Texas Hold’em Strategy Explained

Everyone wants to make money playing Texas Hold’em. But the struggle is in figuring out what profitable professional poker players do that separates them from the crowd. To a large extent, pros make money with superior strategy. This isn’t just numbers and odds, either. Pros read opponents, leverage psychological advantage, and strive to stay disciplined.

You can check out our recent video guide to Texas Hold’em strategy on YouTube, or read here as we break down what you need to know to take control at the poker table.

How to Read Opponents Effectively

Live games

In a live game, you can watch body language. We won’t go into this too much here because we know a lot of Ignition Casino players are focused on online poker. The basic idea with reading players live is that frozen players who stop chatting as easily usually have picked up a strong hand. They’re trying to disguise their power. On the flip side, players who try to keep talking and seem comfortable (and maybe even cocky) are often weak. They have meager holdings and want you to fear their confidence.

Online games

When it comes to online poker, you can read opponents. The cues are different, though. One of the biggest giveaways is how long they take to make a decision. Quick, big bets can often be a tell that an opponent is bluffing. They want to scare you and put you on the back foot with a rapid bet or raise. Folks who take more time, on the other hand, might be trying to disguise a big hand. They also might just legitimately be thinking through a marginal situation.

Bet sizing

Also, check out bet size. Those little “feeler” bets that are a small fraction of the pot are often just what they seem. They are a weak bet meant to test the waters. If you raise them, they will fold most of the time. A smaller percentage of these players will be trying to trick you into raising their monster hand. Exercise caution if they survive your raise. Huge overbets are interesting. It seems that some players manage their anxiety about having a hand cracked by putting in a big overbet to get in their money while it is still good. Imagine someone has AK, pairs the ace on the flop, and sees some betting. They often want to get all the money in here, rather than watch suited cards fall all the way to the river, putting them in a tough spot. They would rather push everyone out here as well, taking down the pot while the taking is good.

Player habits

Even though poker at Ignition Casino is anonymous, you can still follow the habits of players who are at your table in a particular session. Some are loose and betting every hand. Don’t let these players push you around. Keep your standards solid and make them pay for their flops and draws. Understand, however, that their range is quite wide. Just because the board is rags doesn’t mean they have nothing. For those tight folding stations, you can recognize their patterns and exploit them. Bet and raise them more, especially preflop. You can bully them and take plenty of chips. Be very cautious if they play back, however. They probably have the goods.

Use Psychology to Shape the Game

This brings us to a related point: paying attention to all players at the table gives you clues to how they’re feeling. Psychology is critical in poker. The most obvious move is to stay laser focused on players who are on tilt. If someone just lost a big hand an immediately rebuys to get back in the action, the hand is about to be chaotic. It will be very hard to bluff them. They don’t want to lay down their cards. They want to take back control. These players can pay you off for even a marginal hand, but you may be in for a wild ride. They can go all in at any second, so be very sure you’re ready for that kind of a dynamic.

Also, don’t forget to use your image, whatever it is. If you’ve been card dead and folding a ton, you have a tight table image. It might be time for a little bit of bluffing in position. Conversely, if you have been very active, know that your image is probably quite loose. Players will play back at you more. This is not the time for bluffs. You might have to keep your standards high when it comes to what cards and hands to play.

Avoid Tilt and Stay Sharp

Avoiding tilt is one of the toughest aspects of poker. When you get a bad beat that sends you to the rail outside the money in a tournament, you will probably want to flip the computer right off the table. Don’t. Stand up, walk around, take deep breaths, and get the break you need. Don’t even think about playing until you are cooled down and can play correctly. Far too many players turn one loss into a series of losses by chasing the money. Stand up and reset. Don’t damage the rest of your stack. There’s always tomorrow.

Poker Math

To be successful at poker, you need to know the numbers, and understand they’re not that hard to work with when you have some practice.

Pot Odds vs Implied Odds

Think of pot odds as checking the price before you buy something. You’re comparing what you have to risk with what you stand to gain in a given hand.

Here’s an example:

If the pot is $100 and an opponent bets $20, you are faced with paying $20 to win $120, at the moment. The odds are 6:1. If you win one out of every seven times, you break even. At least a call is almost always justified here. If you are four cards to a flush, you’re in great shape. You will make your flush about a quarter of the time. 4:1 odds to win when you’re getting 6:1 pot odds is fabulous.

But the hand doesn’t end there. What if this is just the flop? Now it is possible you will be winning even more money as the pot grows in successive rounds. You can call with even worse odds, then. The best time to do this is in position, especially against players that will pay you off when you hit the hand.

Understanding EV (Expected Value)

Expected value is about the long run. What will the effect be on your stack if you repeat this play?

Let’s say that the pot is $150 after another player bets $50. You have to call a $50 bet to win $150. Pot odds are 3:1. You need to win more than 33% of the time to profit. You also think that you’re going to win about 40% of the time.

Putting the two of these numbers together:

A $150 win 40% of the time can be expressed as $150 x .4, so $60.

A $50 loss 60% of the time can be expressed as $50 x .6, so $30.

Your EV is a $60 win minus a $30 loss. The positive EV is $30, which means this is a good bet to make, every time. Over 100 hands, your profit should be about $3,000. This is true even if the first five times are losses. You have to let the math work for you over time. Profitable poker players make the right play, no matter what.

Keep refining your understanding of poker strategy over time, and the wins will add up before you know it.