Texas Holdem Poker Tournament Strategy - Starting Hands
Welcome to the fifth in my Texas Holdem Poker Strategy Series, focusing on no limit Texas Holdem poker tournament play and associated strategies. In this article, we’ll examine starting hand decisions. It may seem obvious, but deciding which starting hands to play, and which ones to skip playing, is one of the most important Texas Holdem poker decisions you'll make. Deciding which starting hands to play begins by accounting for several factors: * Starting Hand "groups" (Sklansky made some good suggestions in his classic "Theory of Poker" book by David Sklansky) * Your table position * Number of players at the table * Chip position Sklansky originally proposed some Texas Holdem poker starting hand groups, which turned out to be very useful as general guidelines. Below you'll find a "modified" (enhanced) version of the Sklansky starting hands table. I adapted the original Sklansky tables, which were "too tight" and rigid for my liking, into a more playable approach that are used in the Poker Sidekick poker odds calculator. Here's the key to these starting hands: Groups 1 to 8: These are essentially the same scale as Sklansky originally proposed, although some hands have been shifted around to improve playability and there is no group 9. Group 30: These are now "questionable" hands, hands that should be played rarely, but can be reasonably played occasionally in order to mix things up and keep your opponents off balance. Loose players will play these a bit more often, tight players will rarely play them, experienced players will open with them only occasionally and randomly. The table below is the exact set of starting hands that Poker Sidekick uses when it calculates starting poker hands. If you use Poker Sidekick, it will tell you which group each starting hand is in (if you can't remember them), along with estimating the "relative strength" of each starting hand. You can just print this article and use it as a starting hand reference. Group 1: AA, KK, AKs Group 2: QQ, JJ, AK, AQs, AJs, KQs Group 3: TT, AQ, ATs, KJs, QJs, JTs Group 4: 99, 88, AJ, AT, KQ, KTs, QTs, J9s, T9s, 98s Group 5: 77, 66, A9s, A5s-A2s, K9s, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, Q9s, JT, QJ, T8s, 97s, 87s, 76s, 65s Group 6: 55, 44, 33, 22, K9, J9, 86s Group 7: T9, 98, 85s Group 8: Q9, J8, T8, 87, 76, 65 Group 30: A9s-A6s, A8-A2, K8-K2, K8-K2s, J8s, J7s, T7, 96s, 75s, 74s, 64s, 54s, 53s, 43s, 42s, 32s, 32 All other hands not shown (virtually unplayable). So, those are the enhanced Sklasky Texas Holdem poker starting hand tables. The later your position at the table (dealer is latest position, small blind is earliest), the more starting hands you should play. If you're on the dealer button, with a full table, play groups 1 thru 6. If you're in middle position, reduce play to groups 1 thru 3 (tight) and 4 (loose). In early position, reduce play to groups 1 (tight) or 1 thru 2 (loose). Of course, in the big blind, you get what you get. As the number of players drops into the 5 to 7 range, I recommend tightening up overall and playing far fewer, premium hands from the better positions (groups 1 - 2). This is a great time to forget about chasing flush and straight draws, which puts you at risk and wastes chips. As the number of players drops to 4, it's time to open up and play far more hands (groups 1 - 5), but carefully. At this stage, you're close to being in the money in a Texas Holdem poker tournament, so be extra careful. I'll often just protect my blinds, steal occasionally, and try to let the smaller stacks get blinded or knocked out (putting me into the money). If I'm one of the small stacks, well, then I'm forced to pick the best hand I can get and go all-in and hope to double-up. When the play is down to 3, it's time to avoid engaging with big stacks and hang on to see if we can land 2nd place, heads-up. I tend to tighten up a bit here, playing very similar to when there's just 3 players (avoiding confrontation unless I'm holding a pair or an Ace or a King, if possible). Once you're heads-up, well, that's a topic for a completely different article, but in general, it's time to become extraordinarily aggressive, raise a lot, and become "pushy". In tournaments, it's always important to keep track of your chips stack size relative to the blinds and everyone else's stacks. If you're short on chips, then play far fewer hands (tigher), and when you do get a good hand, extract as many chips as you can with it. If you're the big stack, well, you should avoid unnecessary confrontation, but use your big stack position to push everyone around and steal blinds occasionally as well - without risking too many chips in the process (the other players will be trying to use you to double-up, so be careful). Well, that's a quick overview of an improved set of starting hands and some general rules for adjusting starting hand play based upon game conditions throughout the tournament. Until next time, best of luck to you at the Texas Holdem poker tables! Rick Rick Braddy is an avid writer, Texas Holdem player and professional software developer and marketer for over 25 years. His websites and Texas Holdem poker software helps people become better Texas Holdem players. If you're a poker player, be sure to visit his Texas Holdem poker poker today and learn how you can play better Texas Holdem poker, too. |
Other Casino Gambling Articles
The ABC of Sports Betting Online Betting on sports is perhaps as old as the history of sports itself. The need of the Individual to have a reprieve from the monotony of his routine life made him innovate on recreational activities that lead to the birth of rule bound and structured sports and games of today. The most popular and age-old sports betting known to the civilization ...The Dish: When 2-6 Is Favored To Beat 6-2 Strange, strange, strange line for the Steelers/Saints game at the Big Ketchup this weekend. New Orleans is 6-2, with an exciting aerial attack, visiting Pittsburgh, who's 2-6, and just gave up three touchdown passes to Jake Plummer. The Saints have the fourth-best passing offense in the game; the Steelers have allowed big days by Carson Palmer, ...Success Tips from the Master What are the steps to making your casino one of the most successful? What do the experts say about entertainment, buying power… etc? Here in this report the CEO of Ceasar’s Entertainment gives his biggest tips on how his casino became one of the most successful in the world using the FIVE FORCES MODEL.The first aspect of the Five Forces ...North Carolina Casinos North Carolina is relatively new to gambling. The first North Carolina casino was introduced in 1994. North Carolina casinos are run by the Cherokee Indians. North Carolina has much to offer casino visitors with its Atlantic Ocean shoreline and beautiful beaches. North Carolina provides an ideal getaway for the gambler who doesn't want to spend ...How To Choose An Online Casino * Is the casino licensed?To qualify for a license, an online casino must meet certain standards set in the country where the site is hosted. License fees start from about $50,000 and are usually valid for at least 2 or 3 years. According to estimates, some 20% of online casinos don't have licenses. Here's the golden rule: If they're not l ...Consider Your Position In Texas Hold'em The online game of Texas Hold’em is very much a poker game where position is everything. A lot of online players, especially novices, do not know this, so you can use this small piece of knowledge to your advantage!Strong starting hands such as an A-A or K-K can usually be played effectively from any position at the table. You can comfort ...Basketball Odds If you enjoy betting on basketball games you certainly look at the basketball odds before placing your bet. These basketball odds help you decide if you want to risk your money on the team that is favored to win the game or the team that is considered the underdog. However, since odds can be constantly changing, you’ll want to know more before m ...Online Poker Tournament If you have been working hard to perfect your poker game by playing lots of hands at your favorite poker sites, your confidence and experience levels may be at a point that you are ready to try an online poker tournament. If this is the case, you’ll have to decide just what kind of online poker tournament you would like to play and there are a l ...Internet Baccarat Part 1 – An Easy Game To Play and Win Internet Baccarat can give the player all the thrill and excitement of the real game, without the hassle of dressing up in a Smoking Jacket, and having to bet $100 a hand and it’s easy to win!Internet Baccarat is a simple game to play with no decisions made after a bet is placed and is a lot of fun and as surprisingly good odds for a game ...The Roulette Wheel Roulette is one of the most popular casino games today. According to most historians, roulette was developed in the 17th century by a French mathematician. The game has a traditional charm and elegance; we are accustomed to seeing high-rolling gamblers dressed in tuxedos spinning the night away. The roulette wheel is an interesting device and k ...Selecting Online Casinos Choosing an online casino might seem to be an easy task to do; however, it is more complicated. People usually look for the online casinos that give the best payouts which are not always as easy as it looks.To realize if an online casino gives or not good payouts there are a lot of variables involved. Like the percentage that the online c ...Choosing a Reputable Online Casino People who have played in casinos think that one establishment is the same as another. This kind of thinking is wrong even if the government regulates it. When it comes to the rules, the casino dictates it.The same is true for those who decide to play online casino. Some of these sites have rules that are favorable to the player while so ...Craps Strategy - How To Win In Simple Steps If you want to win at craps you need to have a craps strategy that focuses on placing the bets with the greatest odds of success.This is relatively simple, the house edge against you is relatively small when you apply a correct craps strategy to win.Another advantage of playing craps is the excitement and entertainment value it giv ...High Stakes Poker Playing poker on the Internet has become very popular, as more and more people each day join the millions of other individuals playing from all over the world. Many individuals simply want to play for fun or are only willing to invest a small amount of money. However, for individuals who want to win lots of money and play against some of the bes ...Best Casino Affiliate Many people are finding out that one of the best ways to make money on the Internet is to become an affiliate with an online casino. The best casino affiliate program will pay to you refer players to its websites. The best casino affiliate program will also keep paying you as log as your referrals keep gambling on the site. Most of the actual wo ...Poker Card Games Poker is the most popular of a class of card games called vying games, where players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a common pool, which is awarded to the player(s) with the best combination of cards.There is no one version of poker; there exist many variations. All the poker versions are generally played with a ...Deuces Wild Video Poker – How to Win BIG You are playing the game on a machine, your sole objective is to get the best-paying hand.You have no opponents to worry about like in table poker, just the machine and to win all you need is the correct strategy.In deuces wild as in all video poker games You can keep or throw away as many cards as you want when playing the machine ...Online Casinos Are Much Cleaner You have to admit, online casinos have such more appeal these days. With Avian Flu scares, SARS and other epidemics, who wouldn’t rather pull up a chair or flop down in a recliner at home?The appeal of Brick and Mortar casinos will forever be unmatched as a favourite pastime activity, but what about during flu season? Do you really want t ...Poker Affiliate Programs Make money from home by promoting online casinos and poker rooms is easy and fast, you just have to join one of the poker affiliate programs that are out there and share in the success of a poker room. Nowadays, poker affiliate programs represent one of the web's fastest-growing business segments in the web.In fact, poker affiliate progra ...What are the Different Bet Types? The current most popular games for betting are both professional and college football. Although professional and college basketball also gets a far share of bets. Within these sports and others, there are multiple opportunities for betting. The most popular form of bet for these games is on the game’s outcome. To do this you bet on the money lin ...Riverboat Casinos Riverboat casinos were first legalized in Iowa in 1991 and their popularity has increased dramatically since that time. At first, gambling on riverboat casinos was limited to $5.00 bets and a maximum loss of $200.00 for each cruise passenger. Riverboat casinos gradually moved to Illinois and Mississippi, where there were no limits and casinos we ...Play Baccarat - A Simple, Fun Game, With Good Odds If you play baccarat you will be participating in a game that is easy to learn, is good fun and has surprisingly good odds.Here we will look at the rules for playing baccarat and some strategies that will soon have you playing like a pro.The goal when playing Baccarat is simply to draw a two or three card hand with a value closer t ...Poker Tournaments Can Reap Huge Rewards If you play poker online, then you know what a rush it is to “pull up a seat”. The advantage of playing online is you can register with any poker room and be playing a tournament within minutes, whether it’s for pin money or high stakes.There are a number of freeroll tournaments that you can participate in on a daily basis to get some imp ...Online Gambling Paves the Way Often times, online gambling is responsible for the interest that is taken up in certain games. Take poker for example. When the craze hit a couple of years back, most people were playing with friends or in actual land based casinos. And then the online gambling world took note of this, and companies started to open up online poker boards. T ...Poker Betting For Beginners Don't know the difference between "call" and "raise"? Wondering whose "ante" everyone keeps referring to? These are all basic betting terms in poker, and you'll need to know about them if you want to play the game.Before you even sit at a table, make sure you understand the basics of the poker hand hierarchy. Otherwise, you won't even kno ...In Pursuit of the Monster Roll The people you meet at a craps table have any personality you can think of and a diverse group of characters. Many of these craps players will become your friends but others will have made it a fleeting visit to both the casino and a detoured stop at the table, so you are unlikely to ever see them again. What brings all of these different people ...An Easy Introduction to a Poker Room on the Web Perhaps the easiest introduction to a poker room on the web is that you have access to poker, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. So when you have a hankering for a few games of Texas Hold’em or Seven Card Stud, you have a place to play – online! All you need is an internet connection and a computer and you are set.There are a num ...The Easiest Bets For Beginners If you are a beginner to sports’ betting, you may need a little help getting started. You will need to know how the betting site you are using works, so be sure to do research on their policies before you even think about placing a bet. You will also need to know a little about the types of bets and the sports themselves. Education is the key to ...
|
