Basic Texas Holdem Strategy

What are the aspects of basic strategy that you need to be successful in online poker rooms?  While knowing the basics won’t guarantee victory, it will give you a good foundation that you need if you are to become a strong player over the long term.

Hand Selection in Texas Hold’em

The first thing you need to learn about Texas hold’em is that
you need to have stringent starting requirements. In early position,
you should only be playing very strong hands like aces through jacks,
AK, AQ and KQ. In middle position, you can play more pairs and other
big cards, and in late position you can consider very small pairs and
cards that are suited and connecting, like 4s5s. Remember that if you
start out with the best hand, you are more likely to end up with the
best hand, so if you only play hands where you are likely to have the
best hand starting out, your chances of long term success should
increase.

Position in Texas Hold’em

Why does it matter what position you are in when deciding whether or
not to play? Consider that if you are in early position, meaning one of
the first to act, and decide to play a hand like 55, you are really
hoping to see the flop cheaply to find out if there is a 5 in it. But
if you flat call, there may be six or seven people after you who like
their hand enough to raise. Now you will probably have to throw your
hand away and that money was wasted. On the other hand, If you decide to play a hand like 6c7c on the button, the flop comes ace high and everyone checks to you, you might be able to win the pot with a bet, since no one has shown strength, even though you have nothing.

Predictability in Texas Hold’em

It’s important, especially in no limit games, to vary the way
you act in certain situations. If you always act weak, check-calling
reluctantly, when you have a big hand, and always bet out forcefully
when you miss the flop, opponents will catch on quickly. It’s crucial to keep opponents guessing with your patterns of betting and behavior.

If you feel ready to test out your skills then give Pokerstars a go, they have excellent software and lots of holdem tournaments and holdem cash games.