Texas Holdem is a game of poker odds, luck, and outplaying your opponent. Most people ask “what is the best poker strategy Texas Holdem”? That answer is a very simple one but it depends on a lot of factors. When we talk about the best poker strategy for this article we are going to be referring to having a solid bankroll management strategy, having patience, using your hand correctly, and outsmarting your opponent.
One of the best poker strategy Texas Holdem for beginners to watch is bet sizing, described in great detail in another article. I’ll describe briefly how to bet here.
To explain bet sizing, let’s say you have a 9 handed sng and you are on the button. This is a very powerful position because you will act last for the rest of the hand. You have the best seat at the table so you are at a disadvantage if other players behind you raise the pot. If they raise the pot, you will have the odds to call, but your chip stack will be a lot less then if you bet the same in early position. That’s because the blinds are coming around much more often and it is expensive for you to call.
Pot odds is the most basic concept to grasp when playing Texas holdem. Simply, you need to know if it is profitable for you to call a bet your opponent makes. You don’t want to call just to keep your opponent in the game. Let’s say that the chip stack is 1/2 to 2/3, and your opponent raises $10 into a $20 pot. There is now $30 in the pot, and it is $10 to call, so you are getting 2 to 1. In poker terms, you are probably now looking at about 2 to 1 as odds.
As the blinds rise, people are going to get in more trouble with premium hands, but you can still play tight poker and be fairly aggressive at times. Raise before the flop, and make a continuation bet about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pot size. If you are called and you hit a pair on the flop, most of the time your opponents are going to have to fold, especially if they didn’t hit the flop. A lot of the time they are going to have to fold with less than premium hands because they don’t want to call with less than top pair.
Your object in playing MPO500 is to get your opponent to fold, so you can win the pot. The way you do this is by betting enough to get them to fold, or forcing them to fold by betting more than they are willing to. Your opponent has no problem calling you because you are making a continuation bet about the size of the pot. Your opponent needs to have a very good read on what you have to get that call. If you are up against inexperienced players, they are going to call your bets all the way down unless they think you are bluffing.
The reads you are going to obtain on your opponents help you make decisions on how much to bet. If you have read opponents perfectly, they will be guessing at least the size of the flop. If they are not yet ready to raise without the best hand, they will call up to the river. There are probabilities for your opponents to hit some cards and miss others. If you can get these odds to your favor, you will win pots without ever having to actually put down a hand.
The size of the bet required to get your opponent to fold is not as daunting as you think. Teasing your opponent betwise works best. Calling all the way up to the river for as little as 3 times the big blind may not be enticing, but if you hit a monster hand, an over-pair, and you take down a monster pot, that bet will work out.
The truth is, you are going to take a lot of chances just to try and put your opponent on a hand. Winning the pots that you do put your opponent on will prove to be very profitable later on. Not only because you will win more value pre-flop, but also because you will get paid off by your opponent later on when you do get a real hand.