Hold'em
Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker game in the world, even with the recent boom of omaha, the best tournaments in the world are all hold'em tournaments and there are more players beginning to excel at hold'em, there are different variations that can be played, NL, PL, and Limit hold'em. If you are just started playing poker we have a section including the basics, however if you have been playing poker for a while you will want to know more about advanced hold'em and how it is played.
Basics
Holdem is an easy game to learn but a tough one to master, this section will take you through the basics and is useful if you are just starting to play poker.
Pre Flop
Each player on the table is dealt two cards face down, there is a dealer button, a small blind, and a big blind. There is a set big blind of a certain amount which a player must post, the small bling also must be posted by the person to the right of the big blind, the small blind is always half the big blind, there is also a dealer button this is the best position on the table, this is because when the first three cards are dealt you are the last player to act, therefore you can see all the action happening before you.
Flop
After you are dealt you're cards there is a round of betting in tis round if you are playing NL holdem then you are able to bet any amount, even all of your chips, however if you are playing pot limit you can only bet the amount that is in the pot usually from the blinds,and when playing limit holdem you are only able to bet the big blind amount in this round of betting.
When the first round of betting has been concluded the flop is dealt, these three cards are called community cards they are dealt face up for the whole table to see, there is then another round of betting, again in NL hold'em you are able to bet any amount, in PL hold'em the bet sizing depends on the size of the pot, again in limit hold'em the bet is the same size as the big blind.
Turn
The turn card is then dealt, this is another card that is face up, there is then another round of betting with the same rule applying for both NL/PL however in limit hold'em you are now able to bet double the big blind.
River
Then the final card is dealt, this card is called the river card and is again dealt face up, again the same rules apply this time it is for all games NL, PL, and Limit hold'em.
The players then show their hole cards and the best five card hand wins the pot.
These are the hand rankings in hold'em:
Small Ball
If you want to be a serious poker player then you have to be able to play small ball. Small ball poker helps to take the luck out of the game by playing in lots of pots however being good enough to keep control of them while maximizing your winnings and minimizing your losses.
One book I have read that has helped me to learn about small ball and has really helped me to gain my knowledge of this strategy in the game is ‘Daniel Negreanu’s Power Hold’em Strategy. This book basically starts off by telling you the basics of it and what it is all about and then going on to talk about some more of the advanced strategy with examples of hands. I give this book 10/10 and a must if you want to learn small ball poker. Through this article I will be showing extracts from the book.
Here’s an example of a hand from Daniel Negreanu’s Power Hold’em Strategy –
‘You call a raise on the big blind with jack 10 of spades against one opponent, the flop comes 5 6 7 with 2 hearts.
If I have position on this player I could win the pot in one of two ways:
1. 1. He has a hand like a – k and I can steal it on the flop.
2. 2. He bets an over pair on the flop and I call him in the hope that another straight card comes on the turn, if a 4 comes on the turn and I bet, it will be hard for my opponent to call with a hand like A A. Especially because he knows I’m in a lot of pots with suited connectors etc.
This is showing how much thought needs to go into every hand, if you chose the first option you are probably going to take down the pot there and then, however on the second option you have to hope for another straight card to come down in order to take the pot and the same amount, what do you think go on the forums and tell us.
If you do not understand the last part, when you play small ball you look to play for cheap flops then maximize you winnings when you hit, so a lot of pots will be played with hands like 5 6 and 9 10 etc.
The general way that you play small ball pre flop is to constantly raise 2.5 times the big blind, this way you save chips instead of betting 3 times each time, this size is also big enough to get the big blind to fold, so there is also a chance of stealing blinds.
Here’s another example of a hand played using the small ball strategy –
‘With the blinds at $100/$200 and a $25 ante, you raise to $500 as the first to enter the pot with king 10 offsuit. All players fold around to the big blind who looks down at 9 7 offsuit.
To make the call the big blind would need to put in $300 more to win $1,025 3.4 to 1. Your hand wins 64%, 2 to 1. If the big blind folds it is a great result, you made him make a mistake and lay down good odds.
Let’s say he calls and the flop comes down Q 6 4 rainbow. You both still have high cards. The opponent missed the flop and checks to you, you bet $750 to win $1,325 and your opponent folds.’
From the example hand there it has shown that it doesn’t matter what you have in your hand it’s what your opponent has and the aggression you show after the flop. Another key factor that needs to be known when playing small ball poker is after the flop betting, after the flop if you think you are ahead or you just want to take a bluff at it just like the example hand you want to be betting around 60% - 80% of the pot. A pot size bet is too much after the flop and it will be the same effectiveness by betting 70% of the pot, also if you bet too small then you are going to be called off with hands like ace king trying to hit the big pair.
Overall this strategy is very effective if you are trying to keep pots small and trying to keep the DONKS from taking all of your chips, good luck on the tables.