If you’re only now thinking about becoming an online poker player (for fun or for whatever other reason) you’re going to need a quick-briefing to avoid many of the mistakes beginners usually make. First of all, before you even sign-up: consider registering for a rake rebate deal. Rakemeback.com has plenty of such deals and by checking out pokerprops.com, you may even decide to go for all the marbles and play completely rake free. Never mind that you don’t really understand what the poker rake and rakeback is. Trust me on this one, this is something you’re going to be extremely thankful for later on in your online poker career.
Ok, now on to actual poker strategy. Is poker a game of chance or one of skill? People much smarter than yours truly have had trouble finding the answer to that question for quite a while now, so I won’t venture into the bogs on that one. I’ll just say that in the short-term, it can indeed be considered gambling. After all, one has no control over the cards he gets, neither over those that are dealt onto the board. You may have the best hand one minute and your opponent may hit a runner-runner two outer to knock you out of the tournament: it all comes with the turf in poker. The long-run is a different matter though. Over the long-run, good decisions pile up and the positive EV (expected value) that they bring about surfaces in a visible manner, meaning that if you play well, you’ll end up a long-term winner. You’re mathematically guaranteed to be a winner, but in order to cash in that guarantee, you need to get several things right.
Holdem is a game in which the best hand always wins. Unlike Omaha, Holdem is just not suited for a hi/lo split structure. Your objective is therefore to make the best hand and you need to play towards that objective from the second you pick up your hole cards. You will not be able to play a high percentage of your hole cards: only about 18-19% are worthy of committing chips on, and while that may not be a large number, that’s exactly what you’re going to have to deal with. This is called starting hand selection and it should be an integral part of your preflop strategy. Preflop poker is meant to make your post flop decisions easier, and it’s the starting hand selection where everything begins.
Keep an eye on your opponents. While online play is relatively tight, in a live casino, players will often play around 30% of their starting hands. That is way too much and you can take advantage of that. Subpar starting hands make weak hands after he flop, thus complicating your opponents’ post flop lives, and creating opportunities for you.
As soon as the flop lands, the majority of the community cards become known to all players around the table, Read the board right and keep an eye not just on your opponent’s range but also on your own perceived range.
Be aware of the fact that probably the most important thing in Texas Holdem is position. Early is bad, late is good, being the last to act is the best. Playing hands from late position will always make everything simpler for you as you’ll always pick up valuable information on your opponents without giving them anything in return. Everything in Holdem molds after your position. Starting hand selection, post flop action and everything in between. Even bluffs are easier to pull off when you have position on your opponent.




