Poker Basics Archives - Texas Holdem Questions

Poker Misclick – It’s Your Own Fault

Posted on May 21, 2020May 21, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Poker Misclick

How many times have you done it? You’ve got a monster hand and your about to re raise all in but accidentally clicked fold. Or worse, you’ve called a river bet with nothing! You won’t like hearing this – every poker misclick is your own fault. All of them. This article will look at the most common reasons for a poker misclick.

Beginner Texas Holdem Question

What is a Misclick in Poker?

The term “misclick” means to perform an action not intended e.g. you have 9-3 off suit in the big blind. The nit under the gun raises and you call from the big blind by accident.

Lack of Concentration

This is probably one of the biggest reasons for misclicks. I get it, it’s 2020 and everyone is doing 50 things at once. Logic dictates the more things you are doing at the same time; the less focus you are giving each separate task. Its common sense isn’t it? If I am hoovering while reading a book, I am probably not doing a great job at either. The same logic can be applied to poker. You need to focus on the game at hand and give it the attention it deserves. If you’re watching Netflix, WhatsApping friends and on twitter while playing, you are likely to play worse and potentially misclick.

Too Many Tables

It’s great that we can play lots of tables and get more hands in, but with it, comes the risk of a poker misclick or two. It baffles me some can play 8 or more tables and think this is optimal but alas there are thousands that do this. If you play lots of tables, make sure you have them tiled properly otherwise you may make some big mistakes.

Playing Tired

Poker players have a tendency to play longer than they should. There are countless stories of players playing 24 + hour sessions. In addition to this being poor poker strategy (noyone plays well after 12 hours really), it’s also bad for your health. Playing tired will definitely lead to poker misclick. When you’re so tired that you can barely see the suits of your cards, you know it’s time to stop.

On a Mobile

Most of the major sites let us download apps to play poker on. They are pretty awesome really, allowing us to play from comfort of our phone. The poker misclick is definitely a problem. I have been guilty of this myself. It takes time to master mobile poker that’s for sure!

Automatic Buttons

You can argue this isn’t a misclick but I am going to lump it in. If you are using the automatic buttons like “fold” or “call any”, you are making some pretty bad mistakes in poker. You don’t know what the action will be before it gets to you so to use these buttons is foolish.

Other Reasons:

Laptop with clickpad
Small screen
Need glasses
Poor table layout
Faulty mouse

Why is Poker Hand Selection Important?

Posted on April 25, 2020April 24, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Poker Hand Selection

Every hand you play in poker starts with your pre-flop poker hand selection decision. It may seem trivial to a beginner what hands you play, but it isn’t. If you are making an error soon as the hand starts, often you are compounding it with your play post flop. For instance, if you are facing an expert player who is tight and opens under the gun and you call his raise with Ac 9s from the small blind. This is a big error in Texas Holdem as you have a hand that plays poorly, is likely dominated and you you are out of position. If it was baseball, you’ve struck out because that’s 3 for 3 in errors.

How to Know Which Hands to Play?

Poker hand selection should be grouped into categories for simplicity (suited connectors, small pocket pairs, big pairs, ace rag, paint cards, connectors etc). Your decision on whether to play the hand or not should be driven by the questions below, not solely on the cards in your hand.

Is my hand likely to be stronger than my opponents? (Maths)
Am I first in? (Pre-Flop Aggression)
Am I in position? (Informational Advantage)
Does my hand play well in this situation? (Combination)
Is this a favourable scenario? (Consider stack sizes and calibre of opponents)

You don’t have to be a poker genius to answer the questions. Using the A9 hand above, we can answer easily.

No our hand is not likely to be stronger
No we are not first in
No we are not in position
No A9 does not play well out of position heads up when we are the caller before the flop
No, A9 is not a favourable situation when we are calling a preflop raise from a tight player out of position.

Easier to Raise Than Call a Raise

There is an old poker saying that it take’s a stronger hand to call a raise than open raise yourself. This is because, with the pre-flop aggression, you are more inclined to win the pot. It is also known as the gap concept. The logic being, the person who is raising is telling the table he/she has a strong enough hand to raise. In order to call that initial raise, you need to have something of value yourself to contest the pot. When you are first in, you have the knowledge that nobody has entered the pot yet, so your range can be wider than it is to call.

Wider Poker Hand Selection Range in Position

As you approach later position in poker, the range of hands you play can widen, until you are on the button when you can be very liberal. This due to the fact 6 or 7 people have already folded to you, there are fewer people left to act and you have last position on every street of betting. Therefore, your poker hand selection can be much looser. This is a critical concept to understand as playing positional poker effectively is what will help you make money in the long run.

You can play so many hands on the button!

Final Thoughts

Poker hand selection is very important to becoming a winning poker player. You need to have an appreciation of the situation, your position, stack size, pre-flop lead and a basic understanding of maths. Once you understand and incorporate these factors into your decision making, you will be one step closer to winning. As I have not delved into granular detail of hand selection and specifics of which hands to play, please see below some free material from our poker training videos based on poker hand selection guide for tournaments.

Poker Hand Selection Video

How to Play Texas Holdem

Posted on April 22, 2020April 22, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Texas Holdem is often described as the “Cadillac” of poker games and has skyrocketed in popularity since Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker in 2003. A game of skill, psychology and sheer guts, Hold’em is very easy to learn but takes a long time to master since there are so many intricacies of the game that can’t be taught by reading, only by playing like the UTG position of the cards. Unlike other forms of poker, Hold’em is quite unique in that unlike traditional games like Draw poker the range of hand possibilities is greatly increased. This means that there is a lot more action in the game and much more strategizing on what your opponent holds and whether or not they are bluffing a particular hand. In this article we will teach you how to play Texas Holdem with an overview including the rules, tips about how to play online, best starting hands and maximizing your starting bankroll.

The Rules of the Game

Hold’em is played at a table typically with as little as 2 and as many as 10 players
During each round, a player is designated as the dealer (rotates clockwise around the table) and the play immediately to the left of the dealer is known as the small blind, and the player to their left is known as the big blind
When a round begins, both the small and big blinds must post which means they will start out the pot at whatever limit the game is, for example $1/$2, $5/$10 and so on
At this point, each player in the game is dealt two cards which are known as “hole cards”
After all players at the table have their hole cards, the action is on the player immediately to the left of the big blind, who can fold, call (put in chips equal to the big blind), or make a raise
Action continues around the table until it reaches the big blind who can check (if there has been no raises), fold if their have been or raise if they want to increase the size of the pot
At this point, the dealer will deal 3 community cards onto the table known as the “Flop”
Another round of betting commences with the remaining players in the hand until either everyone folds and there is one winner, it’s checked around the table or a raise is called
After this, the dealer deals another single card known as the “Turn” onto the table
Another betting round commences and if there are still players left the game proceeds
At this point, the final card is dealt into the community cards known as the “River”
There is now 5 community cards on the table as well as 2 hole cards that the players were originally dealt at the beginning of the hand
Another round of betting commences and if any players remain after this betting round there is a “showdown” and players must expose the two hole cards they have in their hand
These two cards are evaluated against the 5 community cards to make the best 5 card poker hand and whoever has the highest ranked hand is determined to be the winner of that game
In Texas Hold’em, players don’t have to use both hole cards, for example if the table had the cards Ace, Ace, Ace, King, Queen and the players hole cards were Ace, 2 – the end result hand would be 4 of a kind (Aces) for this player with a King high

Limit vs. No-Limit

There are two basic types of Texas Holdem that are typically played amongst players including Limit and No-Limit. As the names suggest, Limit Poker places a maximum wager that the player can place during each betting round. For example, in a $5/$10 limit game, in each betting round the player can only raise in increments of $5 on the flop and $10 on the turn and river up to a maximum of 4 times, with additional raising not allowed during play. Conversely, in No-Limit Poker, players are free to bet between the minimum blinds up to their entire chip stack at any point during the game. Because of the bigger pots and potential of more profitability with No-Limit it’s become much more popular than Limit which use to be the game of choice in the early days of poker.

About Playing Online

With the advent of online poker, both Limit and NL Texas Holdem really took off and there are tens of thousands of players online each and everyday taking a shot at the cash games. Playing online is a great way to learn the game since all of the poker sites offer free versions of their software where you can learn the rules and hone your skills before playing for real money. The online sites also offer bonuses when you sign up, usually 100% match on your first deposit up to a certain amount, which is a great way to get some extra bang for your buck and increase your bankroll. Another major advantage of playing online is the ability to multi-table, something you can’t do in a casino, which means you can open more than one game or tournament at once and get a lot more hands in than you would at a traditional land based poker game.

What Hands to Fold in Poker (2020)

Posted on April 22, 2020April 21, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Introduction to Folding

Knowing what hands to fold in poker doesn’t come easy to most players. If you’re reading this article, you’re probably concerned that you play too many hands, call too many raises speculatively or on the contrary, play too tight and need some guidance. We can’t all play like Phil Ivey or Tom Dwan and expect play a wide range of hands profitably. This article will give a basic guide on what hands to fold in poker.

Playing Situations, Not Just Cards

Before I get into the hand groups you should be folding. Let me preface it by saying that, as your experience, table awareness and proficiency in Texas Holdem develops, you will often be looking for profitable situations instead of just playing solid poker hands. This is something I always tell players I mentor but this article is designed to help those of you who are having difficulty with pre flop hand selection and want some general advice on what hands to fold in poker.

Ace Rag

Ace rag is almost definitely the most overplayed and overrated hand in Texas Holdem. Even professionals will occasionally overplay the ace if they’ve been dealt junk for hours. The truth is, unless you are in position or shorthanded, these hands are unlikely to generate you much money or help build your stack much. They don’t play particularly well post flop and you are unlikely to extract 3 streets of value if you make top pair. Sometimes when you think you will, you end up finding yourself outkicked.

Low Paint Cards

This may surprise you but the Queen Jack and King Jack hands are not as powerful as you think. Granted, you have two paint cards and have the opportunity to make straights but if you are calling raises with these hands, particularly against early position open raises, you are often going to find yourself outkicked or against a higher pair. If a strong player is opening from under the gun and you are tempted to play Queen Jack from the small blind, think again. The range of hands you are likely to be up against have Queen Jack in bad shape. To make this clearer, if you are against an Ace Jack, Ace Queen or King Queen, you are approx. 25% to win the hand in a showdown. Let’s also not forget you do not have the pre flop lead.

what hands to fold in poker — Image by Freepik

Low Connectors

Hands like 4-5, 6-7 and 3-4 are hands to fold in poker. I make a distinction from suited as they play so much better, but the offsuit low connectors are unlikely to help your ROI. You may have seen some professionals call raises on High Stakes Poker with these hands but that doesn’t mean they were right to and it doesn’t mean you should. Unless you make a hand stronger than one pair, you are unlikely to feel secure with low connectors so just throw them away.

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Poker FAQ

Posted on April 13, 2020April 14, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Poker FAQ for Beginners

In this article we will answer the most frequently asked questions in poker. There are so many questions beginners ask so hopefully you will find your answer in our poker FAQ.

What is the best hand possible in Texas Holdem?

A Royal flush is the best hand possible. This is extremely unlikely to obtain. I have played millions of hands and only had it twice in almost two decades of playing. The best starting hand is two aces AKA pocket aces.

What are the blinds?

The blinds are forced bets. There are two, the small blind and the big blind, both to the left of the dealer button. The big blind is usually double the small blind. These forced bets help create action.

What is the difference between cash games and tournaments?

A cash game involves static blinds e.g. £1/£2 and involve cash. Tournaments have a fixed fee to enter, you are paid based on where you finish, i.e. the higher the place the more money you make. The blinds go up at timed levels in tournaments. These two different forms of poker are radically different and require different mindsets.

What is the worst possible starting hand?

7-2 Offsuit is mathematically the worst possible hand to start with.

What is a straight draw?

A straight draw is when you have four cards to a straight (five cards in sequential order) and one more will complete your straight. There are two types of straight draws, open ended where you have 4 in a row and need one card either side or gutshot straight draw, where only one card can help you.

What is a flush draw?

Similar to straight draw but four cards of the same suit and one more of suite needed to complete your flush (five cards of the same suit).

What is the river?

The river is the 5^th and final community card. It is the last round of betting where the pot must be won if it hasn’t already.

What happens if my opponent bets more than what I have?

Contrary to old movies, you can call all your chips without having to borrow to meet your opponents bet. If he bets £100 and you have £90 and call, he simply takes back the extra £10.

What is a freeroll?

These are tournaments that cost nothing to enter. They usually reward you with loyalty points or cash. They typically have many entrants.

What is a bad beat?

A bad beat occurs when you lose a pot where you were a significant favourite. Many players are quick to cry bad beat when it’s in fact quite close mathematically.

What is the dealer button?

The dealer button signifies the last position to act post flop and also where the blinds will be. It moves round the table clockwise at the close of every hand. You are not required to deal if you are on the dealer button. It is the most favourable position at the table as you get to act last on every round after the flop.

Did our Poker FAQ not answer any of your questions? Ask us your free question and we will get back to you soon.

Is Full Ring Poker for You?

Posted on April 9, 2020April 8, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Introduction to Full Ring Poker

Full ring games are cash games or tournaments or that require 9 or 10 players at table. Most tournaments and cash games are full ring. Online poker players tend to prefer shorthanded poker as it rewards aggression more and there is less emphasis on pre-flop hand selection.

Strategic Differences Between Full Ring Poker & 6 Max Poker

Patience is far more important in a full ring game. You can profitably play far more hands in a short-handed game than you can in a full ring poker game.
Relative hand strength changes as a game of poker reduces e.g. You can play more hands heads up than in a 6 max game because your hand is more likely to be better than 1 random hand vs 5. This can be extrapolated from 6 max to 9 handed too – if you have Ace Ten UTG in a full ring game, you are likely to fold, but not in a 6 max
Value betting is arguably more important in a full ring game. This is arguable as you certainly need to know how to value bet in any game you play however bluffing and taking pots away is required more in a short-handed game to beat the rake and blinds. In a full ring game, the blinds come around less often so there is less pressure to attack all the time.
Position, as always is a key consideration, regardless of the format. In a full ring game, open raising lightly out of position is more likely to hurt your profitability than a short-handed game. This is because you are more likely to get called and be out of position in a full ring game whereas shorthanded games there are less people to act behind you. Look at under the gun for instance in a short-handed game, there are only 3 people to act behind you before it reaches the blinds.
Bluffing is less prevalent in a full ring game. With more hands in play, there are more premium hands and stronger hands post flop. This is why it is difficult for wild and looser players to make lots of money in full ring and it is often the nittier players making money in the full ring. They aren’t relying on big bluffs to earn money; their biggest bluff is firing a continuation bet and a turn bet.

Patience is the most important skill requirement for full ring poker. If you can’t wait for the right spots and play too many pots, you will get found out and lose.

What Should You Play?

I think you should select games carefully, become proficient, profitable and a master at a couple rather than be a small winner or average at plenty. There are other considerations between full ring and 6 max poker too. Are you a risk averse? If so, full ring is less variance. Do you play lots of tables? If so, full ring is probably better for you. Do you need to be involved in lots of hands? If so, 6 max is probably more appropriate for you. If you’re only interested in gambling then play on weclub88 the most trusted online casino Malaysia.

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Is a Poker Face Important?

Posted on March 12, 2020April 9, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Poker Face

Say poker face and you probably have Lady Gaga’s breakout tune in your head. A poker face is the look associated with a player at the table when playing poker. Some are bad, some are cringy, some are laughable and a few are great.

Without fail, any TV show or movie depicting a poker scene will overstate its importance. Usually the actors’ faces and expressions, whist acting masterpieces they may be, are actually irrelevant to the hand. Getting a flashback to Casino Royale yet?

I don’t want to be too critical of the poker face. Your demeanor at the table is certainly a factor and anything you can do to help your chances of winning or earning more is worth considering. I think it is important to make a distinction between a poker face and poker tells (which we will write about in due course). Let’s explore some techniques that can help your poker face and ability to conceal your hand to your opponents.

Consistency

Having a consistent look, whatever that may be is important. Poker players, like a predators hunting for any prey they can get, are hunting for information, whenever it is there to be taken. One of your goals in poker is to obtain as much information as possible, to make better decisions, but also give away as little as possible. If you’ve found a look you like. Stick with it and don’t stray.

Blinking

This may seem trivial but it isn’t. Please remember to blink when you are being tared down. If you don’t, you will get nervous, anxious and your face will involuntarily give off information to an attentive opponent.

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Eye Contact

Keep eye contact with your opponent(s). Looking people in the eye is a psychological move that suggests you have nothing to hide. The flip-side is avoiding eye contact reveals you are afraid to look at your opponent. Perhaps you’re bluffing or doing a reverse bluff. Either way, eye contact is n important and again, should be consistent.

Practice

I am not a fan of developing a poker face but If you’re going to do something. Do it right. Look in the mirror, practice it. A good poker face should not require much work or facial contortion. It should be a comfortable and relaxed expression otherwise you are probably doing more harm than good.

Warning

The live poker environment is far safer than a few decades ago but remember there are still unsavory characters around. I don’t recommend developing a mean poker face and staring at these types. Your goal in poker is to win money and play well, not make enemies, have fights or anger people.

Free Texas Holdem Question

How to Host a Poker Night

Posted on March 9, 2020March 9, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

What is a Poker Night?

A poker night is a cash game or tournament hosted between friends at someones house. It can also be called a “home game”. Whilst the basic rules of Texas Holdem don’t change, the nature and flow of a poker night is radically different to the environment of a casino. This article will explain what is needed for a poker night to both run effectively and be fun.

Planning a Poker Night

For a poker night to run smoothly, certain things need to be established before anyone walks through the door. If not, you will soon see disagreements, delays in starting and people complaining they are hungry or thirsty.

Start Time – Everyone needs to know when you are starting otherwise you will get people rocking up at different times and disrupt the flow
Poker Table & Chairs – One of the most fundamentals and basics of running a good poker night. If you are planning on running a regular poker night, perhaps consider investing in proper poker table
Poker Chips – Needless to say you will need chips, but ensure there is enough for the game to operate and that people will understand the denominations
Format – Is it a cash game or a tournament? If cash game, what are the blinds going to be? If tournament, what are the blind increments, starting stack and pay-outs going to be? Ideally, this needs to communicated to attendees in advance
Buy In – It’s very important everyone understand how much they are likely to need when playing a poker night. There is nothing worse than people having “IOUs” because they didn’t bring enough cash
Dealer – Who will be dealing throughout the night? Sometimes it’s a given it will alternate each hand but when you have certain people who are terrible at dealing, it slows the game and intensity
House Rules – This may seem a bit a bit strict but trust me it relieves pressure and potential arguments if house rules are printed and visible. We are living in the digital age so you can even PDF it and send round in advance so people are aware. The house rules should inform on etiquette and ad hoc rules including whether a tablet or phone is allowed at the table. We will write an article in the future on good house rules
Snacks & Drinks – It’s always a good idea to have food and drink bought in advance to appease the guy who loves coca cola and Doritos while he is playing.

Final Thoughts

Poker nights with friends can be a lot of fun. The banter, food and pride of beating friends makes them an enjoyable and memorable experience. It’s important to remember that there are varying degrees of ability between home games and the players that play them too. Not everyone is proficient and experienced as you may be. Ensure the stakes are reasonable and the intensity of the poker night is fitting of the players that are attending.

I hope you found this article useful. Remember to have fun, win money and gamble responsibly.

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Is Freeroll Poker the Best Way to Learn?

Posted on March 6, 2020April 28, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

Introduction to Freeroll Poker

A freeroll is a poker tournament at no cost to the player. It usually has a guaranteed prize pool, rewarding the final table with varying amounts. They are often recommended to beginners as a cheap way of learning to play poker. This article will look at the validity of that claim and whether freerolls are actually a good way of learning poker.

Are They Really “Free”?

Whilst it doesn’t cost you cash to play a freeroll. You do have to invest your time to enter them. On the one hand, you don’t lose any money if you bust out but on the other you can play hours for very little gain. Time is one of the most important things we have and one must ask, is playing this tournament worth the time? Freerolls typically have hundreds if not thousands of entrants and navigating your way through that for a few dollars is not very appealing is it?

What are You Actually Learning?

It should not come as a surprise that most of the entrants to a freeroll are either beginners playing poorly or micro stakes players playing wildly (and poorly). Therefore, it stands to reason, you are unlikely to get the legitimate experience of a “real” tournament. You will quickly find that freerolls become all-in fests. Not much actual poker goes on and you can forget about ever trying to do a bluff. Any mildly sophisticated poker strategy you have learnt is wasted in a freeroll.

How Much Can You Win?

Prizes vary between the major sites, there are some that will pay $100 for a win but keep in mind this is 1^st place with thousands of entrants. You are more likely to cash for $3 for 5 hours work. The truth is there is not much money to be won from freeroll poker. There are some more lucrative weekly and monthly freerolls that are offered to players who build up enough loyalty points, however, this involves playing for actual cash to be eligible.

Conclusion

Freerolls are not ideal for someone interested in earning or learning quickly. It is perfect if you don’t know the rules and have lots of time. Move all in, embrace the madness and learn the basics at the same time. If you actually want to learn and play well, you need to get experience playing for money. There are lots of micro stakes cash games and tournaments available online. You can invest as little as $25 starting out and it is plenty to play with and gain experience. Please remember to exercise good bankroll management and gamble responsibly too.

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Poker Cheat Sheet for 2020

Posted on February 9, 2020May 16, 2020 by Narciso Baldo

What is a Poker Cheat Sheet?

A poker cheat sheet is a guide to help you learn the absolute basic fundamentals to play solid poker in order to beat micro and low stake games. Like any endeavor, it takes time, experience and regular evaluation to become a master. The idea behind a cheat sheet is that you can refer to it easily to help you make better decisions than you would otherwise.

Hand Rankings

If you are new to poker, you will need to understand the proper hand rankings. The list below should help you understand the respective hand rankings.

Calculating Outs as Odds

To make better decisions, you will want to know the chances of improving your hand and reconciling that with the amount your opponent is betting. The table below should help you see, at a glance, the approximate percentage of you making your hand for the most common scenarios you will find yourself in. After a while, calculating your outs and converting them to odds will become intuitive. In the meantime, feel free to refer to this table.

Draw Type	Number of Outs	Turn & River (2 Cards)	River (One Card)
Flush & 2 Overcards	15	54%	33%
Flush & 1 Overcard	14	51%	30%
Open End Straight & 1 Overcard	11	42%	24%
Flush	9	35%	19%
Open End Straight	8	32%	17%
Set to Full House or Quads	7	28%	15%
2 Overcards	6	24%	13%
Gutshot Straight	4	17%	9%
Backdoor Flush or Straight	1	4%	2%

Hand Selection – Open Raising

Choosing which hands to play is very important. It’s the first key decision of any poker hand. If you are starting out in poker. The most important thing is to play a selective hand range based on the position you are in. As you lack the post flop skills to profitably make marginal pre flop calls, you will need to be careful about the hands you play. The table below is a guide to hands you can open raise with, if you are first to enter the pot i.e. nobody has raised in front of you. Please note that the table assumes you are opening the hand ranges in the earlier positions too e.g. You open KJ suited in early position therefore you are opening it in mid position too.

Early Position	Middle Position	Late Position	Small Blind
All pocket pairs from 5s to Aces	KJ/KQ/KT/QJ	Any Ace	NA
AT-AK Suited	Suited Aces	All Suited Kings	NA
KQ Suited	Pocket 2s to 4s	All Connectors	NA
KJ Suited	Suited Connectors above a 6 e.g. 7h 8h	All Gapped Connectors e.g. Q9	NA
	QJ Suited/KT Suited/QT Suited/JT Suited	Any suited cards with at worst 3 gap between e.g. Jd8d	NA

Please note I have not assigned a hand range to open raise from the small blind with. I firmly believe this is the worst spot to open raise in Texas Holdem from and don’t think it would be wise to advise a wide open raise range from here. Instead, play very careful from there. Look to minimize how much you lose and let the strong hands do their “talking” so to speak.

Hand Selection – Calling Raises

As you won’t have the pre-flop aggression in the hand when calling a raise, it is important you are calling raises with hands that are at least as equal in value to the likely range your opponent is raising with and preferably with position on them. There is no cheat to knowing what hands you should call player A’s raise with. Instead, think about the type of player raising and act accordingly. In other words, if it is a loose player opening, you can widen the hands you call with as he is opening wider than a tight player. If it is a tight player opening, you should be looking to play less hands or hands that can break him and his premium hands e.g. low pairs.
As a very basic guide consider calling raises with the hands below.

Any Pocket Pair
A Q off suit
A J suited
A Q suited
A T suited
K Q suited

Hand Selection – Re Raising AKA 3 Bet

Starting out, I recommend 3 betting with AK suited, Pocket Queens, Kings and Aces. As you develop and gain experience you will certainly be re raising with other hands but this cheat sheet is purely for the new player playing micro/low stakes poker.

Post Flop Poker

You will quickly learn that playing the flop, turn and river is complex. As you are playing a selective hand range to begin with, you will not be facing as many difficult situations as a more experience player. Check out some tips to follow below.

Miss the flop, get out of the way
Be wary of straight and flushes if betting gets large
Bet 50% or more of the pot when you bet
Don’t attempt crazy bluff bets when you are multi way
Don’t slowplay your hands, people will call you down at micro stakes so less need for deception
Bet your top pair or better hands#
Don’t get too attached to Ace King if you miss!

Conclusions

This cheat sheet is aimed at the new player coming to poker in 2020 who has no experience but wants to learn quickly. Understanding hand rankings, what hands to play and the basic odds are the most simple and fundamental skills to be a competent player, capable of winning at micro stakes. There is so much more strategy and complexity to Texas Holdem that can take years to master but we hope this cheat sheet will help you at the start of your poker journey.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in finding out how we can help you improve your game and bankroll in 2020. You can also download our poker cheat sheet below.