Welcome to Sportznutz’ online poker section!

Advanced Texas Holdem

Poker is not all about playing starting hands. It is also about playing your opponents. A player who sits and wait for good starting hands will eventually not get any callers when playing hands or the other players will only play premium hands against such a player. It is therefore crucial that a player becomes difficult to read.

When a player has tightened up and learnt the strength of starting hands it is time to loosen up. This means to play more hands than just the premium hands. If you want to make your opponents unsure of your holdings you need to start throwing in a raise or two with medium hands such as 9-10 or 4-4, even hands like 4-5 suited at times. Late position is preferred with these kinds of hands since it will leave you with a better chance to bluff the pot after the flop. It can be good if you get caught some times bluffing since it creates the image that you can hold any two cards. At times you can call with premium hands such as A-A and K-K to become even more unpredictable. With these simple adjustments in how you play starting hands you make it more difficult for your opponents to put you on hands.

But it is not enough to start varying the play of starting hands, to become even more unpredictable and to win more money you need to start making moves against your opponents. There are some easy moves that will both give you more money and decrease losses. Below are listed some moves poker players should learn early on.

The Importance of Position in Texas Holdem

When you have played some games and received more experience it is important to start thinking how to advance your game and increase your skills as a poker player. Position is a major factor in Texas Hold’em. The value of starting hands changes depending on what position a player sits at.

For example a hand like A-9 is hardly playable from early position with many players to act behind but from late position it could be a raising hand if all players have folded before you. By sitting in late position you can also out-play your opponents easier after the flop, you can choose if you want to try and bluff the pot or draw for a free card.
When you are in early position you risk being outplayed by a late positioned player and that is why it is more important with stronger starting hands form early position.

By raising pre-flop you have taken the lead in the pot and players who call will expect you to bet out on the flop. In late position this is easier as the last player than what it is from early position with several players behind you.

Remember to play stronger starting hands from early position than what you do from late position.

The Check Raise

The check-raise is a common move used by most players. Check-raising means you check and let a player sitting behind you bet, then raise when the turn comes back to you. This is effective when you have a good hand and you know the player behind you is likely to bet and also to build the pot. Another reason for check-raising is if you think you have made a player behind you bluff and you can make him fold by counter bluffing. Keep in mind that you should have at least a draw for a strong hand if you decide to bluff raise (also called semi-bluff because you can hit cards that will give you a winning hand), you are pretty much forced to bet out the next turn if you are called when check-raising.

Bluffing from Late Position

In late position you have a lot of advantages. One of the foremost is you can bluff home pots when it is checked round to you. This is because of the phenomenon that a player needs a stronger hand to call with than what is needed to bet with, also called the gap concept. Many times when a player is last to act and it is checked around it is correct to bet with any two cards because of the chance all players fold. Be careful if the board of cards holds draw possibilities like three cards of same suit or three adjacent cards.

Slowplaying or Slowplay

To slowplay is to check a good hand on early rounds and bet later in the hopes that the opponents will call. Slowplaying is useful when the pot is small and you have a very strong hand, such as a full house. Slowplaying should not be used if the pot is already big or there are dangerous draws that can give your opponents a better hand than yours. A check-raise is good to use if you are sitting in early position here.