Texas Holdem Tips
Here are some of my most essential Texas Holdem tips for beginners
I'm going to assume you know the
rules of texas holdem and so I'm going to go on to give you tips on how to make more money when you're at the tables.
1.Find fishy players and get them sat on your immediate right
This is the holy grail of being a winner in Texas Holdem. Firstly you have to find the fish (weaker poker players).
Look for online poker sites that have a big sports book attached to them
There are many online poker sites to choose from, all offering a variety of bonuses and reasons to play there. The simple fact is that you want to make as much money as you can and you do that by playing against weak, uneducated competition (fish).
If you choose poker rooms that have an online sports book and casino as the main stable of their player base then you have found a site that is going to be made up of more degenerate gamblers that like to buzz of wagering real money but haven't taken the time to really study the game of texas holdem.
The best site I have found so far for this kind of action is this poker site and what really makes them great is that they accept American players too.
Table selection and fish seating in relation to you.
I'm going to talk about cash games. In a cash game, good players understand that it is important to keep their stacks topped up to 100 blinds so that when a good hand or situation comes up, that they have maximum play available to them (this could be to maximize value or get more leverage on a bluff).
Fish on the other hand are often and easily found sitting down with under 100 blinds and in an ideal world you would like to find a table with as many 'not quite full stacked' players as possible.
The next important factor is where they are sat in relation to you. You want the fish ideally sat on your immediate right. The reason being is that you will often be involved in pots with these guys when you have position on them and that tip is a huge benefit in texas holdem.
Below is a screen shot from a very, very fishy poker room called
BetOnline.com and is a visual example of the type of tables that you should be seeking out.
Top Tip
Are you an American player?
Find out why I'm telling all American Players to play at this new and very fishy
US Friendly Poker Room
2. Do the betting against passive players and slow down vs aggressive players
In poker it's very important to adjust to your opponent types. Far too many new players make incorrect adjustments by slow playing at the wrong time (or against the wrong opponent type) or
check raise semi bluffing in the wrong spots.
So an important, simple lesson would be to understand if your opponent is in fact aggressive or passive (aggressive players bet and raise very often and passive players limp in and check more frequently).
Once you establish what type of player you're in the hand with you should alter how you play your strong hands. Against a very aggressive player, playing hands in a way that looks weak or going for a
slow play will often get these guys donating more chips to the pot.
Vs more passive opponents, you don't need to worry about slow playing or making the all cunning
check raise as these guys often check back hands when you give them a chance. Against these guys all you need to do with your stronger hands is bet, bet, bet and build the pot when you assume to have the best hand.
For more information on adjusting well to differing player types then check out my
heads up poker strategy.
More Texas Holdem Tips
There is so much information on Tagpoker to make you a winning poker player that some people are not sure where to start. If heads up poker is where you want to begin then you need to check out:
The beginners guide to beating heads up poker.
Tagpoker's free poker training videos
Brokerstar's full heads up sit and go poker course
6 Max Cash Training
Tagpoker students forum
