all simultaneously.

Not to mention that you will get both skill and knowledge at the same time if you play with the help of poker software. Using OPA is very easy, all you have to do is install the software in your computer and run it while you play poker on the Internet. There’s no need to read those boring poker books anymore.

Keep in mind though; poker is about being able to win big pots, not just getting the highest hand. Being able to utilize a poker software in your hand is probably the most valuable asset you can have if you plan to make money at online poker rooms.


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How To Play And Win At Online Poker Room

How To Play And Win At Online Poker Room

The number of people who play poker on the Internet constantly grows from time to time because they know that poker is an exciting game. This article offers tips to both novice players who have never played online poker before, as well as those who have the experience, yet still want to learn how to play better and win bigger.

Online poker games represent the best opportunity ever for new players to learn the game for absolutely free. Eventually, a lot of these beginners will move on to play in real casinos, so this article might be your first guide towards a successful poker career!

The primary thing to understand is that playing poker on the Internet is not the same as playing poker at brick & mortar casino. While the rules are usually the same, the way the games played are quite different. I’m not saying that playing poker in a real casino is better than playing online, or necessarily more profitable. In fact, playing on the Internet can give you many advantages.

At poker, it’s very important to know the deck that’s being played with. A deck of cards has four suits, such as hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs. Each suit has 13 cards including a single ace, jack, queen and king and the numbers two through 10, so in one deck there are 52 total cards (4 x 13 = 52). In order to win, you have to combine these cards to make the best possible hand. These include Royal flush, Straight flush, Four of a kind, Full house, and Straight.

An important thing to consider in the basic poker strategy is to find out the percentages of the odds you have to face during the poker game. It is essential to remember these odds so that you can make a good decision fast when your turn comes.

Discipline is another winning strategy in poker. What distinguishes a professional poker player from amateurs is that he will not give up his decisions to sheer dumb luck. A professional always desires to win the game by playing his hands cleverly.

Fortunately, there is one software that can help a novice player to play and win a poker game. It’s called the Online Poker Analyzer (OPA). With the help of this brilliant software, you don’t have to calculate the odds, watching the opponent’s hand or even discipline yourself. All you have to do is to follow the OPA since it will tell you exactly how to play and win poker one step at a time.

So if you want a fun, fast-paced game to play on the Internet, you will find that it’s quite easy to learn how to play poker. Of course, becoming a world champion in poker tournament might take a lot of practice, but the truth is the basics behind poker aren’t that difficult to grasp.

  

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Top 5 Reasons Why Poker Is Not A Game of Luck

Top 5 Reasons Why Poker Is Not A Game of Luck

Every professional poker player in the world hates to be called “professional gamblers” because it’s not a suitable title for them. Why? Because they know firsthand that poker is not a game of luck or chance.

Sure, we are grateful to have luck in poker and wish we could save it for future games. But in some ways, luck is actually the enemy of a good poker player. First, let’s take a quick look at luck from the viewpoint of a bad player. At least half the time when a bad player wins a pot, he will have gotten lucky to do it. In poker, bad player has a million ways to get lucky.

On the other hand, good players are playing with their skills. Yes, they still get “lucky” every now and then, but they will have been getting pot odds on that draw and will have built the pot properly as well. Good players will always take action mathematically in any given situation.

Here are the 5 top reasons why poker is not a game of luck…

1. Poker involves discipline, patience and focus. Without those aptitudes, you couldn’t win at a poker game since the opponents can easily distract you.

2. Poker requires the skill of psychology to assess the opponents’ hands. You have to be able to reads your opponents and carefully evaluate every single move they make.

3. Poker requires mathematical intelligence to calculate things like pot odds, implied odds, and outs, which are very important factors to determine who’s going to win.

4. Just like chess, poker requires the brainpower to plan ahead, to make a solid strategy, and to properly combine the cards before making a decision.

5. Just like any other sports, poker requires knowledge and years of experience before someone can be a professional player. The more you play poker, the better you will become.

You see, poker is not just about what cards you get. I mean, everybody gets the same amount of cards at some point – it’s how you play those cards wisely. In fact, a poker player can turn losing hands into winning hands if he uses his skills during the game.

That’s why all the professional players in the world are working together to legalize playing poker on the Internet as a way of making money with skills, not as a gambling habit. That’s how the famous Chris Moneymaker lives.

But today, there is  software that can help you play and win a poker game. The best is  called the Online Poker Analyzer (OPA). This software covers all the skills required in poker game, for instance, the OPA can constantly monitor the cards on the table as well as analyzing every single move your opponents make without you do anything else.

The software contains thousands of poker games in its database, making it the most valuable tool for any player at any level to play and win at online poker room. With luck out of the question, a poker player with the right tool and skills is always going to win more money again and again.


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Texas Holdem Poker Advanced Strategy

The advanced Texas Holdem poker strategy that I am going to discuss involves playing what is referred to as “suited connectors“. These are cards such as 9 of hearts and 10 of hearts. The main thing with playing suited connectors is that you want to hit the flop.It is difficult to win with suited connectors. However, suited connectors do give you a chance at a straight, a flush, or even a straight flush.
You should only move on to playing suited connecters after mastering the beginner and intermediate strategy. It will also be a big help if you have begun to develop a knack for reading your opponents.
When playing suited connectors before the flop I am not usually aggressive, but prefer to call bets. I recommend calling two bets. Any more and I feel that I am putting too much money into the pot.

Be careful that you don‘t overplay your suited connectors – calling too many bets, which then causes you to play too many hands.

Since you will be losing more than winning with suited connectors, you want to win big pots. The more players putting money into the pot can make playing suited connectors profitable in the long run.

Some of the problems with suited connectors are if you‘re cards are low (2 of hearts, 3 of hearts) a flush that you may hit can be easily beaten, the same goes for a straight or even a pair that you may make on the flop.

If you do decide to play the low suited connectors read the board and your opponents and don’t be afraid to fold.

I prefer to play the higher connectors such as 8 of clubs, 9 of clubs. That way I stand a better chance of winning with a flush or a straight.

Just how well you have hit the flop will dictate whether you will fold or remain in the hand.

For example, if your two hole cards are 8 of clubs, 9 of clubs and the flop comes down 7 of clubs, 10 of clubs and a Queen of hearts then you would certainly keep playing this hand.

However if the flop came down 5 of hearts, Q of diamonds and Ace of spades – FOLD!
 
 

 

When playing suited connectors a player MUST understand the concepts of pot odds and MUST know the number of outs that you have.  This is the clearest way of knowing if you are just chasing a pot or actually have a chance to win it.

Another advanced strategy is Stealing the Blinds. In tight games many players will fold before the flop. If all the players before the button (dealer) fold, oftentimes the player on the button (dealer) will usually raise hoping that the small blind and the big blind will fold. If both the small and big blind do fold, then the player on the button will win the blinds.The player on the button is said to be in late position. This player is the last to act and has the advantage of watching what the other players do – who bets and how they each react to those bets.

 

By acting last you get a better feel for how strong the other players‘ hands are.
 
 

 

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Texas Holdem Poker Intermediate Strategy

If you have been using the beginner strategy effectively and winning consistently when playing Texas Holdem Poker in online casinos it is time to move on to my:

 Intermediate Texas Holdem Poker strategy.

We will still be playing Texas Holdem Poker very tight.   We will be investing in hands where we stand a greater chance to win and fold those where we have little or no chance to win.

My intermediate Texas Holdem Poker strategy introduces additional powerful hands into your Texas Holdem Poker arsenal.

The hands that we will be adding to our playable Texas Holdem Poker hands are:

K-Js (the s means suited ex King of clubs and Jack of clubs), A-10s, A-Q, K-Q, 7-7, 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2.

We are also playing the hands which we learned earlier.  Those are:

A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, A-Ks (the s means that both cards are the same suit – both clubs), A-Qs, K-Qs.

These additional starting hands will allow you to play more hands in Texas Holdem Poker.

You must resist the temptation to play starting hands outside of the best beginner and intermediate starting hands.

If you have one of the best hands, I recommend that you raise your opponents.  A raise does a couple of things for you.

  • tells you who else may have a strong hand (If they re-raise)

  • forces a player with a bad hand to fold

  • gets more money into the pot

Intermediate Strategy on the flop

When the flop hits you must assess:

  • Whether you have improved your hand or not.

  • Whether you have a hand that can win the game.

If you have improved your hand on the flop or still feel you have a good chance of winning, I recommend that you raise.

If you have not improved or don’t feel that your hand is good enough to win then I recommend folding.

Intermediate Strategy on the Turn and River

Playing on the Turn and River is similar.  Every time a card is dealt you should ask yourself:

  1. Did you make your hand? 

  2. Do you have a good chance of making your hand?

  3. Most importantly, is your hand good enough to win?

If it is I would raise.  If it is not then I recommend folding.

Summary of Texas Holdem Poker Intermediate strategy

Our Texas Holdem Poker intermediate strategy can be summed up in this manner:

  1. If you do not have one of the best starting hands – FOLD

  2. If you do have one of the best starting hands – bet or raise

  3. After the flop if you have not improved your hand – FOLD

  4. After the flop if you have improved your hand – raise

  5. If after the Turn and River you have not improved your hand – FOLD

  6. If after the Turn and River you have improved your hand – raise

This Texas Holdem Poker intermediate strategy is easy to learn and use.  Practice it and you will win with it.

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Texas Holdem Poker Beginning Strategy

The Texas Holdem Poker Beginner Strategy that I recommend is playing only the best starting Texas Holdem Poker hands.

The hands that you should be playing as a beginning Texas Holdem Poker player are: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, A-Ks (the s means that both cards are the same suit – both clubs), A-Qs, K-Qs.

Limit yourself to only these hands.  If you are dealt any cards outside of these hands then fold.

The goal is to have you win money.  The best way to do that is to win as much as possible on the hands that you have a chance to win and to minimize your losses on hands where you have little or no chance to win. In other words, fold the bad hands.

If you have one of the best hands, I recommend that you raise your opponents.  A raise does a couple of things for you.

  • tells you who else may have a strong hand (If they re-raise)

  • forces a player with a bad hand to fold

  • gets more money into the pot

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Beginner Strategy on the Flop

When the flop hits you must assess: 

  • Whether you have improved your hand or not.

  • Whether you have a hand that can win the game.

If you have improved your hand on the flop or still feel you have a good chance of winning, I recommend that you raise.

If you have not improved or don’t feel that your hand is good enough to win then I recommend folding.

Beginner Strategy on the Turn and River

Playing on the Turn and River is similar.  Every time a card is dealt you should ask yourself: 

  1. Did you make your hand? 

  2. Do you have a good chance of making your hand?

  3. Most importantly, is your hand good enough to win?

 If it is I would raise.  If it is not then I recommend folding.

Summary of Texas Holdem Poker Beginner Strategy

Our Texas Holdem Poker beginner strategy can be summed up in this manner:

  1. If you do not have one of the best starting hands – FOLD

  2. If you do have one of the best starting hands – bet or raise

  3. After the flop if you have not improved your hand – FOLD

  4. After the flop if you have improved your hand – raise

  5. If after the Turn and River you have not improved your hand – FOLD

  6. If after the Turn and River you have improved your hand – raise

This Texas Holdem Poker beginner strategy is easy to learn and use.  Practice it and you will win with it.

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Rank & Order of Poker Hands

The poker hand rankings is here detailed in a descending order:

Royal Flush

  • A descending row of the same suit starting from the ace.
  • Example- AKQJT all Diamonds.
  • There are 4 different ways to get poker hand rankings like this.

Straight Flush

  • A descending row of the same suit.
  • Example- T9876.
  • 36 different ways are possible for you to get a hand like this.

Four of a Kind

  • Four cards of different suits.
  • Example – 5555K.
  • 624 different ways to get a hand like this.

Full House

  • The hand is made of one three-of-a-kind and one pair.
  • Example – 88555.
  • 3,744 different ways to get a hand like this.

Flush

  • A hand of the same suit.
  • Example – Q9853, all Hearts
  • 5,108 different ways to get a hand like this.

Straight

  • A descending row of different suits.
  • KQJT9 of different suits.(K of hearts, Q of spades…)
  • 10,200 different ways to get poker hand rankings like this.

Three of a Kind

  • Three cards of the same value.
  • Example – J9993 Different suits.
  • 54,912 different ways to get a hand like this.

Two Pair

  • Two pairs of he same value.
  • Example – TT 55 2, Different suits.
  • 123,552 different ways to get a hand like this.

One Pair

  • One pair of cards with the same value.
  • Example – JJ 6 5 3
  • 1,098,240 different ways to get a hand like this.