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Essays
Essay for Hold 'Em Beginners
Wednesday, September 29, 2004 Texas Hold 'Em, or just Hold 'Em for short, is a game played with seven cards, two of which are unique to a player's hand, and the other five of which are community cards that all players use. A player chooses five cards from his two hole cards and the five community cards to make his hand. Rather than having all players pay an ante, Hold 'Em uses two blinds, a big blind and a small blind. These are forced bets made prior to the deal by the two players to the left of the button. The button is a small disk that says "DEALER"; and rotates clockwise after each hand. The small blind is immediately to the left of the button, and the big blind is to the small blind's left. Limit Texas Hold 'Em, the more common form of the game, uses structured betting. It has a small bet and a big bet, for which the different limits, like $1-$2 Hold 'Em, $3-$6 Hold 'Em, or $400-$800 Hold 'Em, are named. Do not confuse "small bet"; and "small blind."; A big blind is a small bet. A small blind is a fraction (usually half) of a small bet. Play starts when the blinds are posted and everyone is dealt two cards. The first player to the left of the blinds must match the big blind (call), double the big blind (raise), or throw his hand away (fold). Play passes to the left, and every player must at least match the highest bet in order to stay in the pot. Action for the round ends when all players have either folded or met the highest bet. (Note: if no one has raised when the action reaches the big blind, that player has the option of raising before the round ends.) We call the first round of betting "preflop."; When the preflop action ends, the dealer puts three community cards face-up on the table. These cards are called the flop. The action is on the first player to the left of the button and he can either check (bet nothing) or bet one small bet. The other players may, in turn, bet (or raise) in increments of a small bet. When the flop action is over, the dealer puts up another community card, called the turn. Betting proceeds the same way, except that now players must bet and raise in increments of one big bet. After the turn, the dealer puts up one final community card, called the river. Betting structure is the same as for the turn. If, when the round ends, there is more than one player left in the hand, all players turn their hole cards over and the player with the best five-card hand receives the pot. The button then moves one seat to the left and the next hand begins. Good starting hand selection is essential to Hold 'Em success. There isn't a player alive who can play every hand in a Limit Hold 'Em game and earn a long-term profit. Believe it or not, it is correct to fold the vast majority of your hands before you even get to see a flop. The first thing to understand about which hands to play is that your position relative to the button is an enormous consideration. From the two seats to the left of the big blind, beginners should play nothing but a pair jacks or higher and two cards queen or higher (in fact, even king-queen offsuit should be folded). This is because you have no information about anyone else's hand when the action first gets to you, and you'll have to act before most of your opponents in future betting rounds as well. Conversely, from the button even beginners can probably play hands as weak as nine-eight. On the button, everyone acts before you on every round of betting. This provides you with valuable information about your opponents' hands, and makes your own decisions much easier. If you've never played Hold 'Em before, I recommend you play in the following manner preflop ("T"; denotes ten; "s"; denotes two cards of the same suit). EARLY POSITION (the three seats to the left of the big blind) Raise: AA, KK, QQ, AK Call: JJ, AQ, KQs Fold: everything else MIDDLE POSITION (the three seats to the left of early position) Raise: early position raising hands plus JJ, AQ, KQs Call: TT, 99, 88, 77, AJ, ATs, KJs, QJs, KQo, KTs Fold: everything else LATE POSITION (the button, and one seat to its right) Raise: middle position raising hands plus TT, 99, AJ, ATs Call: 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, AT, A9, Axs (where x is any small card), KJ, KT, K9, K8s, QJ, QT, Q9s, JT, J9s, T9, T8, 98, 97s, 87s Fold: everything else These guidelines assume no one has raised in front of you. If another player has raised before the action gets to him, a beginner should fold everything except AA, KK, QQ and AK. Remember, position saves you money, and part of the way it does is by giving you the chance to fold to a raise. An important concept to remember is to play aggressively, especially after the flop. If you follow my guidelines, you should often be in the pot with hands far superior to those of your opponents. The way to make money off those hands is to bet and have your opponents call with weaker holdings. Don't get fancy. Don't try to bluff low limit players. Most of them just love to call all day long. Get your money from them by having a good hand and getting paid off. So what is a good hand? After the flop, a pair of the highest card on board, with the highest possible off card (top pair-top kicker) is a strong holding (e.g., you hold AJ on a flop of J74) which should be played aggressively. Obviously anything better than top pair-top kicker can by played even more aggressively. If you find yourself with a flush draw or a straight draw (and by that I mean four cards to a flush or straight), it will almost always be correct for you to call with your hand all the way to the river. But of course, you don't have to call a bet on the river if you end up missing your draw. You have your entire Hold 'Em life to experiment with wild styles of play. As you're starting out, save yourself some money and stick to premium preflop hands. Observe and learn from good players as you go. Read and digest as much material about the game as you can. And finally, be courteous to your opponents, even when they catch the luckiest cards in the deck to beat you. This game is about the long run, it's not about what happens in any given hand or session. For much more beginning Hold 'Em strategy, buy The Making of a Poker Player and be sure to pay special attention to the first five chapters. September 2004 | |
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© 2004-2005 by Matt Matros | All Rights Reserved |
