11 Texas Holdem Poker Tips for Beginners
Once you have found an online poker site, it's time to play. There are a few things to keep in mind when playing whether for practice or with real money:
- Poker Tips 1: Keep an eye on your opponents' chips. Play aggressively against those with fewer chips than you have. As a rule, don't take on a "chip monster" unless you know what you're doing. (And if you're a newbie, chances are you don't know.)
- Poker Tips 2: Take note of tight players. These are players who will play only with the best hands no matter what their table position is, because they hate to lose. Unless you have an excellent starting hand yourself, it's better to fold when a tight player joins the table. Play bolder or loose players as they are called. However note that sometimes a tight player may change their strategy and stay with a weak hand just to keep the others guessing.
- Poker Tips 3: Don't be enchanted by an Ace in your hand. An Ace is worth playing if it is paired with a card of the same suit as the Ace, or a face card. Otherwise, don't be so sure.
- Poker Tips 4: Good starting hands (Preflop) are pairs such as two Eights, two court cards like a King and Queen, an Ace and a King, an Ace with a face card of same suit, and hole cards that can potentially become either a Straight or a Flush (i.e. consecutive cards of the same suit, like 8 and 9 of Diamonds). Unless you are a blind, you should fold other hands.
- Poker Tips 5: If you play No-Limit Texas Holdem, bet handsomely if you have a great hand. Just don't turn into a predictably tight player.
- Poker Tips 6: Remember that being in early position makes you vulnerable. This is when you need to be most careful.
- Poker Tips 7: Do not be too quick to decide on your move.
- Poker Tips 8: Don't be a calling station. Raise the bet when they don't expect it.
- Poker Tips 9: If a late position player raises the bet and you happen to be in the blind, raise the bet again. The other player may not really have a great hand and just wants to steal the blinds.
- Poker Tips 10: Practice hand recognition with free poker tutorials and software. There are free interactive lessons online. Practice with these first until you can quickly recognize Texas Holdem hand combinations.
- Poker Tips 11: If you are in a poker room, do NOT chat with other players. Beginners should turn off the chat box so they can focus on the game. Also if you are easily bothered, it's better not to be able to read other players' comments which can affect your play for the worse. Later with experience, you can use the chat box to read other players, and even do some trash talking to distract or annoy your opponents. Just don't be rude.