Texas Poker - Texas Hold Em: Tips
Be Conscious of Your Image
When you're playing texas poker you are trying to figure out your opponents actions and to understand why they do what they do so don't forget that their actions will definitely be influenced by your actions and remain conscious of your persona and your own actions at all times.
Pace Yourself Well and Play at a Good Tempo
This is linked to the above. Try and react to your opponents in a fairly consistent manner and time pattern. The speed or slowness of how you react in a given situation will telegraph your opponents as to what kind of hand you're holding and this of course puts you at a definite disadvantage so try and be steady in your actions.
Learn to Be Patient
No one is forcing you to play. No one is forcing you to enter into a pot when you don't have a good hand. No one is forcing you to raise. It really is your choice and you must keep this in mind at all times and not be tempted to enter into play just through boredom!
Buy in for the Maximum
When you do this you present a highly confident image to your opponents and you reinforce your own confidence at the table and this has to be a good thing. A maximum buy-in has many advantages. A large stack of poker chips can intimidate your opponents actions making them decide to call rather than raise or re-raise. Your having more chips means that you have sufficient reserves so that a bad patch in your play or a few losses won't have too profound an effect on you.
Also - new players coming to the table won't know whether you have won all those chips or not!
Always Think about Your Opponents' Hands
Statistically it's probably the case that more money is lost on the second-best hand than on any other type of poker hand. You have to remember that poker is a game of relative values and that however good your hand is, an opponent could have a better one so it is vital for you to watch your opponents' betting pattern and see what you can glean from that.
Look at Your Hole Cards Only When It's Your Turn to Play
When you first receive your hole cards, you would be well advised to observe the reactions of your opponents as they receive theirs. This is far more valuable than looking at your own which can wait until it's your turn to play. Learn to recognize the signs: a sudden tension in your opponent indicating a very good hand or a sigh or a slump of the shoulders indicating a very poor hand. These reactions only last a few seconds so you don't want to miss them!
Don't Ever Show Your Cards
When you show your cards to your opponents, you're basically just giving them weapons in the form of information to use against you. You should always try to keep your opponents guessing as to whether you really did have that superb hand which won the pot. Also as well as not showing your cards to your opponents at the end of a game, never show your cards to onlookers as, for all you know they could well be your future opponents!
Pot Money Is No Longer Your Money
You should never confuse pot odds with what you have put into the pot. The money you have put into the pot is no longer your money but part of the pot!
Whatever the amount you have contributed into the pot should have no influence whatsoever over whether you decide to play or to fold a hand in poker. You should only really be thinking: how much do I have to pay out right now? How much am I likely to have to pay out in the near future? and am I going to make a profit if I play this hand?
These are just a few tips on playing Texas Hold Em poker... never be ashamed to learn from others and cultivate a strong sense of self-awareness!
