How to play and win at Texas Hold’em
By developing a strategy based on patience, discipline, knowledge and confidence, you can play and win at Texas hold’em poker. Before beginning, know that lady luck does play a part in any poker game and the only way to make the odds more favorable, is having good math skills and combining all of these elements. If you play only on luck, you are headed for disaster. Being able to calculate pot odds, table odds and knowing how opponents play, greatly increases the possibility of winning.
Patience and discipline go hand in hand in this game. Be willing to look at several hands before playing one, but when a hand is chosen, play with confidence using the tools you have acquired. Much of this will depend on your position during any round of play. If you are in beginning position and holding pocket fives, you may stay and even raise slightly to increase the pressure on the other players, however, if you are in end position and there is a raise and re-raise before you, chances are good that you’re beat and should fold. With these types of hands, you must always decide if the reward is worth the risk (pot odds).
Table odds is that percentage chance that a card will appear that improves or makes your hand. Using the 4/2 method is the easiest way to do this. Example: player stays with 6/7 unsuited and the flop reveals 3/4. Since there are only four cards that will complete the hand (outs), muliply by 4 giving you a 16% chance of getting a five on the turn or river. If a five doesn’t show up on the turn, divide that percentage by 2, leaving you with an 8% chance of filling your hand on the river. With a flush draw, two in your hand and two on the board, the percentage becomes 36%, (9 outs x 4), with a decrease to 18% if the turn fails to reveal one of the nine cards needed.
As with any game of chance, there is no foolproof way to win. Using the above techniques can give you an advantage and improve the chances of winning, but there is no better teacher than experience. Practice, practice, practice.