Advanced Poker Strategy

Advanced Poker Strategy

For the Advanced Texas Holdem Strategy, you need to practice some of these universal strategies when you’re playing tougher poker games. Usually, the best way to beat bad players is to just play the basic strategies. However, against good poker players you need to be a little trickier and use more strategy.

Bluffing

Bluffing is a device to be used against good poker players only. Since the less skilled poker players will tend to call anything, bluffing is generally of no value. However, it’s always handy whily playing Texas Holdem, to persuade a good poker player to lay down a hand he shouldn’t. It’s normally best to bluff by representing a poker hand.

Sometimes blindly betting will get a poker player to fold if he has nothing, but to make him fold something entails that he really thinks he’s beaten. (This is easier to do at no limit than limit). At no limit, you can just put in a pot sized bet if say a flush draw hit, but a better poker player is likely to call another big bet in a limit game.

In a limit poker game, it is almost always best to bluff early (at the flop), as once a good poker player starts calling big bets, he will be unwilling to lay down his hand unless he was drawing and missed.

Again, remember that while bluffing at a Texas Holdem Poker game you need to use this strategy: bet like you would bet if you had the hand. Simply betting hard when there is something scary is not always clever, as good poker players might get a little suspicious.

If you bet firm when you have the nuts, then it’s fine to bluff hard when the nut hand comes on the board. However, if you tend to slow-play when you have the nut hand, they might recognize you are bluffing.

Slow-playing

This is the exact reverse of bluffing at poker. Slow-playing is misleading your opponent into thinking you have a worse poker hand than you actually do.

Slow-playing is generally efficient against both good and bad poker opponents (bad opponents simply bet their hand, so if they have something, they will pay you off no matter what).

You do not want to slow-play when there is a draw on the board that can hammer you; you want to slow-play when someone has a poker hand that is not very likely going to improve to beat yours.

For example, suppose A95 is on the board. You have 99 and you are positive your opponent has an ace. It is probably best to wait until the turn to bet hard, so you can milk him in for at least one extra big bet.

Game Selection

Selecting which Texas Holdem poker game to play is a skill that many good poker players never develop fully. However, it is often just as important as playing good poker.

If you are playing against of other good Texas Holdem poker players, then you really don’t stand any better chance than you do at the craps table. Keep good notes of the players you have played against and play in poker games where you truly think you are better than the vast majority of your opponents.

If you are new to the poker game, there are other methods of deciding on a game than seeing known faces. In a limit game, choose a game where there’s a lot of calling. This means that people are going to the flop with sub par starting hands and paying off people when they should not be.

If you are playing a no limit game, look for a game where people are submissive, a lot of light betting and calling. These people will not try to push you out of pots but are likely to pay you off.

Changing Pace

Playing the same mode of poker becomes monotonous after awhile. It is additionally not a smart way to continue to compete at poker. If you time and again play every hand the same way, you will become too predictable. At random intervals, it is best for you to mix up your play. If you are playing very tight, then loosen up and vice versa.

However, this poker strategy is not really to be used for limit games with 7 or more players, but rather for no limit games or shorthanded limit games, where bluffing and poker table appearance become more significant. You also don’t need to change your style of poker game against bad opponents; they don’t pay attention to how you are playing anyway.

Avoid the Second Best Hand

Most of the money you will give up in a poker game will not come from folding your big blind pre-flop, but rather being trapped with the second best hand. ‘Paying off’ the top hand is why most people lose at poker.

Because you can’t know exactly what cards your opponent holds, it is obviously not possible to fold the moment you are beaten. However at poker, you can often avoid having the second best hand by folding hands that may be conquered pre-flop. If someone in early position puts in a raise, fold that AJ off-suit. Chances are he has AK,AQ, or a pocket pair of JJ or higher.

Relative Hand Strength

Texas Holdem hard limit games are sometimes unbeatable against superior competition. Nevertheless, you can raise your chances for winning if you do various things to give yourself that extra edge.

One of the most important things again is relative hand strength and odds. If you have KQ and a skilled player raised in front of you, it’s likely that you are conquered. But at the same time, KQ is a playable hand under certain circumstances.

You usually want hands that you will be able to dominate in the pot so you can beat them later on. If you are in the middle or early positions, you will have to call with this hand and string a dominated hand along.

Other plays with virtual hand strength would be hobbling in with suited connectors, or small pairs, in order to provoke others to hobble in with you. Then again, if you have a mid pair and some maniac at the table raises in front of you, you need to consider re-raising in order to cut him off. Now, lets pretend you have 99 and you place him on Ax. You currently have odds on him and want the pot to be just you against him.

When playing a flush or straight draw, it is generally uncomplicated with bad players, but is usually mercurial with good players. If you are heads up at the flop, you should for sure semi-bluff at the pot and pray to take it down.

Moreover, if it’s heads up and another player bets at you, you ought to think about raising in order to either scare him away or to save yourself half a bet. Suppose he has top pair and is just calling. If you let pass on the turn, you can make certain and earn yourself a free card. You will have seen the turn/river for just 2 small bets instead of 1 small bet and one big bet.

Ace and a low kicker that is suited is one of the most frequently misplayed hands when it comes to limit poker. Truth be told, this is a much better no limit hand because of its likelihood of breaking another player when you hit a flush. People have a tendency to go in with this hand a frequently though it is usually dominated, and it’s rare to hit a flush.

In general, people simply like to stuff the pot with AA or KK, but it is better to try to play these hands a bit differently against the better players. By and large, you should try to re-raise with KK because you want to charge someone for looking for an A. It is probably best in this case to flat call with AA unless there are several runners and you want to avert too many from entering the pot.

On the other hand, if you’re in late position or the blinds and there is a raise, it will wind up a flat call. Since it’s expected to be heads up between the players and the raisers, it will generally have at least an 80% advantage.

Now you should call his flop bet and then raise him on the turn. Through this method, you can make a significantly larger amount of money than if you just knocked him preflop.

In the case of a tight game, the players tend to get scared at a re-raise preflop because this usually means QQ or better. Because of this, it is often best to re-raise with just a mediocre hand preflop if you’re sure that this will improve the chances of a flop bluff.

When playing with the same people for awhile, you will learn to fine-tune your AA line of attack and play that hard preflop in order to re-raise.

Playing a flush/straight draw

Playing a flush or straight draw is generally straightforward with bad players, but is often different with good players. If you are heads up at the flop, you should definitely semi-bluff at the pot and hope to take it down.

Also, if it is heads up and someone bets at you, you should consider raising to either maybe scare him out or to save yourself half a bet. Assume he has top pair and just calls. If you miss on the turn, you can check and earn yourself a free card. You will have seen the turn/river for 2 small bets instead of 1 small bet and one big bet.

Flop Bluffs

Being the aggressor pays off a lot when it’s a tough limit game. It’s almost always better to be the better rather than the caller in poker because the better can win if he has the better hand or if everyone else folds.

Against bad players, there is almost always a showdown, so this second part doesn’t matter. However, it is not difficult to make good players lay down their hand. If you raised preflop and it’s heads up, you should generally put in a bet at the flop to see if you can just take it down, even if you missed.

Playing Axs

Ace and a low kicker that is suited is one of the most misplayed hands in limit poker. Truth be told, this is a much better no limit hand because of its potential to break someone when you hit a flush. People tend to go in with this hand a lot even though it is frequently dominated, and you rarely hit a flush.

My advice with this hand is to either play it for a multiway pot for the flush draw/two pair/trips with the x, or to be the aggressor and make it heads up. However, if you are making it heads up, you should be making a play for the blinds, like a button raise. Don’t reraise and isolate someone with this hand because more than likely they will have a better hand than you.

Playing AA or KK preflop

Generally, people just like to jam the pot with AA or KK, but I often will play these hands a bit differently against GOOD players. Generally, I’ll reraise with KK because I want to charge someone for looking for an A, but I’ll generally flat call with AA unless there are several runners and I want to prevent many more from entering the pot.

However, if I’m in late position or the blinds and there is a raise to me, I will just flat call. Since it will likely be heads up between me and the raiser, I will generally have at least an 80% advantage. I will call his flop bet and raise him on the turn (unless there is something scary on the board, in which case I will raise on the flop to shut out any backdoor draw) Through this method, I will make a lot more money than if I just hammered him preflop.

The Awe of the Preflop Reraise

If it’s a tight Texas Holdem game, people tend to get scared at a reraise preflop because that often means QQ or better. Because of this, you may consider to use as a TExas Holdem strategy reraise with just a decent hand prelfop if I think that will increase my chances of a flop bluff.

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