Theis obviously the most important factor in playing Texas Holdem Poker. In low limit games your bankroll will be much smaller and your stack size will be lower. In games like 200nl and up your stack size will normally be much bigger and your bankroll will be much lower.
Early Stages
- In the beginning the amount of players who are running around the table is going to be much lower. It’s important that you are playing only premium hands in the beginning.
- The reason for this is that the majority of players at the beginning of a game will play with a deposit at the same level or a deposit that is less than 10% of their bankroll.
- For example, if a player has a $1,000 bankroll and a 10% deposit bonus he would have $1,000 * 10 = $1000 bankroll.
- For the first few rounds you should just be playing the strongest hands. Aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens. It’s not important that you play any other hand.
Once you are recognized as a strong poker player at the beginning the best thing you can do to improve your bankroll is to move up levels. Once you are at say buy-in level the blinds will go up and you need to pick up a nice raise each round to keep the players at the table happy.
It’s important that you raise enough. A standard raise of three times the big blind is fine. Three times the big blind is not necessarily the magic number. It’s somewhere in between three times and five times the big blind.
With the right raise you can start to earn the blinds by knocking players out. If you don’t raise enough you might be knocked out yourself. If that happens and you still have chips you can fold and you didn’t lose anything. It’s the business of the game.
No-Limit Tournaments
When the tournament starts the blinds are so low that no-limit is the way to play. This is the perfect time to show your hand and either take down a small pot, a big pot, or stay in the game without risking chips.
- In tournaments that last for a long time the blinds will rise steadily. By the time you play at buy-in level there will be six or seven players in the game. That is a lot of chips!
- When you play at a buy-in level there is little risk. This is a good place to learn and perfect your poker playing skills without risking much of your own money.
Satellite Tournaments
- Always play in high stakes no limit satellite tournaments. When the buy-in is low they are often used to test the players. They are not the reason to play poker online. But if you win one of these tournaments and move up a step you could be in with a chance of getting a shot at a larger prize pool.
- There is another benefit to playing in satellites. The stress involved is quickly being removed. Since everyone is buying in the same amount you are all but out of the game. This makes for a more relaxed game with more time to think about your play.
- Once you see the players are at a table and are ready to play you need to have a strategy. You need to have a way to get into the game and out with a lot of chips in your stack. How? When you have a strategy you can manipulate the way you play to win and stay in the game.
- Playing from the early position is the best way to win chips. You can easily avoid having your good hands dominated by other players who may be playing with a different strategy. They may be playing their cards tighter than yours. Guess what? It’s easier to win playing from the early position, holdem poker, especially if you’re first to act.
Bluffing
Basically, the pre-flop re-raise, although not exactly a bluff, is the basis of all bluffing and therein lays the simplicity of the game. You have to keep your opponents on their toes. If they are used to seeing a flop in three hours and then seeing a flop on a 2 hour show; you can’t fool them.
In the beginning stages of the game, don’t be predictable. Bet heavy and then slow down.