Basic Texas Hold'em Strategy

There are many different strategic methods for playing texas hold'em. Many experts will tell you to play one way while other experts will swear by another method, but in fact both variations are correct. In texas hold'em it is important for the player to judge each scenario as its own occurrence and use a method that is applicable.

The most basic strategy of texas hold'em is to not bet bug when the odds are not in your favor. True a rare card may come up on the river or the straight draw might fall, but one must consider whether the chances of this happening are worth the risk of whatever bet is on the table. If you have nothing and your opponent knows it then it would be best to sit the hand out.

Therefore you should try to make sure your opponent does not think you have a losing hand if you would like to see the river. In texas hold'em it is never about what cards you have in front of you, but rather what cards everyone else thinks you have in front of you. For instance, let us assume that on the flop a K, J, and 2 fall out. You are holding a Q and a 10 and you would really like to see if the straight will fall. Your best bet would be to bet small. Everyone else will assume that you have a pair, and depending on your bet they might even assume you have the K. If someone else holds the K they might want to draw you out a bit before they throw in the raise. The turn comes and out pops an A, giving you the straight. Now you can check, giving the impression that you are worried your kings are beat while you really hold the straight. Someone else will raise and you can call, waiting for the river to really draw them out for what they are worth.
Had you not given the initial bet on the flop then someone might have raised you out of the hand before anything could happen for you. By placing that bet you strategically took the initiative, making everyone else think you had a hand when in fact you were going for something much better.

Many players, when receiving pocket aces or kings will consider checking the first round so as to not give away the cards they are hiding. This is a very bad idea because it will allow your opponents a chance to take you down with junk hands. Consider that you check pre-flop and the flop shows a 3, 4, and 3. True if an A falls you will win the hand, but now your opponent who would have folded had you raised pre-flop will in fact win with his 3 and 7. It is always better to give a half decent raise to make sure someone does not steal the wonderful hand that is so rarely dealt.

There are many other basic strategies in texas hold'em and most will win in a given scenario, but you must be the one to decide which strategy to use when. Play your hands wisely and always push to win big when you know the hand is yours. Lastly, if you are playing texas hold'em in a live scenario (not online), make sure to tip your dealer when they give you a killer hand. It is only right to be courteous in a casino to those that give you the hand you needed to win.