[Newbies] A little poker strategy guide!

[BlackLava]

Hi, I've tried to do a small strategy guide... It's based on the books I've read and my personnal experience but I'm far away of beeing a pro' so feel free to post any additionnal comments to make the guide much more interesting, thx

Our advices are for Texas Hold'em No limit (the best and most played poker actually)

Our top rule : Never play with bad hands, play ONLY the following hands
( that's only 20% of the cards you'll have, meaning you should not play more than one hand each 5 hands!! Could sounds crazy but if you want to win you need to avoid playing! )

-Play those hands very aggressively pre-Flop (For example bet 3-5 times the big blind):
or or or


-Play those hands aggressively pre-flop but fold if there's a huge bet (triple the big blind but fold if someone bet more behind you):
or or or or
(suited cards are better offcourse, but remember that's only a small bonus)


-Play all smaller pairs (like ) or suited connectors (like ) for a small amount only : Having a flush or straight draw or three of a kind at flop is a really rare thing!
You can play with an ace and a suited card or a king and a suited card (like ) for a small amount but remember if an ace or king come at the flop and make you a pair you will have a really bad kicker with it, you play for the flush only!!!

-Don't play anything else if there's more than 3 players...!!!
Why? because if you play with for example, your only chance to win the pot is having 2 pairs and that's only 2% at the flop!!! if you have two nines at the flop it will be really risky to play with that, your 2 as kicker card is no good and that means you can win but got no visibility! Why should you take such risk?
Offcourse you can win with any hand, but first of all you need to keep the maximum numbers of chips to maximize your good hands. Playing good hands minimize the luck factor : do you want to play dices or poker?



Now that you know what to do before the flop, here are a few usefull and common statistics :
- When you need one card after the flop to get a flush, you got only 35% to have it with the 2 next card and only 18% on one card (river or turn, that's the same) : That's not 50%!!! So never pay a lot for a flush draw! It's the same for a suite, that's 32% only!

in hand + at flop === ONLY 35% of chance to have a flush and win!
On the other hand, you need to defend your top pair against such draws, if you flop a good pair bet at least half the pot if there's any risk of flush draw at the flop (2 cards from same shape) or straight draw (like a flop with a ten and jack for example), trapping players by giving free cards is really risky so defend your hands and never give free cards, it's better to win often a few chips than gambling your stack!!!

- if you got 2 suited connectors like , you got 15% to have a flush draw after the flop (4 spades and waiting for the last one for example) and 5% chance for a suite draw, so only 20% to get something interesting... Take care about suited connectors, if you're not experienced with that, just do not play with them because even your flush could be beaten!

- if you got a pair after the flop, your chance to make three of a kind with the 2 next cards is only 8%! (4% on one card) so never count on that!


Summary : Play only good starting hands, fold a lot because poker isn't gambling, bet huge to avoid players draws after the flop, stay calm and take your time because if you survive more time you'll have more chances to been dealt good hands!
You can't bluff a bad player and it's really hard to bluff a good player so NEVER BLUFF unless you are experienced a lot!


...And last thing : Sorry for my english
I hope it could help a bit anyway.

[BlackLava]

Please post feedbacks if you think it should be more detailed or rewritten in an easier language for poker newbies

[danodamano]

how many times have i lost with pocket bullet? alot,
i say some of it is guts though you are right most of it is strategy. In the long run statistics favor those who play them.

[heartbone]

Statistically the top 20 Best Starting Hands

1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. JJ
5. AKs
6. TT
7. AQs
8. AJs
9. AK
10. KQs
11. ATs
12. KJs
13. AQ
14. 99
15. QJs
16. KTs
17. 88
18. QTs
19. A9s
20. AJ

The "s" indicated suited, i.e. both cards in the same suit.

The best to play are:

Any pocket pair 10 and above
A plus face suited
Any A K
K plus face suited

[killa]

Hand strength

Once a player has mastered the rank of hands, it is more important to realize their relative strength at a poker table. Approximately half the five-card hands in any given game will be less than a pair of twos, but only about one-fourth of five-card hands in the long run will be better than a pair of Aces. A full house is such a good hand that it is far more likely to be the best hand on the table than a 7 high (the lowest possible hand) is to be the lowest hand at a given table.

One mistake made by many beginners is to bet hands that are unlikely to win in the showdown, hoping that they will eventually improve. In the long run, this is a losing strategy against experienced players. For example, in draw poker, any hand less than a pair should generally be folded at the earliest opportunity. In other games, such as Texas Hold 'Em where only two cards are dealt before the betting round, unmatched combinations of low cards are unlikely to result in a winning hand.

Improvement and pot odds

Athough improvement is possible with virtually every hand, most beginners forget that players with better hands may also improve their hands on the draw, and that in the long run the player with the better hand before a draw is likely to have the better hand after the draw as well. Generally, if you have reason to believe that your opponent has a better hand than you at any given point of a betting round, the appropriate action is to fold. However, if the money in the pot is large compared to the bet required to stay in (the "pot odds"), a call is possible. This is particularly the case when a player is attempting to fill a straight or flush. However, the approximate odds of filling an outside straight on the next draw is about 6-1, and the odds of similarly filling a flush is about 5-1. As such, calling is not recommended if the money that could be won gives a lesser payout on the bet.

One bet made by beginners that rarely pays off is to fill an "inside straight" or a straight with one of the middle cards missing. The odds against filling such a straight on a single draw are roughly 13-1 against and should not be considered unless the pot odds are particularly good.

Bluffing

Beginners, even talented beginners, see bluffing as a way to "buy" the pot. However, bluffing seldom works against poor players (who tend to overestimate the strength of their hand to begin with) and does not work for long against expert players if a player bluffs too frequently. Although all players should bluff occasionally to make their large bets on good hands look less credible, consistent and constant bluffing generally leads to large losses.

Position play

Generally, players who have to bet first need stronger hands to open the betting than players who bet later. This is because the raw odds of a better hand being on the table increase based on the number of players who have not had the opportunity to bet. For example, in a six-player game of draw poker, it is recommended that a player check in the first betting position unless they have at least a pair of aces. However, the last player to bet (the dealer) may open the betting if no-one else has spoken with as little as a pair of twos. One expert Hold 'Em player recommends folding if you are the first player to the left of the blind unless you have the strength to raise.

[bobf111]

Royal straight flush
straight flush
four of a kind
full house
flush
straight
three of a kind
two pair
one pair
just fold the hand

[Shea]

thanks for the great tips - really helpful to me as a very new player. I notice the strategies need to morph quite a bit from 10 players to 2 or 3 players. Any tips for staying on top of that? Thanks, she

[Carmine555]

Originally Posted by SheWithWhom

thanks for the great tips - really helpful to me as a very new player. I notice the strategies need to morph quite a bit from 10 players to 2 or 3 players. Any tips for staying on top of that? Thanks, she

I feel that it varies between open play and tourney play. My advice, for tourney play, is to always remember that only one person wins. You don't get ahead in the chips and walk away. You have to be the last player at the table. Going all-in on the first hand is not going to put you in the final two. If you lose, you're out. If you hold A A (STATISTICALLY the best starting hand) and go all in, you could lose to 2pr...3 of a kind...if the flop does not go well for you. Be conservative early on to be there when it counts. Fold weak cards, If after the flop, I know I have the best possible 5 card hand, I will be betting very strong, perhaps all in, to put out players fishing for a better hand. It is best to get them out before the turn or river could allow them a better hand. Head to Head. Be strong, be smart. Good Luck never hurts.

[maitregli]

As a beginner, I was always thinking I must wait for the flop, and sometimes the flop is helpful, but many times you get screwed when comes the river because one have a hign card.

Since I stopped play with bad hands (except when I put the blind and nobody raises) I loose less chips and my rare bluffing are useful.

[jonni88]

A fantastic beginners guide. How about bluffing next? :P

[Uyto]

So don't bluf a lot, you can bluf when you are agressive on a hand
And don't bluff with all your stake

[BlackLava]

Originally Posted by getahaircut

You seem to be using the word 'dices' in your strategy, just for info if there is a re-right : )

"dices" yes... http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...-8&sa=N&tab=wi I thought I could use "play dices" to mean "gamble" in english

[Carmine555]

Originally Posted by BlackLava

"dices" yes... http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...-8&sa=N&tab=wi I thought I could use "play dices" to mean "gamble" in english

Just for your information.....one of them is a die.......two or more are dice. In this case, 'dices' is incorrect, should be just 'dice'. But I like the way 'dices' sounds. Again, I am not criticizing your use of the language, just clarifying since you brought it up.

[BlackLava]

No worry Carmine, thx .
I would even be happy if I could train my english here and got feedbacks! Really hehe

[maitregli]

Tnax Carmine helping us improving the quality of our english

[Firawhika]

thinking aout it now, i must ahve mad alot of bad bluffs on in my time playing on here, so i think ill keep this thread in mind next time i think about making a bluff.

[NINO1357]

Im not sure if im doin this right but just wanted to give a little tips to all those newbies out there. its not the best idea to tell everyone at the table your cards every hand. can be benneficial for awhile but in the long run it will end up hurting ur chip stack

[bluejay]

Originally Posted by NINO1357

Im not sure if im doin this right but just wanted to give a little tips to all those newbies out there. its not the best idea to tell everyone at the table your cards every hand. can be benneficial for awhile but in the long run it will end up hurting ur chip stack

You are not suppose to talk about your cards until after that hand is over! I would not talk about my hand even then because it is a disadvantage to me if I am bluffing.

[donkey]

Nice tips, ill take some of them into consideration especially how much i bet preflop and flop. You should never consistently bet how much your own hand is worth because people will notice and know if you have a hand or not. You should mostly bet on how much you think the value of your oppenents hand is. Never keep the same strategy and keep your oppenents thinking.

[freakimojo]

I learned so much from this post. I thought I was playing well until i read this. Then i realised that I was still playing a little out of control. I've sharpened my skills on the odds now. I'm going to be a much more focused player! But i am still having trouble restraining myself from pushing the odds.:waytogo: