This article first appeared in the Nov 2009 (pre-launch) issue and Chinese New Year 2010 special issue of World Gaming magazine.
Every issue World Gaming will bring you a lesson from a seasoned Poker Pro. No Limit Texas Hold’em poker is played every day in Macau at the Poker King Club at StarWorld, the Pokerstars Poker Room at the Grand Lisboa, the Venetian Poker room and the Wynn Poker Room.
New Texas Hold’em poker players need to understand some of the very fundamental differences between poker and other forms of gambling or table games. Baccarat is a game of very few choices outside of what you decide to initially bet on. Once the hand is underway you are at the mercy of the cards. Poker on the other hand is a game of many choices. The decisions that you make will be the difference between winning and losing. Sure there are elements of luck, but your skill will also play a major role in the outcome of a hand.
Let’s talk today about hand selection. In Texas Hold’em the game begins when you are dealt two cards. These two cards are called your ‘starting hand’. Unless you are in the blinds (two forced bets to the left of the dealer) then there is no requirement for you to put any money into the pot at all. This seems like any gamblers dream! If your first two cards are bad then you can simply fold them costing you nothing to play that hand. Folding is a significant part of the game that you need to learn quickly, as playing weak starting hands will land you in trouble most of the time.
This initial hand selection is one of the most important parts to the game of Texas Hold’em. You can’t play too many hands or you will waste your money, but you have to play enough or you will be wasting your time. Let’s have a look at hands you should play and a few that you can consider playing.
Below I’ll mention the idea of ‘position’, which refers to where you are in relation to the dealer button. The later your position the more opportunity you have to play hands because you can see more of what your opponents have chosen to do in front of you. We’ll talk about position more thoroughly in a future issue – for now let’s just concentrate on the starting hands.
The best starting hands: AA is obviously the best followed by KK and QQ. The fourth best hand is AK even though this is not a made hand (meaning you don’t have a pair). AK is very strong especially if you hit an A or a K on the ‘flop’ (the first three communal cards). You should always play these four hands and you should raise and re-raise if you are lucky enough to get them.
Good starting hands: JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, AQ. These are also very strong hands and ones that you should play nearly all of the time. Raise with them and call raises with them. Be prepared to fold them if the flop doesn’t suit your hand and the betting becomes crazy.
Marginal starting hands: AJ, AT, KQ, KJ, QJ, JT, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22. These hands are great if you are in late position or if you can see a flop cheaply. You need these hands to improve most of the time if you are going to win the pot.
Suited low cards: These are any two low cards of the same suit that are close together, for example 65 spades or 97 diamonds. These can be very lucrative if you make a straight or a flush but you have to be careful not to spend too much money on these hands and they should only be played when you have a bit of experience.
Be mindful of choosing the right cards to play before you put money into the pot and you will be well on the way to improving your poker game.
