Tag: Beginners

Poker is one of the oldest and most exciting card games in existence. Sure, there are a lot of variants today, like Texas Hold ‘em or videopoker, but the original 5-card draw poker hasn’t changed. This just tells you how great and well-organized this game is. If you are a poker enthusiast, but you don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to the game and where you might play it, you’ve come to the right place. Today we are going to talk about some of the simplest online poker tips every beginner should know about.

This article is for the complete beginners who are entirely new and need some easy to understand tips to get started.

Start Playing On A Single Table

One of the most exciting things about online poker is the possibility of playing on a few tables at the same time. You know, while you are waiting for your turn on a certain table, you are betting on the other one. Even though this might be a very exciting concept, you should resist the urge to do this. As a new player, you have a lot of things to learn and the best way to learn poker strategy is to stick to one table at a time. Trust us, this is essential when starting out in poker, once you’ve gained experience you can look at adding tables later. Our article on how many tables to play is a good read for you down the line.

Only Play Strong Hands At The Beginning

An experienced poker player will tell you that there are no weak hands and that you can win the pot while having a pair of 2s in your hand. This, of course, is true, but only if you have mastered the poker strategies and played thousands of games and millions of hands. If you are a newbie, you have to stick to one playing style and this style should be – only playing the strong hands. Once you get a taste of victory and see how other, more experienced players, are using their cards, you might want to experiment a little bit but initially a tight aggressive style is necessary.

Watch Closely What Your Opponents Are Doing

You are probably asking – how can I do this when I’m playing online? Sure, you can’t see the faces of your opponent players, but there are still a few things you can watch that may tell you what the other players are thinking. For example, you can watch how much money the other players are betting each round and how long it takes them to make the call. Those two things can tell you how confident they are in their cards. Also, if you don’t want them to get a read on you, don’t make inconsistent bets or do anything erratic. Make sure you stay calm, no matter what cards you have in your hand. Be consistent in your bet sizing and actions to avoid giving off tells.

Featured Image Source: Freepik

Texas Hold’em Strategy for Beginners

If you’re new to Texas Hold’em and still learning the basics, you may feel a bit overwhelmed with the information around. Don’t worry, every professional started the same place you are now. There is an abundance on information available to you that can help you improve but there’s no use running before you walk.

This article on Texas Hold’em strategy for beginners will provide 8 practical tips to help you start crushing the low stakes games online.

One Table

As you’re new to poker and learning the rules, it’s wise to stick to one table initially. This may seem a little boring or tedious but trust me, it’s in your interest. Texas Hold’em is more complex than you think and requires full attention. Once you have mastered one table and play to a decent standard, you will be able to start increasing the number of tables but please play one to start with. Your bankroll will be all the better for it.

Table & Game Selection

You are probably a cash game or tournament player but not both yet, right? Either way, select your games carefully. Don’t just jump into any game. Like anything, if you are worse, you are more likely to lose. Instead, pick the cash games with higher % of players at flop and bigger pots. If you’re a tournament player, stick to the sites that are softer. These are the smaller sites that perhaps offer sports betting as their main product. They are rife with new players who barely know the rules. Click below to play on one of the fishiest sites online and also get a no deposit bonus.

No Limping

One of the most common traits of a beginner is to flat call before the flop. This is known as “limping” and is widely considered poor poker strategy. Presented with 3 options before the flop, open limping (to enter the pot with a call), is the worst of all 3 options. It’s much better to raise and take control of a pot or just get out of the pot than to enter with a flat call.

Without going into great detail, limping will get you into lots of difficult situations and cause you to get run over by regulars. If you are keen to learn more about why limping is bad. Read our article “Limp in poker and why it’s almost always bad”.

Use Late Position

You may have heard that playing on the button is the best, without understanding why. Simply put, it’s the best position because you’re last to act on every round of betting post flop. This privileged position means you get to see everyone else’s actions before deciding to invest more money or tournament chips. This means you can play more hands than you would in other positions.

When I say “use late position”, I mean raise from it, call more raises from late position and bet flops when checked to. It’s the best seat at any poker table and will make you more money than any other position.

Be Careful with Ace Rag

Beginners get a little too excited when they are dealt an ace. Whilst it’s the best card to be dealt, the card that comes with it is equally as important. There’s no use playing big pots with ace two off suit as you’re always going to be at a disadvantage.

If you are playing ace rag, be careful if you hit top pair, the second card (kicker) will often fail you and cause you to lose more money. This is arguably one of the biggest reason’s beginners lose to nitty low stakes regulars. They can’t get away from ace rag. Check out a previous article on ace rag here.

Play Small

Like most things in the 21^st century, there are almost too many options available. Login into any major poker site and you will see countless games running at different stakes. As you’re new to Texas Hold’em, don’t get excited and play higher stakes than your ability. Instead, start small at the micro stakes. Work up a bankroll and move up gradually, in line with your ability.

Winners at low to high stakes will prey on beginners who take shots. Don’t be one of them. Your day will come when you will be playing with them and hopefully have an edge.

Watch Poker Training Videos

A little plug for our poker training video membership here. Watching, listening and learning from experts will undoubtedly help you improve at Texas Hold’em. Our poker training video membership is exclusively focused on Texas Hold’em. With over 18 hours of video content, you can learn tips, secrets and insights that will help you beat low stakes tournaments and cash games.

It’s an efficient time saving device as you can learn effective strategy that might take another beginner several years to learn properly. You can join for free by clicking below.

Be Aggressive

One of the most important pieces of Texas Hold’em strategy I can impart is to be aggressive. There are lots of ways to be a winner at poker but none of them, to my knowledge, involve playing timidly. You need to be aggressive when you play pots.

A tight aggressive style will help you beat the micro and low stakes games still. Tight aggressive poker means playing fewer hands but assertively. It requires you take control of pots by open raising and betting post flop. This Texas Hold’em strategy for beginners is mathematically sound. If you are playing better hands than your opponents, for bigger pots, you should expect to win in the long run.