Texas Holdem Strategy

Here is a quick overview of solid Texas holdem strategy. It will not turn you into an expert, only practice and time will do that, but it will give you a great place to start if you are new to the game or help you improve if you are struggling.

The best holdem players, especially at limits below 10/20, are tight and aggressive and have a solid understanding of position. By tight I mean that they only play 20 – 25% of their hands. This should be your first goal as a holdem player. By entering the pot with only your best hands, you will be entering it on average with better hands than your opponents. When this can be accomplished, the laws of mathematics will dictate that you win a larger percentage of hands in the long run if everything else is equal. We will discuss position a little later, but good players know that playing hands like A8 or JT in early position is not a good idea. The biggest mistake I see at the poker tables, especially at lower limits, is players who play any Ace, no matter what their kicker is. So concentrate on only playing the best 20-25% of your hands.

The next thing I mentioned was aggressive play. Just to clarify, you don’t have to be aggressive to the point of playing like a maniac, and there are times when it is best to check or call instead of bet or raise. What I do mean by aggressive play comes directly from the following facts. The game of Texas holdem is a game of information and mistakes. Most of the profit you will make in holdem is directly related to the mistakes other players make and your ability not to make the same mistakes. Every time an opponent has to make a decision then he/she has the opportunity to make a mistake. By betting or raising in a majority of situations you are constantly forcing your opponents to make decisions, and hopefully mistakes. The other thing you can often gain with aggressive play is information. The more experience you get playing poker the better you will be able to read this information, but any information at the poker table is a good thing.

The last thing I mentioned above was position. There are basically four areas or positions at a Texas holdem table. They are the blinds, early, middle and late. Early position is the first three places to the left of the blinds. Middle position is the next three places and late position is the last two spots. Because of the chance of players yet to act behind you, only your very best hands should be played form early position. This is where information, or the lack of information, comes into play. Every player who acts before you gives you a little information. What will you do if you enter the pot from early position with A6 and there is a raise and re-raise behind you? The odds are good that your hand is way behind and the best thing to do would be fold. As your position improves you are able to play more hands because there are fewer players to act behind you. The best position is the dealer or button as you will act last in every round after the first and will have the maximum amount of information before you must act.

Here is a list of starting hands by position. This is just a guideline and your starting hand selections will have a lot to do with the game you are in, your experience and the competition. This is a good place to start though, and when combined with tight/aggressive play and proper use of position it will start you on a path to profitability.

Early:
AA KK QQ AKs AK AQs AQ

Middle:
JJ TT AJs AJ ATs AT KQs KQ KJs KJ

Late:
99 88 77 66 55 44 A9s A8s KTs KT QJs QJ QTs QT JTs JT

Blinds: In the big blind you can of course play any pot that hasn’t been raised. Even in the pots that have been raised you can often enter with most hands as the pot odds are often very good. In the small blind, the pot odds are also often good enough to call half a bet with many hands. Just make sure you are able to fold a hand that improves on the flop but still may be beat.