When I started trying to learn how to be a better Texas
holdem player I searched high and low for a list of which
starting hands I could play.

In poker, a starting hand is the initial set of cards dealt to a player before any voluntary betting takes place. For example, in seven-card stud this is two downcards and one upcard, in Texas hold 'em it is two downcards, and in five-card draw it is five cards.

I looked on the Internet and bought book after book looking
for an answer. This was in the early 2000’s so most of the
drivel posted online was poor at best, and there wasn’t as much
out there as you can find today.

A few charts and lists could be found, but once I started
playing more I quickly realized the resources I had were either
wrong or simply suggestions.

Eventually I learned that no list or chart could possibly
offer more than a suggestion. Each Texas holdem game is
different.

The games are made up of different players who each have
different playing tendencies and abilities and stack sizes. In
addition, an opponent often changes the way she plays from one
hand to the next or one hour to the next.

All of this leads to one of the most important points you
need to learn to start winning more at the poker table.

Winning Texas holdem poker players adjust their play,
including their starting hand selections, based on the current
game situation.

Here’s an example.

When you play in a game filled with loose aggressive players
you should play tighter than the other players. You can afford
to only play your best hands because loose aggressive players
will play against you with hands that rank worse than yours and
pay you off more than usual because they play them too
aggressively.

Here’s another example.

If you’re sitting at a table where everyone is playing
tighter than normal you should loosen your starting hands
selections up to take advantage of the situation. In this
situation if a few of your opponents are decent players they’ll
start seeing what you’re doing, so you need to watch carefully
so you can adjust your play as needed. But until they do you can
win many small pots and blinds by simply being aggressive.

I realize I just spent a great deal of time explaining why a
chart or list won’t work, but I’m going to give you some
guidelines based on the different positions at the table that
includes some specific hands.

One of the problems new players have is they don’t know how
to get a feel for the game and have no idea how to adjust their
starting hands to take advantage of the current situation. Sadly
the only way to learn this is by playing, but if you study and
learn the concepts laid out below you’ll be able to grasp what
you need faster.

Profit

The reason starting hands are so important is because the
person who starts the hand with the best starting hand wins more
often than the person who doesn’t.

This may sound simple, but most players ignore it by playing
poor hands.

Every hand in every position in every situation is either
profitable or unprofitable in the long run to play.

The problem is you have to decide which hands to play and how
to play them without all of the information you need to make a
perfect decision.

You also need to be aware that any starting hand can win or
lose the current hand. What’s important is how it performs over
100 of the same situations.

Some hands are easy to determine while others are almost
impossible.

You can play pocket aces or kings from any position in any
game profitably in the long run. You’ll find that you should
play them certain ways to have the best chance to maximize your
profits, but you can play them almost any way and still turn a
long term profit with them.

On the other hand you can’t play 7 2 in any situation
profitably in the long run.

The secret is figuring out all of the hands between the best
and the worst in every situation.

Don’t Play Too Many Hands

When I help Texas holdem players I never need to tell them to
play more hands. They’re always playing too many hands.

It’s easy to get bored at the table waiting for a decent
hand. When poker players get bored they start expanding their
starting hand selections and justifying it in their mind. If you
haven’t played a hand in what seems like an hour and you look
down to find 6 / 4 of diamonds, you start thinking you could hit a straight or
flush.

While it’s true that you could hit a straight or a flush, it
won’t happen often enough to pay for all of the times you don’t
and when you hit a flush it may not be the best flush.

If a flush is possible are you willing to bet all of your
money that your flush is best with nothing higher than a 6 in
your hand? This isn’t a good bet.

I see many players seeing over 40% of the flops. Even the
ones that think they’re playing tight often see over 30%.

Truly tight Texas holdem players see 20% or less of the
flops.

In some games a winning player can see as few as 15% of the
flops. Though it’s rare in a Texas holdem game, I’ve played in
numerous pot limit Omaha games where you could see 10% of the
flops and show a strong profit.

I want to make a couple clarifications before moving on.

You don’t have to be extremely tight or see fewer than 20% of
the flops to be a profitable poker player. When you’re starting
out and as you learn to be a better player you should play
tight. This gives you the best chance to win because playing
better starting hands than your opponents helps cover up many of
the other mistakes you make as a new player.

As you improve your game you have the option of playing a few
more hands in certain games, but many winning players stick with
20% or so of the flops.

The players who are able to win while consistently seeing 25
to 30% or more of their flops are almost always exceptional
players, particularly after the flop. Don’t make the mistake of
playing too many hands until you’ve mastered the other areas of
your Texas holdem game.

By the time you become a profitable player in the other areas
of your game the odds are you’ll be able to recognize when you
can profitably play more hands.

Until this happens, give yourself the best chance to win by
playing fewer hands.

No Limit and Limit

The most popular variation of Texas holdem is no limit. Most
of the starting hand advice below is written with no limit play
in mind, but the majority of it is also good for limit holdem.

I suggest playing even tighter in limit play than in no limit
because the opportunity to make up for playing with an inferior
hand is less in limit play. To put it another way, in no limit
you can often get paid off in a big way when you do hit a long
shot like a set so you can make up for the many times you miss
your hand. In limit play you can only win a set amount so it’s
harder to get paid off at a high enough rate in limit to allow
play of speculative or trap hands.

Examples of the types of hands that are less valuable in
limit play are medium and small pairs and medium suited
connectors.

Medium and small pairs almost always have to improve to a set
or better in order to win. Suited connectors, cards that share
the same suit and are one gap or less apart in value like 8 / 9 of spades or
8 / 10 of spades, can win numerous ways but they don’t hit often enough to
show a profit in many limit games.

As I mentioned above, every poker game is unique so all of
the suggestions need to be compared to your current game
conditions and adjusted accordingly.

Full Tables vs Short Handed Tables

The advice I listed above about flop percentages and the hand
suggestions included below are based on full ring game play.

If you play shorthanded tables, usually 6 handed, you need to
play slightly more hands than at full tables. Don’t make the
mistake of playing too many extra hands though.

It’s easy to go overboard. Tight play is still the easiest
way to give yourself a good chance to win.

From a mathematical standpoint, if you should play 20% of the
hands at a 9 person table, you should play 30% of the hands at a
6 person table.

Just like everything else on this page, 30% is a rough
estimate and you should adjust it based on the current game
situation.

Early Position

Early position is the first two places to the left of the big
blind. The blinds have their own section below so they aren’t
included here.

The main reason you need to play so few hands from early
position is because you play the entire hand out of position.
You’ll almost always have to face a player or players who get to
act after you must make a decision. This places you at a
distinct disadvantage for the entire hand.

These starting hand suggestions for early position are going
to seem extremely tight to most players, but until you’re a
consistent winner simply fold everything not on this list.

I also suggest folding the ace queen suited unless you hit a
strong draw or top pair top kicker on the flop and getting away
from the ace king hands as soon as an opponent shows aggression
after the flop if you haven’t improved.

When you play a pair of queens you should be cautious with
any flop that contains an ace. I usually make a continuation bet
after the flop if an ace lands, but if anyone calls I’m usually
done with the hand at that point. Kings on the flop aren’t as
scary as aces to a pair of queens.

You should play all of these hands with a raise to thin the
field and help build the pot with the players who remain in the
hand.

One of your goals as a poker player is to get more money in
the pot when you have the better hand and minimize the amount
you put in the pot when you don’t. With these hands you’ll
almost always have a better hand than your opponents before the
flop so the more money you get in the better.

As your play improves and you get better at reading your
opponents and their hands you might consider adding some of the
following hands in certain games. Don’t feel like you have to
add them at any point. The truth is that as you become better
and more profitable you’ll start recognizing the times when you
can play the following hands without reading about them on a web
site.

Until you’re a pro, play every hand from early position with
a raise. If it’s not good enough to raise with from early
position you should fold. When you raise with any of these
second tier hands and are re-raised you should probably fold.
The only exception is if you know enough about the other player
that you still think you’re ahead. This is rarely the case.

Middle Position

Middle position is from the third seat to the left of the big
blind to the second seat to the right of the button. In a 6
handed game it’s the second seat to the left of the large blind.

Middle position can be tricky because you can play a few more
hands than you can from early position but you still run the
risk of being out of position the rest of the hand if a late
position player enters the pot.

This is the main reason I like to raise most of my hands from
middle position. I want to give the late position players a
reason to fold and if they call a raise it gives me an idea of
the strength of their hand moving forward.

In addition to both sets of hands listed in the early
position section the following hands can usually be played from
middle position.

You should fold most of these hands if an early position
player has raised.

Be aware that medium pairs, including the eights and sevens,
should generally be played for a set from middle position. You
can play them aggressively at times, but mostly they’re trap
hands.

Notice that almost all of these hands need to improve to win.
Don’t overcommit to the pot with any of these hands because none
of them are strong enough to win big hands without improving.

The medium pairs can be profitably played against early
position raises if the player has a deep stack and they show a
willingness to get most of their money in the middle after the
flop. You call their raise and try to get all of their money
when you hit a set. When you miss on the flop you have to fold
to a continuation bet.

As you’re learning how to play don’t feel like you have to
play many hands in middle position. If you only played the hands
listed in both parts of the early position section you won’t
make many mistakes. As you get more comfortable add in the hands
in this section.

Late Position

Late position includes the button and one seat to the right.
The button is superior to the seat to the right, but often with
a raise from one off the button you can get the button to fold,
creating a situation where you’re the new button.

All of the hands listed in the last two sections can usually
be played profitably from late position. Some of them are still
weak enough that you should consider folding them against a
raise, but even against a raise you can play many for a long
term profit.

The exception is when an early position player who you know
is a good player raises.

You should fold most hands against this type of raise. A good
player is one that only plays their best hands from early
position and is smart enough to be able to get away from trap
hands without risking their entire stack in most situations.

It doesn’t do you much good to hit a set against an early
raise unless you can extract a large portion of your opponent’s
stack.

I’m not going to give you a list of late position hands to
add to the ones already listed. You can play smaller pairs and
suited connectors in many games from late position because you
get to act after everyone else for the rest of the hand, but you
still need to be smart to avoid losing money.

Small pairs can be trap hands because sometimes when
you hit a set another player will hit a higher one. This usually
leads to a large loss and is enough to make many pros avoid
small pairs. I’ve seen Doyle Brunson fold small pairs in ring
games on television many times. I’m sure he has and does play
them from time to time, but for the most part they’re dangerous.

I can’t remember who the professional player was, but I read
about a game a pro played in on a weekly basis that he could
play any hand from the button for a long term profit. You may
find this hard to believe, but depending on the level of the
competition, I believe it’s possible. I’ve never played in a
game where I could play every hand from the button, but I’ve
played in some where I could play most of the button hands. When
I say most I mean 75 to 80%.

Often late position play is as much about your opponents and
knowing how to play against them as the cards you hold. This is
what the pro was taking advantage of in the game mentioned
above.

Blinds

The blinds are where many players lose a great deal of their
money. They think that because they can get into the pot for a
half bet or by calling a small raise that the pot is offering
such good odds that they can play almost any hand.

I’ve even played against people who simply refused to fold
their blinds unless they faced an all in pre flop. Needless to
say, I love when these players are seated at my table.

My rule of thumb is to fold anything from the small blind
that I wouldn’t play from late position. I also fold anything in
the big blind to a raise that I wouldn’t play in early or
sometimes middle position.

I’ve found that if I have any question in the blinds the most
profitable long term strategy is folding. In many games I fold
everything from the small blind that I wouldn’t play from middle
position. I found that playing anything else, even for a half
bet, was costing me money in the long run.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the money you put
into the pot in the blinds or anywhere else is yours once it’s
in. Once you place the bet it’s not yours any more. So you don’t
need to defend your blinds or the pot. If you have a good hand
then enter the pot, but if you don’t you need to fold.

After the first round of betting the blind are the worst
position for the rest of the hand. When you see the flop and it
doesn’t give you a strong hand or very strong draw simply check
and fold to any bet. Don’t get fancy and throw away your money.

Tournaments

Tournament starting hand play is entirely different than ring
game play.

I cover it in more detail on the tournaments page, but for
the most part you need to focus on hands that give you the best
chance to win big pots and fold everything else.

In order to win most tournaments you have to double your
starting chip stack multiple times. While enough small pots can
help you increase your stack, a single bad decision can end your
tournament.

Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart

While it may seem like medium pairs would be good because you
have a chance to double up when you hit a set, the truth is you
don’t hit a set often enough to make them playable for set value
in most tournaments.

The hands you can play from early position listed earlier are
the best ones for tournament play, especially early in the
tournament.

As you build your stack you can expand your starting hand
selections a little, but you still want to play tight.

If you start getting short stacked you may need to make an
all-in move. Try to pick a hand with an ace, a pair, or two face
cards and move all in and hope for the best.

Summary

The following summarizes the important strategy points from
this page.

• Tight starting hand play increases your chances to show
  a long term profit.
• Every Texas holdem game is different and requires a
  unique starting hand selection.
• Position is important and needs to be considered with
  every single starting hand decision.
• Some hands can be played from any position and some
  can’t be played from any position. How you play everything
  else is directly related to your long term profit at the
  poker tables.
• Tournament starting hand requirements are different than
  ring game play.
• Just because you can get in for half a bet doesn’t mean
  any hand is playable. Many hands are losers in the long run
  even for half a bet.

Texas holdem is by far the most popular form of poker played
in the world today. You can see it played on television, online,
in poker rooms, and in most casinos. You can even find home
games in almost any city if you know who to ask or where to
look.

But how do you get started playing if you’ve never played
before?

We’ve designed this Texas holdem basics page just like a
Texas holdem 101 guide. By reading the sections on this page we
walk you step by step through the options and rules for holdem
and give you some simple tips so you can get started playing
right away.

Read all the way through the page from top to bottom and then
come back and go over the sections where you need more help.
Once you master everything here you can start learning more in
our strategy section.

But don’t get ahead of yourself and try to take in too much
at one time. Learn the basics first and then start trying to
improve your game slowly.

The Deck

Texas holdem uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The
deck has four suits of 13 cards each. The four suits are spades,
hearts, clubs, and diamonds.

The cards in each of the four suits are ace, king, queen,
jack, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, and two.
Aces can be used as a high card above the king or a low card
below a two. Otherwise, the rank of cards from high to low is as
they’re listed above from ace down to two. None of the four
suits have a higher rank than the others.

Rank of Hands

The rank of hands used in Texas holdem is the same as many
traditional card games. The highest possible hand is a royal
flush and the lowest possible hand is two, three, four, five,
seven of at least two different suits.

Here’s a list of the different possible Texas holdem hands
from highest to lowest. To see who has the best hand, start from
the top of the list and work down towards the bottom. The first
hand you see on the list is the better hand.

• Royal Flush

  Ace, king, queen, jack, 10 all of the same suit.

• Straight Flush

  Five cards in sequential order all of the same suit but
  not ace high.

• Four of a Kind

  Four cards of the same rank, like four sevens or four
  jacks.

• Full House

  Three cards of the same rank and two cards of a different
  rank. For example, three queens and two nines is a full house of
  queens over nines.

• Flush

  A flush is any five cards, all of the same suit. When two or more
  players have a flush the one with the highest card wins. If they
  have the same highest card the next highest card wins. This is
  continued until one player has a higher card than the others. If
  all five cards are of the same rank the pot is split.

• Straight

  Five cards in sequential order of at least two different suits.
  The ace can be used to form a high straight or a low one. Ace,
  king, queen, jack, 10 is a straight as well as five, four,
  three, two, ace.

• Three of a Kind

  Three of a kind is three cards of the same rank, such as
  three twos or three aces.

• Two Pair

  Two cards of the same rank and two other cards of the same rank.

• One Pair

  A pair is two cards of the same rank like two fives or two
  kings.

• High Card

  If your five card hand doesn’t make any of the hands listed
  above you have a high card hand, designate by the highest card
  in your hand. If the highest card in your hand is a queen and
  you don’t have a higher ranked hand as listed above, you have a
  queen high hand.

If two or more hands tie the pot is split between the winning
hands. But a tie must be five identical cards. When two players
have the same two, three, or four card best hand they use the
remaining cards to determine who wins. This is called a kicker.

One player has a pair of kings, a pair of eights, and an ace
and the other player has a pair of kings, a pair of eights, and
a seven. Both players have the same two pair, but their fifth
card is different. The player with the ace as the fifth card
wins the hand because the ace is higher than the seven.

If two or more players each have a pair, the highest pair
wins. The higher cards win if the hands are otherwise the same.
In a full house, the higher three of a kind rank wins.

Limit – No Limit – Pot Limit

Texas holdem is offered in limit, no limit, and pot limit
varieties or limits. This deals with the amount players may bet
on each round of play. Otherwise, the games are played the same
way using the same set of rules and regulations.

Limit

Limit Texas holdem has a strict betting amount that is used
on each round. Before and on the flop players have to make bets
and raises of a set amount and on the turn and river they must
use another set amount. The second amount is almost always twice
the early amount.

The betting limits are expressed as two numbers divide by a
slash. 3 / 6 means the early betting limit is $3 and the last
two rounds use $6 increments.

No Limit

No limit uses a minimum betting limit on each round, but the
maximum amount a player may bet is only limited to the amount
they have in front of them. A player may bet any amount up to
and including their entire stack on any betting round of no
limit Texas holdem.

Pot Limit

Pot limit is the least popular form of Texas holdem and is
rarely played in land based play. In pot limit play you can bet
any amount up to and including the amount in the pot. This is
usually pretty straightforward, but in the case where a player
bets and you want to raise, you add the amount it takes to call
to the pot before determining the amount you can raise.

This doesn’t mean you take action in two steps. You only make
one bet, but you add the amount required to call mentally to
determine the total amount of the bet you can make.

If the pot has $60 in it and an opponent bets $20. The new
amount in the pot is $80. If you want to raise the maximum
amount you add $20 to the amount in the pot in your head to get
a total pot of $100. So you can raise up to $100. If you want to
raise the maximum amount you place $120 in the pot. This is $20
for the call and a raise of $100.

Don’t worry if this seems a bit confusing. You probably won’t
ever have to play pot limit Texas holdem and if you do, the
dealer can help you until you get the hang of it. If you play
online the software takes care of everything so you don’t have
to worry about it.

Other poker games, like Omaha and 7 Card Stud are more likely
to be played in pot limit than holdem.

Tournaments or Ring Games

Texas holdem is played in ring or cash game format and
tournament formats. A ring game doesn’t have a set procedure for
ending and players come and go. You can join a ring game at any
time as long as there’s an open seat and you have the money. You
can also leave at any time by picking up your chips and leaving
the table.

Tournaments have a set starting point and play down until
only one player remains. You can find numerous tournament
variations and they can all be played in any of the limit
formats listed in the last section. But most Texas holdem
tournaments boil down to either single table or multi table
events.

• Single Table Tournaments

  A single table tournament, usually called a sit and go, has
  10, nine, or six players most of the time with the top three or
  two players finishing in the money.

• Multi Table Tournaments

  A multi table tournament can have up to thousands of entrants
  and the pay outs are based on the tournament structure.

Before the Deal

The process of events before a hand is dealt depends somewhat
on what has just happened. If a new game or a new tournament is
being started the dealer does one set of things and if a hand
just ended the dealer follows a different set of procedures.

The dealer is the person dealing the cards. In a casino or
poker room an employee of the house deals the cards and does not
play in the game. In a home game many times the players deal the
cards. When you play online the computer software the poker room
uses takes care of dealing the cards.

In a normal Texas holdem game one of the players is also
called the dealer. The dealer position is also called the
button, based on a white disc with the word dealer on it that
gets passed around the table after each hand.

The player who has the dealer button in front of them gets to
act last on each betting round in a Texas holdem game except the
first one.

In the case of a new game or tournament starting the dealer
shuffles the cards and then deals a card face up to each of the
players at the table. The player who receives the highest card
is awarded the dealer button for the first hand. The first
player to the left of the dealer button then must place a forced
bet called the small blind and the next player to the left is
forced to place a big blind bet.

• About The Blinds

  The small blind is usually half the big blind and the big
  blind is usually the same as the smaller amount in a limit game.
  So a 50 / 100 limit game has a small blind of 25 and a big blind
  of 50. In a no limit or pot limit game the blind levels are set
  by the house. In a tournament the blinds are determined by a
  schedule that has the blinds increase at set times.

In the next hand of a continuing game or tournament the
dealer makes sure the dealer button is passed one place to the
left and that the new blinds have placed their forced bets. The
dealer can also make change or help a new player buy into the
game.

The dealer shuffles the cards or places the deck in an
automatic shuffling machine while getting a freshly shuffle deck
from the machine. Once the blind bets are placed and the dealer
has a shuffled deck of cards the deal is ready to start.

The Deal

The dealer deals one card at a time face down to each player
around the table from left to right starting with the player in
the small blind. This continues until each player has received
two face down cards. These are called the player’s hole cards.

Once each player has their hole cards the player to the
immediate left of the big blind acts first and must fold by
passing their cards to the dealer face down, call the big blind
by placing a bet equal to the big blind into the pot, or raise.
The possible amounts of a raise are based on the limits that we
discussed in an earlier section.

Once the first player to the left of the big blind acts, the
next player to the left acts by folding, calling the previous
bet, or making a raise. Play continues to the left with each
player making the same decisions until play reaches the small
blind.

The small blind may fold, complete the amount of their bet to
equal the current bet, or raise. In a pot that hasn’t been
raised the small blind can put enough into the pot to equal the
big blind, or another half bet. Once the small blind has acted
the big blind can check in a pot that hasn’t been raised, call a
bet in a raised pot, fold in a raised pot, or raise.

Play continues to the left until each player has folded or
called the most recent bet. If everyone folds except one player
that player is awarded the pot. This is true at any time during
a hand.

Remember in a limit Texas holdem game the bets before the
flop and on the flop are at the lower betting limit. All raises
are restricted to the amount of the lower betting limit.

The Flop

Once all of the beginning of the hand betting has been
completed the dealer takes the top card of the deck of un-dealt
cards and places it face down in the discard pile without anyone
seeing the value. This is called burning a card and the purpose
is to help prevent cheating.

If the cards were to be marked in some way a player still
wouldn’t be able to see the value of the next card to be dealt
because of the burn card not being discarded until the next card
was being played.

The next three cards are turned face up in the center of the
table. These cards are called the flop and they’re the first of
five total community cards that will be in the middle of the
table face up at the end of the hand. Players combine their two
hole cards with the five community cards to make the best
possible five card poker hand.

Texas Holdem Strategy Chart

Once the flop cards are displayed the first remaining player
to the left of the button position is the first to act. This
player may bet or check. Play then moves to the left. Each
player may check if a bet hasn’t been made, call if a bet has
been made, or raise. This process continues to the left until
each player has checked, folded, or called the last bet.

The Turn or Fourth Street

In limit Texas holdem all bets on the turn and river are the
upper betting amount. In a 10 / 20 game all bets and raises on
the turn and river are at the 20 level.

At the beginning of the turn the dealer burns the top card
again and places one additional card face up in the center of
the table with the other community cards.

The play then starts with the first player left in the hand
to the left of the dealer button. This player may check or bet.
Play continues to the left just like on the flop and continues
until each player has checked, folded, or has called the most
recent wager.

The River or Fifth Street

On the river the dealer burns a final card and places the
fifth and final community card face up in the center of the
table.

The river betting round is carried out the same as the turn
betting round.

Showdown

Starting Hand Ranking Holdem

Once all of the betting has been completed on the river the
remaining players reveal their hole cards to determine which
player has the best five card hand. Players can use both of
their hole cards and three community cards, one of their hole
cards and four community cards, or just the five community cards
to form their best five card hand.

If no one placed a bet on the river the first player to the
left of the dealer button is the first player to reveal their
cards. Then the next player to the left can reveal their cards
or discard them if they don’t have a better hand. In some poker
rooms you may see the cards if they’re discarded and in others
you can’t.

Generally it’s considered poor etiquette to ask
to see the discards even in the poker rooms where it’s allowed.
You can use your own judgment in this situation.

If one or more bets have been made on the river the player
who made a bet that was called last is required to show their
cards first, with play continuing to the left.

When you play at an online poker room the software takes care
of everything at the showdown. If you aren’t first to act and
you don’t have the best hand you may have the option to fold or
show your cards.

As a general rule you never want to show your cards unless
you have to. When you show your cards in a hand that you don’t
win you give your opponents extra information about the way you
played the hand that they might be able to use against you at a
later date. You want to avoid giving your opponents any extra
information about the way you play.

Never let the dealer have your cards in a live Texas holdem
game until you receive the pot when you win a hand. If you’re
not sure who wins a hand never give up your cards until you know
and understand. Also never take another player’s word for the
strength of their hand. Some players may state that they have a
better hand than you to try to get you to fold. Once your cards
are in the muck or discard pile they generally can’t be brought
back out.

Basic Strategy

Texas holdem strategy has hundreds of books and thousands of
web sites dedicated to it, so we only have room for the basics
here. We do have a complete section dedicated to Texas holdem
strategy, so once you learn the basics make sure you take the
time to read our other strategy articles and pages.

The first thing you need to think about when it comes to
Texas holdem strategy and your long term chances to win is you
need to try to play against players who are worse than you. At
first this can be difficult because you might not be very good
at first. But as you get better it can be easier to find games
with players who aren’t as good as you.

It doesn’t matter how good or bad you play, if you only play
against players who aren’t as good as you the odds are that
you’ll win more than you lose in the long run.

The basic idea that fuels winning Texas holdem play is you
need to maximize the amount of money you win when you win and
minimize the amount of money you lose when you lose. This sounds
like a common sense type of approach, but most players don’t
seem to play this way.

You need to bet and raise when you have the best hand to
maximize the amount in the pot, and check and call when you’re
drawing to a better hand to minimize your risk. When you don’t
know if you have the best hand or not you can use odds and
percentages to get a good idea of the possibilities either way.

The way you end up with better hands on average than your
opponents is by playing better starting hands than they do on
average. When you’re first learning how to play holdem don’t
play many hands. Most new players play twice as many hands or
more than they should, quickly drain their bankroll.

Another important strategy concept that helps you become a
winning player faster is learning how position impacts the hands
you can play and your profitability. The general rule of thumb
is you can play more hands in late position than in early
position. So you should only play your top starting hands from
early position.

You gain a large advantage when you get to act last, so you
tend to win more money in late position than in any other
position at the table. This is because you get to see what every
other player does before you have to make a playing decision.
You also have the opportunity to take a free card for the turn
and / or river when all of your opponents check.

Once you learn how to use your position, pick your starting
hands, and how to maximize your wins and minimize your losses,
you’ll be well on your way to playing winning Texas holdem. At
that point you can start learning the finer points of advanced
strategy.

Common Slang

Like many popular gambling games Texas holdem has a unique
language that includes a number of interesting terms. Here’s a
small list of popular Texas holdem slang you might need to know
at the table.

Conclusion

Learning the basics of Texas holdem is fairly easy, but to
get a true feel for the game you need to start playing. Once
you’ve learned everything on this page sit down and play a few
hands. You can play for free at most online poker rooms.

If you can’t play online, see if you can get together a group
of friends and family to play a home game. A group of eight to
10 is best, but you only need four or five for a practice game.

Texas Holdem Starting Hand Percentages

When you’re ready to play for real money take it slow and
start at a low limit.

You can play micro limits online, stating at pennies, and
most land based poker rooms have limit holdem as low as 5 / 10
and no limit buy ins as low as $100. Or find a low buy in poker
tournament to try your luck at chasing a big win.