The basics of mastering Texas hold ‘em

The great Texas Hold ‘Em poker players can keep a straight face and read the other players at the table to determine if they are bluffing or actually have a good hand. These are good skills to have, but they are nothing if you don’t know how to play your own hand right to start with. For a beginner at a UK casino, or any casino for that matter, the best place to start is to learn the rules and some basic strategies.

The basic things to remember are that the two cards you hold in your hands are the only thing that sets you apart from the other players. When looking at the community cards it is important that you focus on what these cards could give to other players as well as yourself.

Once you are dealt a hand you should decide if your cards are good enough or not. It depends on how conservative you are being, but unless you are really experienced you should fold before the flop if you have two cards less than ten, unless they are a pair. In this case a pro may not fold if they have two sequenced cards e.g. 7 and 8 of hearts due to the possibilities of there being a straight or a flush.

When the blinds are small people often pay in just to see the flop even if they don’t have a particularly good hand. This is not usually a good idea; especially if the blinds increase or are high to start with.

One of the most important things in poker is patient. You can often be dealt a row of bad hands. E.g. 4-6, 7-2, 3-7, 4-2. You may want to jump into the betting action rather than watching other people rake in the money, but you are just going to lose if you keep betting when your cards aren’t good enough. If you are patient good cards will come and you can then start using your poker skills.

Once you see the flop remember you can get out any time. Just because you have come this far, you might as well fold now if you think you are going to lose rather than put in even more money on the off-chance and then lose it all at the end.

Remember that the number of players at the table can affect your chances of winning. If you have more players at the table then probability says that there are going to be more strong hands. If there are fewer players, then there are going to be less strong hands. A pair can often win when there are less players at a table.

If you have a good hand and you are first to bet, don’t start putting down loads of chips. People are going to know you have good cards and not bet against you. You could even check here and it could force others to bet first. After this you can raise them and increase the pot/potential winnings. Checking in this circumstance is also an advantage because if you hand is quite weak then you may be able to see one more card without actually betting anything.

On the Turn and River cards don’t keep betting until the end just in hope of a straight or a flush. Probability will be against you here and even if you do win this hand one time, the majority of times you would lose. To win you have to play for the long-run.