One of the biggest mistakes made by beginner Texas Holdem players is playing to many hands. Though there are many strategies involved with playing Texas Holdem, starting out with good hand selection will put you in a good position to maximize your profits and limit your loses.
Patience when looking for a good starting hand is a must because you will fold many hands before you will get one to play.
There are factors to consider when evaluating you first two cards and those are position, how many players are playing and how other players are playing.
There are 4 basic positions on a poker table. In the following examples we will assume a full ten player table. Early position would be the first three seats to the left of the big blind. Middle position is the next three seats; the next two seats are late position and finally the blind positions.
The term "Tight is right" is often given as advice to new poker players and it is very sound advice to head. players just starting out that have the ability to very strong starting hands until they've gotten a better feel for the game in general, and are ready for some intermediate poker strategies will limit loses and will always give themselves the best chance to add to their poker bankroll.
No matter your skill level though, it is always best to play only the premium starting hands in early position. Early position is the worst position to be in because you are uncertain what will happen as other players bet after you've made your choice. It can be fun to slow play a pair of kings from the first position at the table (Commonly referred to as Under the Gun) even profitable.
However, it can be downright painful when an Ace flops, and you've no idea if your opponent has hit it.
Starting with only the best hands early and playing them aggressively (bet it while you're ahead) will put you in a better spot to make a quality decision on the flop.
In middle position you can start playing a few more hands as you will have information on some of the players already. The early position players have made their decision and now there are fewer players to act behind you. If you are first to bet in middle position and decide to play, you should usually play aggressively to try and limit the competition behind you.
Late position, called the cut off, right before the dealer and the dealer or button, is the best position in Texas Holdem. You can play a lot of hands in this position because you have information on every at the table other than the blinds. You will also be the last to act in every round and can make informed decisions about your hand based on the action in front of you.
The blind positions should be played like you would in early position. It is the toughest position because you have to act first in every round and have no information about the other players hands. One of the biggest mistakes beginning players make is with blind play thinking that they have to defend since they have money already in the pot.
Don't put yourself in that position, playing smart poker will more than make up for folding blinds but bad blind play can eat into a poker bankroll very fast.
Sticking to the motto "Tight is right" will help beginning poker players hold on
to their bankroll until they get a good feel for the game. It will not be long
before you will be adding other strategies to vary your game and can start
playing at the higher limits.
