Texas Holdem Strategy Royce Hooper Jr.   Position at the table In Texas Holdem, a player’s position is a very important aspect of the game, which is frequently underestimated by novice players and always employed by the pros. Term “position” refers to the strategic consequences of a player’s position at the table, which is divided into three general zones: early, middle and late positions. A player occupying a seat in the early position needs a stronger hand to raise or bet, than those, sitting in late positions, because if there are five players yet to act behind a player sitting in early position, there is a bigger chance that one of the subsequent players will have a stronger hand than if there were just a couple of players to act. Generally, a late position is an advantage, because a player can see how his earlier opponents act, which provides him with important information regarding their cards, while they have no idea about his hand. Position is one of the most vital key aspects of Texas Holdem. That’s why you need to understand the importance of this element and learn to benefit from your position at the table. In Texas Holdem, the importance of a player’s position goes far beyond ring games. In poker tournaments, where each player has a limited amount of chips, intelligent players use this commonly held knowledge as an advantage, because a raise with any couple of cards can steal the blinds, if done against passive opponents in the right time. When to raise? In Texas Holdem Poker, raising, unlike calling, has a potential extra way to win, because your opponents may fold and from a strategic perspective, an opening bet can be considered a raise. The following is a list of general reasons for raising given by winning poker pros: • You raise, when you have a strong hand and want to attract more money into the pot – raising to increase pot value. • You raise, when you have a very strong hand and want to drive out your opponents, who, in other case, can improve their hands during next betting rounds. • You raise, if you have a poor, or a drawing hand and want to mislead your opponents. A player that has a stronger hand may fold, misled by your raise. • You raise, if you have a drawing hand and want to get a free card, because your opponent may check you during the next betting round, giving you a chance to get a free card and thus improve your current hand. • You raise, if you have an uncertain hand and want to check the potential strength of your opponents, if you are called. You can use opening bets in later betting rounds in order to evaluate your opponents’ hands by being raised or called by them. Sometimes this can immediately win you the pot, because your opponents may fold. • You raise, if you thing you have the second best hand and try to drive out worse players, who can improve their hands during next betting round, which can increase the expected value of your hand, giving you a better probability of success, if you will improve your hand during next betting rounds. • You raise, if the previous player with a drawing hand bets before you, in order to make opponents behind you fold, even if they have better hands. This method is frequently referred to as “isolation play”. When to call? Winning Texas Holdem pros benefit from each action done during the game. No action must be done just to be done. Texas Holdem is a highly intellectual game, where, just like in chess, each move is filled with both obvious and hidden sense. The following is a list of reasons to call a bet or raise. • You call, if you have a drawing hand and want to see more cards in order to receive the correct pot odds. • You call, when you have adequate pot odds to call, but lose equity on chips, contributed by you to the pot. • You call, if you want to avoid a re-raise, because calling disables the raiser the option of re-raising. • You call, if you have a very strong hand and want to conceal your power in early betting rounds in order to attract more money into the pot in later betting rounds. • You call, if you want to manipulate pot odds by offering the players yet to act behind you more favorable pot odds, so they will also call. This technique, called smooth calling, may encourage other players in later positions to overcall, thus contributing to the pot. In Limit Texas Holdem, building the pot in early betting rounds can induce other players to call future bets during subsequent betting rounds, because of the better pot odds they’ll receive. • You call, if you want to set up a bluff on one of later betting rounds. Gap concept in Texas Holdem In Texas Holdem strategy, the gap concept states that you need a better hand to act against a player who had already opened the betting or raised, than you’d need if you’d open the betting yourself. That means that the gap concept reflects behavior of the majority of players, who prefer to avoid open confrontations with their opponents that already displayed strength. Proceeding from this, the gap concept states that calling only has just a single way to win – by holding the strongest cards, while opening may also result in an immediate victory in case if other players fold. Sandwich effect in Texas Holdem The sandwich effect is related to the gap concept and states that you need a stronger hand in order to stay in the pot, if there are one or more opponents yet to act behind you. Staying in early positions, you will have no idea about how many opponents behind you will be involved in the pot (and how many fold), or whether you will have to call re-raises, so therefore you cannot calculate your actual pot odds. That’s why you need a strong hand as a compensation for such an uncertain situation. Choosing between loose and tight play Basically, the style of play in Texas Holdem poker is divided in two groups: tight and loose play. Loose players are usually playing more hands tending to act even with weak starting hands and tight players usually play few hands tending to act just with good starting hands. The following is a list of statements referring to loose games, while their inverses are true for tight games. • Bluffing has lesser effectiveness in loose games, because loose players tend to continue playing even with poor starting hands, not to fold. • Requirements to continue playing with drawing hands are lower, because the majority of loose players may also be playing with poor hands. • Drawing to incomplete hands, like straights and flushes, is more valuable, because draws are often getting more favorable pot odds and a better hand is frequently required in order to win in multi-way pots. Aggressive and passive play in Texas Holdem strategy In Texas Holdem, the term “passive play” refers to calling and checking, while the “aggressive play” refers to raising and betting. Aggressive play is considered stronger than passive, unless passive play is used to trick your opponents, because it induces your opponents to make mistakes and because of the bluff value of raises and bets. Hand reading and tells in Texas Holdem poker Hand reading refers to intelligent guesses about your opponents’ cards based on given actions in the pot. In fact, “hand reading” is a wrong term in its direct meaning, because even winning Texas Holdem pros can rarely predict exact cards of their opponents. Instead of this, they rather try to narrow the probabilities down to a certain range of hands based on the previous actions of their opponents. The term ” tell” refers to a number of detectable behavioral or demeanor changes of your opponents, which give clues about their cards. Intelligent guesses about your opponents’ hands can help you avoid mistakes, induce your opponents to make mistakes in their play and even influence your opponents to take certain actions, which they wouldn’t normally take under the same circumstances. Broadly applied in live Texas Holdem games, the “tells” are sometimes underestimated by novice online players, while poker pros benefit from tells in both casino and online games. Opponent profiling and table image The “sharp eye” concept, suggested by Ronald Norris, states that from each behavioral change or tendency of your opponents you notice, you gain and on the contrary, each thing and even nicety you miss decreases your chances to win. Though live and online Texas Holdem games differ, the majority of methods and techniques of evaluation and opponent profiling are extremely useful in both branches of the game. By observing the patterns and tendencies of your opponents you can make more intelligent guesses about their cards. For example, if one of your opponents has been playing very tightly all the time and then enters the pot with aggressive raises, you can surmise that he finally got a really strong hand (better than average). The term ” table image” refers to your vision of the whole table (i.e. all of your opponents). Texas Holdem pros recommend sitting out a couple of games and build your table image before tossing your chips onto the table. On the other hand, you can leverage your own player profile by playing out of character inducing your opponents to misjudge your behavior and therefore make mistakes. Equity in Texas Holdem poker In Texas Holdem, the term “equity” refers to your expected share of the pot. A player’s equity is expressed as an expected value (pot value * probability of winning) or as a percentage (actual probability of winning). Loss in a player’s equity (frequently referred to as negative equity ) occurs when you contribute to the pot having a negative probability of winning (less than 1). For example, say John contributes $20 to the pot and has 2 opponents, which also put $20 each. Therefore John’s $20 bet gives him a chance to win $60. In case if his winning probability is 50%, then his equity in the $60 pot is $30, which means that John has a positive equity, because his $20 contribution is now “worth” $30, but if John has just a 10% winning probability, then he has negative equity, because his $20 contribution is now only “worth” $6. In case if there are already some money in the pot, then John’s pot odds connected with a certain play can indicate a positive expected value, in spite of his negative equity. Let’s take a look at this educative example taken from a common Texas Holdem game: John has a Jack of diamonds and 7 of spades and Mary has a King of hearts and 6 of spades. The first three community cards are 5 and 6 of hearts and 8 of diamonds. If both John and Mary will play their hands to the showdown, then John has a 45% winning chance and Mary has a 53% winning chance. Also, there is a 2% chance that they’ll split the pot. Currently there is $51 in the pot. John decides to go all-in for $45 and he is sure that Mary is going to call him. In this case John’s implied pot odds for his all-in bet are 32%. Mary’s simple pot odds for the call are 32% too. Due to the fact that both players have a winning probability bigger than 32%, both call and raise have a positive expectation. However, due to the fact that Mary has a bit more equity (53%) in the pot than John (45%), John would have been better off playing this pot as cheaply as he can. When John went all-in for $45, he gave up the existing difference in pot equity on the amount of chips he put in the pot. Short-handed considerations in Texas Holdem poker If you are playing a short-handed Texas Holdem game (a game involving lesser than normal players), you have to switch to a rather loose play your play due to the following reasons: • First of all there is a lesser probability that one of your opponents has a strong hand, since there are lesser players at the table and the majority of cards remain in the deck. • Secondly, the share of the forced bets (blinds) in short-handed games for each player is increased, since there are lesser players who have to make forced bets (blinds), therefore waiting for good starting hands appears to be more expensive. Structure considerations in Texas Holdem poker The limit structure of the game, as well as the blinds and antes has a significant influence on Texas Holdem strategy. For instance, manipulating pot odds appears to be way easier in pot-limit and no-limit than in limit Texas Holdem games. In tournament games, when the size of the forced bets (blinds) relative to the chips stacks increases, the players have to play pots in order to avoid being bankrupt by antes and blinds. Learn Poker with Free poker video lessons. Afterword The given article covers the general concept of Texas Holdem strategy and requires further study of each item. It emphasizes key principles and hints a preferred sequence of items to study. You will find a lot of in-depth articles describing the niceties of each of these items on our site. Don’t forget that winning Texas Holdem pros never rely on luck – they exploit their knowledge, skills and experience to earn serious money playing their favorite game. Read more about Texas Holde'm on my other bloggs and subscribe for free gifts and more information about poker : Sincerely, Royce Hooper Jr.

BUILDING YOUR BANKROLL...

When the average Joe off the street thinks of poker, the last thing to come to their mind is a game of strategy, discipline and preparation. Instead images of guys sitting around a kitchen table smoking cigarettes drinking beer and calling out "give me four cards" are common; a game where the ability to bluff and call peoples bluffs makes you a winner.

Texas hold'em would be grouped in with games such as black jack, roulette and horse racing. Is that true though? Is there a way to beat the game or is it a crap shoot? Can a person make money playing texas hold'em or is it nothing more then a lottery?
Now that I stretched that question about as long as one could, the answer is short and sweet: yes you can make money at texas hold'em poker. Not only is it possible to profit by playing, many people make their livings at it. That isn't to say it is easy but it is definitely possible.
The first thing you have to realize is that texas hold'em is not typical gambling or a "casino game". You'll find it in many casinos but there is a big distinction between the two games. In a game such as black jack or roulette you are playing against the house but in hold'em you are playing against the other players. The casino or house, makes it money from the rake and it doesn't matter who takes home the money. They get paid as long as the game continues. So what you are doing is just risking your money against someone elses in a game of skill. As you progress as a player you'll find that many people, who play regularly even, still consider it a game of luck (and that's great for you!).
What about luck though? No one knows how the cards will fall. That is true, no one can predict how the cards will be dealt. Texas hold'em poker is a game where all the information isn't available. It is incomplete game unlike checkers, chess, or reversi but that doesn't mean one can't play it with a degree of certainty. Math governs all things and in poker its influence is so strong that even if a player can get lucky now and then, good old numbers smacks them back to reality.
How much money can I make at hold'em? That question is too general to answer. The best I can say is that it depends and give you a few stats. I forget whether it is Sklansky or Malmuth (poker experts and writers) that said this but earning about a big bet an hour is realistic in limit hold'em. So if you play a $5/10 game and play 100 hours, your expected rate is $1000. To just throw something out like that is way too general for our article. Your skill and the skill of your opponents governs how much you will make. When you play low limit hold'em and actually know how to play, you can make way more then that hourly rate.
When you move up in the ranks things become much harder because everyone you play with knows the same information that you do, has the same experience you do, and has read all the same books you have. This is where their numbers are about as accurate as you can get. In addition to limit holdem, there is pot limit, no limit and tournament play. It's also harder to say how much a person can make in these types of games but generally no limit and pot limit are played at a higher rate money wise then limit holdem so you can make more but you also risk more. Tournaments can be played too that have a nice return but be prepared to pay $10k for a buy-in if you want a chance to win the two million dollars The World Series of Poker gives for first place prize!
Texas hold'em poker and other games where one plays other non-casino players can be beaten. Remember that when everyone thinks hold'em is gambling, and that luck plays the biggest role in whether they win or lose, you have found some great people to sit down with. As you learn more about how the game of texas hold'em is played, you will see there is big difference between a seasoned professional and a new player.

Online poker; a great source to make big bucks!!!

Making a successfull living playing poker comes in many different angles... This is why I want to educate you on how online poker sites work and how to choose a site to invest your money into.When it comes down to it, all poker sites have their own strengths and weaknesses. And some will be a better fit for you than others.
Are you into low-stakes sit-and-gos or mid-stakes multi-table tournaments? Shorthand No-Limit Hold’em or full-ring Omaha Hi-Lo? Is customizable software important? Are you looking for the easiest games to beat?
The reviews at Poker Junkie are based on dozens of factors including sign-up bonuses, easiest games to win, software and graphics, ease of deposits and withdrawals and more.
Click the “read review” button for the full breakdown or click the “Get your bonus” button to head straight for the action.

Texas Holde'm

Hello world!!! First of all I am so tired of people without money continuosly being people without money, especially in the world of poker!!! I've created this blog to share with whoever wants to know how to make an honest well above average living playing Texas Holde'm and in some cases biulding an extreme cash cow that opens other doors for more opurtunity... The reason I know is because I've been doing it over an over again using my proven system... I have not even attempted to play a W.S.O.P. tournament because I have been taking advantage of the "cash game" which is an incredible way to make anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 per day every time you sit down an play.... I'm not trying to sell anything, I'm just here to help people make money and to better themselves in the world of poker... When i officially start my program i will be coaching anyone who follows my blogg to success playing Texas holde'm... If you're not serious about making some serious cash playing Texas Holdem then move around!!!! If you are interested in recieving information on how to make good money playing Texas Holde'm, please leave a comment and i will proceed accordingly....
                                                           

First I would like to start by giving all my Holde'm players the perfect way to practice playing Texas Holde'm while having a real chance to win some real money to help build your bankroll while i get you ready to use my proven strategy on earning a successful living playing Texas Holde'm... The website is called PurePlay.com. Once you sign up you will have unlimited action at winning cash prizes everyday. You also have chances to win a seat to the W.S.O.P. as well. So PrurePlay.com is definetly a great choice for practice with the action of winning money and it's %100 free... They do have a players club account that you can sign up for which gives you action at larger cash prizes and as a first time user they will only charge you 1 dollar for the first 30 days...after that it will be $24 dollars a month... but like i said, you can still use the site for free but the only difference is that you wont have as many cash prize tournaments... Now I'm going to show you how to change play money into real money as another alternative to building a bankroll for you to start your professional poker career especialy if your strapped for cash....This sounds too good to be true but I do it all the time. You need only to things to do this 1) a desire to play online Texas Hold'em and 2) a desire not to loose money. Do you qualify? I'll bet if you are reading this you do. It is really simple. You may not believe it but give it a try.

First go to www.PokerStars.com and register. Then go to the poker room and click on Hold'em and click on Play Money and find a $5 to $10 tables to begin with. That's pretty easy. Every hour they give you $1,000 in free play money if you loose and they do this give you $1,000 more up to 3 times an hour, every hour from then on. If you loose don't worry because as you play you will get better and better and it is 100% free. I just kept one half of my promise. You get to play Texas Hold'em with real people and you may even become friends with them and set up a regular game. You can always change tables if you don't like someone on the table. Just click on Leave Table then click on a different one.
Now hear is how to accomplish the second part of my promise, which is to make real money for free. Keep on playing until you make $6,000 in play money. This should take you 3 or four sessions at the most. Leave the $5/$10 table and go to the $100/$200 no limit tables. Continue to play. If you loose all your play money no problem. Go back to the lower stake tables and start over. As you get better and better you will eventually win over $40,000.
I did this on the first day.
Once you have this $40,000 bankroll you can really start to play big stakes poker (fun money style). It took me a week to reach my first million and 3 weeks to amass a $10,000,000 play money fortune. I then put this on an Ebay auction and got $200 for it or $20 per million dollars in play money chips. Eventually Ebay stopped play chip auctions but it doesn't matter. You can search on PokerStars Play Chips and go to any one of a dozen sites where they pay generally between $15 and $25 per million chips and sell them to people for twice that. Heck you can even start your own site and cut out the middle man. It is very easy to transfer your play chips to another person since there is a transfer chip function on PokerStars.
These chips sell because they make wonderful gifts for your poker playing friends. There is tremendous demand for them since online poker is so popular. They are bought and sold like any other commodity.
I delivered on my second promise. You can make money by selling your play chips. $200 was nice for me and I have another batch that I am about to sell.
I said you have to have a desire to play Texas Hold'em. I do and hopefully you do as well. The money sales won't make you rich but $200 in three weeks for doing something you love is not bad either. PokerStars is just one of the sites you can do this on. Party Poker, Full Tilt Poker are other sites.

How to Make Money from Texas Holdem

One of the reasons why so many people turn out to be almost addicted to playing texas holdem is that there is a substantial amount of money being involved in the said game. However, it does take more than just luck if you wish to make money from texas holdem. Before anything else, you should understand that almost everybody who starts playing off the said game does so in the hopes of bagging lots of money in the end. So more than just becoming experienced through time and relying on luck, there are also other things which you can use if you want to make money from texas holdem.
First of all, you need to learn how to play tough and aggressively when it comes to the texas holdem game. If you really want to make money from texas holdem, you should carefully go over your decisions and strategize smartly. Make your every move work for you and do not just lay down your cards without a solid plan in mind. If you really needed to take a chance, care to do so in specified situations like an open ended or a flush draw with some of your cards. It is also better to take chances during tight conditions of the game and even early on. In this way, you can also gauge the ability of your opponents and you will still have a substantial amount of time to bounce back if things are not tipping over your way. Even if you seem to be on the losing end eventually, you will still be able to make money from texas holdem.
Midway through the game, you need to keep in mind that you already need to increase your chips at this point. During the middle of a texas holdem game, you should already have a hefty amount of stack to last you until the end if the game. Actually, you have the beginning until the middle part to make money from texas holdem. During the game's last stretch things can turn out to be like anybody's game. You never know who will get a stroke of luck right at the last minute and no matter how you seem to be playing really well the first few parts, things might turn around for you. Midway through the game, you can already pretty much see if you are still a long shot from actually winning or you should just get out of it. Most gambling experts' advise that it will be better to step out rather than continue clinging on to third place. If you do so, at least you can still bring home something and make money from texas holdem.
 Now lets talk about more methods of creating a bankroll out of thin air..."FREEROLLS"!!!

Why You Should Play Promotional Freerolls

 

The promotional freeroll is a great incentive in the online poker landscape. What makes the promotional freeroll so great? If you don't know, you may not know exactly what a promotional freeroll is. Here's a brief explanation, along with the benefits.

What is a Promotional Freeroll?

A freeroll is a tournament that does not cost anything to enter, but offers real cash or occasionally entries to a larger tournament as prizes. It's basically a free poker tournament for money. Due to the opportunity to win something for nothing, freerolls often have extremely high fields, and the amount of people who can enter is usually capped.
In many cases, players can use player points that they have earned by playing on the site to enter a freeroll. A promotional freeroll does not require player points; it is offered as a promotion, either as a reward for first signing up with the site, as a thank you for continuing on the site, or to draw attention to a specific cause or event.

What is So Great About a Promotional Freeroll?

The benefits to such an arrangement should be immediately obvious. You assume no risk, but have the opportunity to win a tangible prize. Although the prizes you can win in freerolls are usually not that large, they are still real, and someone who is looking to move from the play money arena to the real cash game or tournament arena can take advantage of freerolls to do so.
In fact, it is said that many young players who are Internet poker millionaires today got their start using promotional freerolls, since they were not old enough to legally make real money deposits.

Are There Any Downsides to a Promotional Freeroll?

Since there are sometimes thousands of players, you will need a considerable amount of luck to go with any poker skills you may have in order to win. Furthermore, you will probably have to play many hours, and even if you cash you will likely only win a few dollars or perhaps even less. Still, you will get to enjoy and practice poker without any risk on your part, and some people feel the extra few dollars they may win is just the icing on the cake.