|
|
| Poker Links | Poker History | Poker Odds | Poker Hands | Poker Forum | Poker at the tables | Poker Coundown Timer | roulette | Table Selection | Poker TV Live | Contact us |
Poker Odds. Starting Hands and Position Early position in Texas Holdem, is the 3 players to the left of the big blind, late position are the 2 players to the right of the blinds. By deduction, that makes everyone in between in middle position. Why you ask do you have to play your starting hands differently from different positions? The answer is logical and probably won't surprise you. Texas Holdem is all about information. The more information you have about how everyone else is going to play the hand, the easier it is for you to make a more informed decision about how you are going to play your starting hands. Logically, in Texas Holdem poker, in early position, since you are one of the first to act, you have to be much more selective about your starting hands since you don't know what the players behind you are going to do. The last thing you want to do is call the big blind, someone behind you puts in a nice raise, and you are forced to fold that hand, wasting your money. In late position, since you are one of the last players to act you have had the luxury of watching what most of the other players are going to do, making your decision an easier one. In Texas Holdem poker, you might decide to call a bet from this position because there is less likelihood you are going to be raised with only 2 or 3 players to act behind you. For this reason, the cards you play in early position are usually of much higher rank and quality than those you might play from around back. The biggest mistake most Texas Holdem players make is bleeding their money away by playing too many hands. A good Texas Holdem poker player really won't be involved in too many hands, unless he is running hot. Always be aware of what position you are in and take it into consideration when deciding, whether or not, to put you're hard earned chips into the pot. The following is a general idea of starting hands that can be played depending on where you are. In early position- you really only want to play AQ or better, which is AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 10's. You can raise with some of these hands, but might limp with pairs JJ's or lower. You can call with AK or AQ. It's hard to stand a raise from anything less. In middle position- as discussed you can lower your standards here since you have a little more information. You can play all hands from A-10 and above (this includes suited connectors from 67s on up) if you are the first to act. You can call with 99's, 88's, 77's and even lower. But these pairs should be folded if the pot is raised from behind, unless there are a lot of callers for one extra bet. In late position- you can call with most suited connectors and small pairs all the way down to 22's. If the pot has not been raised in front of you, you may be tempted to raise, regardless of your hand. This is called a position raise. It can be an important part of your success over the course of a Texas Holdem poker tournament, but it's something that should be used selectively, unless you really have a hand. Remember if everyone in front of you has folded there is a far greater chance that someone behind you has woken up with a hand. Before trying to bully the blinds keep this in mind...
Poker Odds Charts (Pre Flop Odds)
Drawing Hand Odds When playing Texas Holdem Poker, you must always be aware of how many outs you have, or simply what cards can be dealt that help you to win the hand. There are times in Texas Holdem when you know you are behind in the hand but it makes sense to call based on hand odds. Often there might be 4 or 5 players in a hand where the pot has been raised and called around. You're holding 9 First, you have to figure out your hand odds, or how many outs you have. Let's do the math. In this case you have lots of outs. You have both a straight and a flush draw. The straight draw gives you 8 outs (all the 6's and all the J's) and the flush draw gives you 9 outs (all the hearts in the deck) but remember you can't count the 6 Instead of explaining how we got 54.1%, I will provide a chart that tells you the odds of making your hand, based on the number of outs you have, after the flop has been dealt. I recommend committing this chart to memory if you plan on becoming a serious Texas Holdem poker player. Next, it's important to realize that even though you have lots of outs, your probably still way behind in the hand. All you have is 10 high, where there is a good possibility somebody has made at least a pair of Queens, an overpair, or is drawing to a higher flush. This is where, in Texas Holdem, it gets a little complicated and where a good amount of feel is needed. From this point forward in the hand there are many factors that influence how you should proceed: your position to act in the hand, the size of any bet in relation to the total amount of chips in the pot, the type of players that are at your table, the amount of chips you have in relation to everyone else, what stage of the event your in, just to name a few. Here in lies the beauty of Texas Holdem, how to navigate through these tough decisions and survive to fight another day. What makes the difference between a good Holdem player and a great Holdem player is their knowledge of hand odds, and the judgment they exercise in playing these types of hands. But one thing is for sure, they all are aware of how many outs they have to draw on and so should you. Based on the below chart you can figure out what the chances are of you making your hand no matter what it is. For example, if you have a small pocket pair, your chances of making a set (2 outs) on the turn or river, is 8.4%. Hardly enough to stay in a raised pot after the flop, I would think...
Poker odds courtesy of: www.Just-Play-Texas-Holdem.com |
10
Q