How to Play HoldemLimit versus No Limit. Most of the Holdem on television is No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament poker. This is about as different from Limit Texas Holdem ring game poker as two things of the same species can get. Many of the winning tactics used in No Limit tournaments are either useless or counterproductive in Limit Texas Hold'em ring games. Chainsaws may cut most things better, but butter knifes are more appropriate for some tasks. Just because you saw a skilled lumberjack cut down an oak tree with one doesn't mean you should use a chainsaw to cut butter.

                   

Starting hands. One of the most poorly considered basics of Texas Hold'em is the fixation novices have on starting hands, with a corresponding focus on starting hand charts and groups. Texas Hold'em is much more of a post-flop game than a pre-flop one, but novices and mediocre players fixate on following guidelines on starting hands. Without learning to understand why you are playing a certain hand, and how you intend to play it after a variety of different types of flops, you are fully missing the point of the game. Learn why and how to play hands, not the simplistic what to play. Learning how to play Texas Hold'em means learning to understand the reasons you are doing the "what" you are doing.

Fundamentals win ball games and poker games and games of every sort. Let the suckers try to buy lunch with their egos. You should focus on the basics of making thoughtful bets when you have the best of it, and then you can focus on buying lunch with your profits -- profits courtesy of the bad players, the ego players, and the players who simply don't work on the fundamentals enough.

There is no reason answer, or chart, or diagram you can refer that teaches you how to play Texas Holdem, if you want to win that is. But following the various links here will lead you through the web of related concepts you need to master

The art of bluffing, as experts play, is seen in some of the biggest games, where a player with a weak hand forces another player with a stronger hand to fold. Ultimately, whatever you do that helps you win a hand or a game of poker is something to at least be aware of. Control over your expressions and emotions is an important aspect of bluffing. Hide your cues, or tells, that you give off when you pick up a strong hand or a weak hand. Keeping other players from seeing your strengths and weaknesses is the first step in being able to bluff effectively. Acting predictably can also help - your opponents are watching your behavior as much as you are watching theirs, and they will try to pick up patterns of betting and action. If you always fold on weak hands, they will assume that you have a strong hand if you don't fold the next hand. This is when bluffing can let you fake your way into an advantage.
Know the cards well - if you are playing a version of poker that uses community or other face up cards, make note of which ones are showing and which ones you could have that would make for a powerful hand. For example, when playing Texas hold'em, when you see an ace, a king, and a jack get turned up as the flop, you could bet as if you held the missing ten and queen for a royal straight - a powerful hand that would allow other players to think you are very serious if you decided to bet everything you had at that time.
Betting, when done, is done as if you had a stronger advantage - betting higher than you think you should in order to intimidate others from following your lead. Of course, timing is everything - it may be too late to try to bluff after your opponents themselves begin betting high values. If they are betting high, you may assume that they are either bluffing themselves or in fact holding a strong hand themselves. You would likely have to raise the stakes very high to intimidate someone in a final round after they had already contributed a large amount into the pot, and coming on too strong may give your opponents a clue that you are, in fact, bluffing.

Detecting a good bluff is done using much of what you've already learned: look for initial tells and patterns of behavior that give you an idea as to what your opponent is holding. As they say, the first flinch is likely the right one - a player may leak out a tell before trying to cover it up with forced bravado. Watch for the cards that come out and know what cards they may be shooting for to figure the likelyhood of them actually having that hand. Remember that a player will want to win as much as they can when they are holding a strong hand, and they won't be able to do that if they scare everybody off on the first round of betting, so don't bet too high if you're bluffing, and watch out for an opponent doing the same thing.

Farah bluff !

:D

General Hold'em Strategy:

Hold'em is basically HIGH card game. The players holding two good high cards have the best chance at the best hand or a draw to the best hand after the flop. Only play strong hands, that will stand a raise or multiple raises, from early betting positions. Play medium strength and other playable hands from the later positions if you have a good chance of seeing the flop at a reasonable price. Play strong high hands MOST of the time, and play them very aggressively. Take all the raises you can get. If you don't thin out the competition, you reduce your chances of winning. Plus, your aggressive play before the flop can add credibility to any strong play you might want to use on the next round if a garbage flop falls and you want to try a steal. Be ready to fold your high pair if you get a lot of action with a threatening flop.

Definitions:

HIGH CARDS - A thru 10 (Aces, Faces and Tens)
MEDIUM CARDS - 9 thru 7
LOW CARDS - 6 thru 2
SUITED PLAYER HAND (S) - Both cards of the same suit.
SET - Three of a kind with two of the three in your hand. (One in your hand and two on the board is "trips".)
NUT HAND - An unbeatable hand. Sometimes called a "lock".
FLOP, TURN. RIVER - The community cards in the order of distribution. See top illustration.
FAST PLAY - Bet, raise and re-raise to get as many other players out as possible.
SLOW PLAY - Just check or call along to keep other players in the game to increase the pot odds.
CHECK-FOLD - Check when you can and fold if you are bet into. Gladly accept all free cards offered.

Starting Holdem Hands:

The starting hands shown here are in general power order groups with names that are easy to remember. More precise power ratings of each of the individual hands is available on the "Best of the Net" page, under "Texas Hold'em".


The Strongest Starting Hands:

PAIR of HIGH CARDS - AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010
ACE and HIGH CARD SUITED - AK(S), AQ(S), AJ(S), A10(S)
FACES SUITED - KQ(S), KJ(S), QJ(S)
ACE KING - AK

Medium Strength Starting Hands:

FACE TEN SUITED - K10(S), Q10(S), J10(S)
MEDIUM PAIRS - 99, 88, 77

TWO HIGH CARDS - AQ, AJ, A10 (ace king ranks higher, above), KQ down to J10
ACE and MEDIUM SUITED - A9(S), A8(S), A7(S)
MEDIUM SUITED CONNECTORS (No Gap/One Gap) - J9(S), 109(S), 108(S), 98(S), 97(S) down to 75(S)

Other Conditional Starting Hands:

LOW PAIRS - 66, 55, 44, 33, 22
ACE and LOW SUITED - A6(S), A5(S), A4(S), A3(S), A2(S)
LOW SUITED CONNECTORS (No Gap/One Gap) - 65(S), 64(S), 54(S,) 53(S) (lowest)

Strategy Tips:

Fast play high pairs and very strong hands before the flop. This puts more money in the early pot and encourages weak and garbage hands to fold that could get a lucky flop and beat you.
Don't draw to the low end or both ends of a straight. If a 9 8 7 flops, you want to be playing the J 10 and not the 6 5 or the 10 6. (The low part is commonly called the "ignorant" end of the straight.)
Unconnected Medium and Low Cards are Usually Unplayable. This includes suited cards that can't flop a straight. Both ends of a straight such as 9 5 fall into this very weak catagory.
Play starting low pairs cautiously. 66 down to 22. Usually not from an early seat and from the late positions, only when the price is right. If you don't flop a set or quads you should usually fold.
Play aggressively when you have a two way draw after the flop. If you can make a straight AND a flush or trips etc., usually bet/raise your hand.
Bet an Ace or two high overcards after a garbage flop (a three suit "rainbow" with unconnected medium and low cards). Usually fold if someone raises.
Watch out for uniform flops, like 8 7 6, they can easily turn into straights that can overtake your high pair or other good hand.
Check the raisers chips. Players that are close to all-in often rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand.
Beware of Suited Flops that can make a completed flush. In this case, you should usually hold the nut in that suit, or have trips or two pair that can fill up..
Get caught bluffing once in a while. It is a way to vary your play and not be too predictable. You win pots that you don't deserve when your bluff works. You lose a few chips when it doesn't work but it will get you calls from weaker hands down the line when you have a strong hand and need the action.
Study your opponents, especially when you are not playing hands and can pay careful attention. Do they find more hands to play than they fold? Do they bluff? Can they be bluffed? Do they have any "tells" (give away mannerisms) that disclose information about their hands etc

Since this is my first post on my blog, i
will thank everybody for entering and i will promise u will learn something from what is posted here from now on.


Thank you.