The Significant Aspects of Texas Hold'em Poker

See also

• Online Hold'em Strategy (Part I)
• Online Hold'em Strategy (Part II)

1. Changing your starting-hand selection.
The power and value of effective starting-hand selection is something that must be learned at the very beginning of every poker journey. Starting with card combinations that are appropriate to your table position (relative to the dealer button) and your risk profile is an absolutely essential requirement to winning in Hold'em.

Every time you start a hand of poker, you're confronted with the same decision: Given all the variables I can measure or estimate, do the cards I hold create a positive expectation? If the answer is yes, play on. If the answer is no, you must wait for the next hand. There are 169 possible unique combinations of two cards for a standard 52-card deck. Every time you are dealt pocket cards in Hold'em you will receive one of these 169 combinations. Depending on your playing style and table position, only about 25 to 35 percent of these combinations should be playable. That means you should sit out about 70 percent of the hands played.

Decision risk analysis for business, career, wealth, power, and relationship situations can be much more complex. There are always a startlingly large number of possibilities available and seemingly too little information and time to evaluate them all, or even a significant portion. Under these conditions, a sensible set of preconditions for selecting the types of deals and partners you will consider should serve as a buffer to personal involvement at levels of risk that are unnecessary or uncomfortable.

The exact preconditions you set in the business arena may be fuzzier than those relating to pocket cards in Hold'em, but the requirement that you do not violate your own "starting hand philosophy" in midstream is probably more important when there are a significantly greater number of possibilities (as there are in a business setting). Determine your preconditions with respect to a particular situation and stay within those limits until you have had time (when you are no longer under the pressure of making a decision) to rethink your parameters.

In the course of a given session of Hold'em, it is easy to give in to the urge to change your starting hand profile. Even the best starting hand sequence will fail to produce success on occasion or, what is perhaps even more serious, will succeed too well. When things are going badly, particularly when the neophytes at the table are winning big pots with improbable draws, you will start to question your own logic. When things are going great and you cannot lose, you will start to feel comfortable. The most common, and dangerous, response under either of these circumstances is to "loosen up," play a few more hands, expand a few limits, and skip a few safeguards. Do so at your peril.

2. Misreading the situation.
A fundamental truth underlying the game of poker is that everything is relative. It is unconditionally true that the relative strength of a given hand depends entirely on the situation. Understanding the nature of the situation you face is absolutely the first prerequisite to winning. Another critical aspect of the game is that people tend to become emotional during work and play and emotion filters reality.

In Hold'em, perhaps even more than elsewhere, value is unquestionably in the eye of the beholder. We tend to see what we want to see. We want to believe what we think would be in our best interest to believe, whether it is in fact true or not. When the power of emotion (greed, anger, elation, desperation, jealousy, etc.), overrides common sense, you can and will misestimate the value of the cards you hold. Of course, nothing can prevent your occasionally misreading the situation. Sometimes you will be fooled by the fall of the cards. That is part of the game. Even the best players lose hands quite frequently. You will be wildly successful at Hold'em if you can win 50 percent of the hands you take to show-down.

The key to developing your perceptive acumen is accurate observation. Watch the other players carefully and use every bit of understanding you have to assess what they are doing and thinking. Practice people watching and perception manipulation skills at every opportunity because they will pay big dividends.

But there is one person sitting with you at the table who always requires diligent and objective scrutiny. That person is you. Watch what you are doing! When your play becomes ragged around the edges, make sure it isn't because you are allowing emotion to color your view of reality. Keep working on solid, basic principles of good play, even when the cards are bad. Know your limits in terms of time, money, and the operations of chance (that is, winning or losing big). When you reach your limits, stop for awhile, perhaps by dropping out for a few hands, or maybe even quitting for the night. In a business situation, take whatever time you can to clear your head. Most misreads are preventable. Give yourself the best opportunity to win by taking a moment to breathe.

3. Wearing a blind-(no)-fold.
There are several theories about playing the blinds. You can pick the theory that suits your temperament. But during a given session, stick to the same one or you will have difficulty learning from your mistakes. Regardless of how you choose to play the blinds, however, it is important to realize that folding the blind because your hand does not meet specific playing criteria is not the same as throwing away your money. People talk about "protecting the blind". Consider protecting your money first. The blinds are a sunk cost. That is, once the bet has been placed on the table, it is not recoverable.

Blinds are forced bets posted by (usually) two players to the left of the dealer. The blinds serve as an monetary inducement for players to enter the pot.

You cannot protect your blind because it is already gone. What you can do is throw good money after bad by playing any old hand just to show other players that you will not allow your blinds to be "stolen." The same reasoning also applies to bets made in later betting rounds. Never allow yourself to be drawn into betting more money on a hand than is justified by your playing strategy.

4. Mismanaging your stake.
Cash flow is the life blood of any type of gamble, whether made at the casino or in the marketplace. Without cash, the best idea or the best strategy will fail. Preserve your cash.

The other side of this coin is the adage, "Scared money never wins." If you are too afraid of losing your money, or you do not have enough to afford the inevitable losses you will incur, then you must stop playing. The kind of bold, confident attitude required to win in any type of competitive arena cannot be maintained when fear of loss is not balanced by knowledge, experience, and courage. The middle of the road is best. Be afraid of loss, but not too much. Play at the table limits where you are most comfortable and confident.