How to play poker - betting strategy - preflop hand selection

In this segment of how to play Texas Hold'em Poker will will dig right into betting. There are two ways to win hands in poker the first way is to play the best hand to a showdown the other way is to bet and make your opponent fold. This bring us to the power of betting. Be a tight poker player. Play the best hands from every position. These hands include AA KK QQ AK JJ TT 99 88 77 and AQ.
I recommend that when you are the first person to enter a pot you make a raise. Two and a half to three times the blind is a good amount to raise. This will always vary based on how your opponents are playing. I often find that against tighter players a smaller bet is more likely to be called. Against loose players you may want to raise a little more as this will help you get more value out of your good hands.
When you are in early position, either of the first two players to act, I recommend you play only these top hands, because there is a good possibility that someone may have another very strong hand after you. As you move around the table and get a chance to act later on subsequent betting rounds you will gain an advantage in the hand. Poker is a game of incomplete information. If you get to act later in the betting you will have more information about what moves your opponents are going to make. I have created a custom poker starting hand chart for your download. This is printable and is allowed for use in most casinos as well as online while you are playing at your computer. This chart is color coded based on your position at the table. As you go later in position the more hands can be raised for value.
Be sure to print this chart and keep it nearby while you are learning. This chart represents the hands that I recommend you open a pot with. If the pot has been opened you need to adjust your calling hands to only hands that you feel are beating you opponents opening hand range based on their player type and your 'read' on the situation.
If you have a top hand and someone acting before you raises I recommend that you re-raise the pot. If you are going to re-raise I always recommend that you bet enough to allow your opponent to fold. Doubling their bet is a sure way to bring you opponent into the hand and may allow them to get involved in a situation where you may lose a lot of chips if they make a hand. This is why I always re-raise three times my opponents bet or more if I feel they are a very loose player.
I hope this chart helps you out with your poker play just remember it takes a better hand to call a raise than it does to take a bet. Play position on your opponents. Remember acting after them gives you more information on the strength of their hand. Use that information to make your decisions easier. Good luck on the felt.

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How to play poker - get to know the player types - poker strategy

What is the best way to win at poker games? In the game of poker there are many different winning strategies. I'm going to teach you one of the most important strategy tips you will ever learn. I call this tip knowing your enemy. Poker is a game of cards as well as it is a game of people. Knowing your opponents tendencies will allow you to figure out what cards they may be betting and therefore what play to make.
There are 4 main categories of poker play. I consider there to be 5 types of poker players because I feel professional players can change frequently between these 4 types of players therefore making themselves difficult to categorize. These four types of play are derived from the fact that there are passive and aggressive players in terms of how frequently they bet. An aggressive player can be identified because they often make large bets, and usually once they open a pot for a raise will continue betting after the flop falls regardless if the cards help their hands or not. A passive player is just the opposite they usually do not raise preflop hands and often check regardless if they have improved on the flop.
There is also another difference that can separate players hand selection. If they have a very small hand selection prior to seeing the flop they are considered to be tight players. If they have a large hand selection preflop then they are considered to play loose.
From this we can determine 4 different player types the first I will discuss is the tight passive player. This type of player has a very conservative hand selection and may play as few as 10 hands. AA KK AK QQ JJ TT 99 88 77 and AQ. This type of player is very predictable and can easily be avoided when they do enter a hand. Eventually this type of person does tend to blind their chips away. These hands are the hands that I recommend be played from early position all the way through to any other position. However from early position these are the only hands I recommend you play. I consider early position to be the first 2 seats to the left of the big blind.
In my opinion tight aggressive is the best strategy for a beginner to learn to play. It is also the strategy used the most by professional poker players. A tight aggressive style is the hardest to play against because most of the time the player will only be betting when they have good holdings. A TAG players as they are often referred to are considered by most as 'solid players' they won't make many strange bets. When they are betting they are often betting for value and to protect their hand from getting beat.
This is where I bring up the loose passive player. The person is often known as a calling station this is not the type of player you want to become. This person is why poker can be very profitable at times. When this player hits any part of the flop they will continue to put money into the pot. Against this type of player you may also notice that they will draw out on you at times and you need to beware of this as well. The best strategy against this type of player is continue to be aggressive against them especially if the flop contains a lot of draws such as connecting cards 4 5 7, or flush draws 2 or 3 of one suit on the flop.
Now on to loose aggressive this type of player is more dangerous than the calling station but is also difficult to play against because they will bet or raise with absolutely nothing. This can be a
profitable way to play if you can use other peoples playing styles against them. However it takes an advanced play book to be able to use this style well. This LAG player can also be trapped if you disguise a big hand preflop. This player will often trap themselves on many occasions. If you can slow play aces or kings preflop in a hand where your opponent makes top pair you can extraxct some chips.
I have developed a poker hand chart based on position for you to use while you learn to play poker. If you are the first person to enter an unraised pot preflop and you have any of the selected hands above its ok for you to put in a raise. I actually recommend that you put in a raise. Do you have to play these hands everytime you in that position? The answer is no some of the late position hands do not need to be played but often if you put in a little raise you may take down the pot. It all depends on the players in the blinds what type of player are they? Watch your opponents and learn what style of play they are using and think about how you can beat each type of player.

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How to play poker - the basics of the game Texas Hold em

First things first lets get to the basics. Poker is a card game where the best 5 card hand wins based on the ranking of hands. Download the ranking of hands, print them off and keep them nearby while you learn to play the game. For our examples I will be covering a basic cash game of poker which is what you will commonly find in a casino, online, at home games or in some areas at your local bar and poker club establishments.
To start with you will need between 2 and 10 players that are willing to play. You will find full table play 9-10 players is what the majority of my discussion will be about as this is the most common situation you will occur. At some point I will be adding information about short handed and heads up play. In my experience I also find it to be helpful is having one person designated as dealer, usually this person does not play. If you do not have a designated dealer the person who has the dealer button which changes every hand will deal that hand. I find it helpful when the players are dealing to use 2 decks and have the person who will be dealing next shuffling the second deck while he current dealer passed out the cards.
A dealer button also used to designate who the dealer is. This helps the person who is dealing keep track of where to deal the cards. After each hand the dealer button will shift left one seat. The button is also used to help place the small and big blinds. Blinds are forced bets that are placed each hand to ensure that there will be action. The blinds are designate by the game you are playing. For example in a casino a low limit cash game will consist of $1 and $2 blinds. The small blind directly to the left of the dealer button will be one dollar and the big blind one seat to the left of the small blind and will post two dollars prior to the start of the hand.
Once the blinds have been posted the dealer will begin dealing one card at a time around the table starting with the small blind and finishing when the button receives its second card. Everyone will have two cards face down. These are referred to as your hole cards. I find it in your best interest to wait until it is your turn to look at your whole cards as you should be observing your opponents when they are looking at their cards.
After every one has cards the bets begin with the first person to the left of the big blind. This position is often referred to as under the gun and just means that you are first to act pre-flop. When someone bets that amount in placed into the pot which will be awarded to the winner of the hand. On your turn you will have the option to call, fold, or raise. Call means to place an amount equal to the current bet into the pot. Folding means you discard you hand and forfeit any chips you have placed into the pot. Raising means you wish to increase the bet that has gone into the pot. Betting strategy will be discussed in much greater detail in future posts.
After the players act the big blind has the final option and as they have placed in the blind to the pot if there has not been a raise they may check and continue to see cards or they also have the final option to increase the bet prior to the flop. After everyone has satisfied the largest bet by calling that amount or folding their hands the flop is dealt. The flop is dealt by the dealer only after discarding the top card of the deck face down into a pile called the muck which also contains all of the discarded hands. The flop consists of 3 community cards placed face up on the middle of the table. These cards are common to everyone who continues to bet.
The most important decisions of the game will occur during preflop hand selection and then after the flop has occurred. These times are when you will get the most amount of knowledge about your hand. I will be discussing these decisions in dedicated posts in the future. On the flop the first person still involved in the pot starting again with the left of the dealer button will take their turn. Again each turn will involve a decision of whether to check, bet, raise (if there has been a bet already) or fold their hand.
After all players have taken their turn the dealer will then discard another card into the muck followed by placing the 4th community card face up on the board. This card is known as the turn. Players will then re-evaluate their best 5 card hand based on the availible cards and betting will resume with the left of the dealer. After betting has ended the fifth and final card will be discarded again after the top card of the deck is placed in the muck. The river card as you will hear over and over will determine the final outcome of the cards. The last round of betting occurs on the river and when it is completed all hands still remaining will showdown. This begin with the left of the dealer button revealing their holdings. After the best hand has been determined the pot will then be awarded to the winning hand.
It has been said that the cards read themself. If you dont understand this refer back to your rank of hands and determine what hand ranks highest in the chart. Also check the guide to reading the board included in the document. I hope this helped you learn the basics of poker and stay tuned to this blog by subscribing above today!

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Welcome! Learning to play poker? You're at the right place

This blog will be teaching you from the ground up how to play poker and the general flow of the game. I will then discuss intermediate strategy issues including categorizing players and offensive tactics. This will be followed by advanced play strategies including calculating odds and further discussion of advanced strategies including bluffing, tells, and defensive plays. I will then be discussing tournament structures and strategies for different stages of the game.

If you are new to the game of poker this is definitely the place to start from the beginning and develop your game beyond belief. Enter your email today in the subscribe box above to be automatically notified when I update this blog.

When I begin we will be discussing cash game poker games much like you will find many places including casinos, online poker sites, home games and in some places at local bars and or poker clubs. Are you planning on hosting your own game? Be sure to check out PokerMario's Poker Store for items such as poker chips, poker tables, playing cards, all kinds of poker related accessories and strategy books.

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