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 Online Poker Articles
Gambling Online – Why Systems Don't Work & How To Get The Best Odds! If you are gambling online and playing games of chance, then to make money you need to know the bets with the best odds of success and understand systems don’t work.If you want to know why systems don’t work in games of chance, read on and then find out how to play with maximum odds in your favor.So do you know the best bests in Ba ...Casino Games - Slots Nothing conjures the mental image of a casino quite like the slot machine. The one-armed bandit is the first love for experienced gamblers and newcomers alike. What many experienced gambling fans already know, newcomers often learn the hard way; all slot machines are not created equal.Nickel slots are by far the most inexpensive way for a ...How To Fund Your Online Casino Account If you are new to online casino gambling you may find this article useful as it explains the options available to you to fund your account.NETeller is the fastest way to be paid and to pay someone online. It is safe, secure and user-friendly. If you use more than one casino then Neteller is the way to transfer your money quickly and secur ...Online Poker - Texas Holdem for Beginners If you are a beginner to poker, Texas Hold'em is the perfect game to learn to play. It is a simple game to learn and understand and it offers the perfect balance of luck and skill.Online poker practice tables offer the perfect way for new players to play and learn, and there are always experienced poker games support staff observing the t ...Best Online Poker Many people are interested in playing poker online but have no idea what to look for when looking for the best online poker. Involvement in a bad poker room can not only result in the loss of money but will also make you miserable. Finding the best online poker can result in you being able to have many hours of fun and excitement and often will ...Playing Online Slots - A Beginner's Guide To Hitting The Jackpot; Part 2 While playing online slot playing is a game of chance as we have seen in part 1 of this essay there are certain ways to maximize your winnings.Here is a 10 point guide to playing online slots and increasing your chances of winning the jackpot.1. Emotions!Slots are simple, fun and easy to play and it’s easy to get carried awa ...Bad Folds in Poker Many experienced players have learned how to play well in pre-flop. They know exactly when to call, raise, or fold. Surprisingly, these same players make horrible decisions post-flop, especially when they are playing in low-limit hold’em games. Their problem is not because they call down too often, but because they fold when they should not. ...Choosing A Beatable Blackjack Game You can beat online blackjack if you know where to play and have the discipline to walk away from the table when you are showing a profit. Unlike other games, with blackjack it isn’t a matter of “can you win”, but will you win and then walk away with your winnings?The best online games of blackjack are not necessarily found in the online ...Internet Baccarat Part 2 - Winning is Easy Here we will examine the odds, best bets, and some strategy. If you haven’t played internet Baccarat is that the odds are far better than other games of chance like Roulette or Slots.So if you haven’t discovered internet Baccarat you should!The important thing in Internet Baccarat as in any casino game is to win and collect money a ...Texas Holdem Strategies Almost every Holdem poker game can have a strategy. One must work out a strategy that will help you win the game. Unfortunately, not all strategies work.When planning a strategy there are many factors that need to be considered. One factor is the number of players, and how mild or aggressive the players at the table are. You'll need to b ...Choose your Gambling Niche Some people believe that being good in something is all about talent. This is not the case always since there are those who work hard at it and are able to establish a reputation. In gambling, there are those who excel in one game than the other games available in the casino. This takes time to figure one and when the player discovers that, then ...Top Rated Poker Affiliate Program It is a well known fact that a top rated poker affiliate program can help you to make extra revenue by simply placing a banner on your website while also improving your placement within the internet.A top rated poker affiliate program provides an excellent opportunity for you to earn money because they offer the most generous affiliate pa ...High Quality Poker Lessons Have you ever dreamed of playing poker with the professionals you see on TV? Maybe your wish is to learn absolutely everything about poker but you simply don't know where to get instructions from. It's best if you consider taking some poker lessons. Not only would it be a fun experience, but it will also provide you with all the information you ...Gambling Online - Find The Best Bets With The Best Odds Here! If you are gambling online and looking to play games of chance, then to make money you need to know the bets with the best odds of success.Do you know the best bets in Baccarat, Roulette, craps and slots? If you don’t and you’re gambling online then you will do after reading this!There is nothing you can do to influence the outcome ...Poker Tilt: How it Can Ruin Your Game In the ever growing world of poker, being on tilt can be a poker players’ biggest fear. Poker players are said to be on tilt when they are just not at their best game. They often play many hands, the majority of them being losses, place bets on bad hands, place off the wall high bets on mediocre hands, or out of desperation try wild, obvious blu ...A Tour of Las Vegas Casinos Las Vegas is undoubtedly the casino capital of the United States, if not the whole world. In every square inch of Las Vegas, you will find a casino. They are so many casinos in fact that visitors in Las Vegas do not even get to visit all of them.Bellagio, is one of the first-class hotel casinos that you should not miss when going to Las V ...Playing Online Poker vs. Offline Poker Games Internet poker scare a lot of people. Real casino poker rooms really panicked when the internet gave birth to the first online poker rooms a few years ago. And they were right to be scared because playing online is much easier and people might prefer feeling more comfortable.The online providers felt at that time the good side of virtual ...Affiliate Poker Program Online Thousands of people are finding that a great way to make money on the Internet is to sign up with a good affiliate poker program online. It is one of the easiest ways to generate extra income and there is no financial risk involved. When you join an affiliate poker program online you get the opportunity to work with a well established poker room ...Games That Every Great Online Casino Should Have As you're looking around for an online casino, remember that often the best casinos have a variety of games to appeal to a large audience. If you're new to gambling--and you haven't yet chosen a "favorite" game--it's a good idea to pick an online casino that offers a large variety. This gives you a chance to experience a lot of different games s ...Football Betting Analysis: Tampa Bay Over Philly and Denver Over Browns Sports Betting on the NFL and college football is a national pastime. Every week millions of dollars are bet on the home town favorites with local bookies. People bet even more money with online sports book agencies. Even the major news services publish all the betting stats. If you're going to bet money on games, you might as well be as informe ...Gambling in USA If there’s one country which could give the fullest life to gambling it has to be the United States of America. They say gambling flourishes there. The industry has crossed the figure table and has reached among the top spots. The multifold growth of gambling is probably because of the fun loving attitude of the people and a decent amount of inc ...Online Poker: Where to Invest Your Bankroll For all of you who have purchased my poker guide you already know how I play online poker. I play games with the least variables and highest odds for long-term success. For more info on my strategy go to www.pokerliving.net.When using my strategy or just playing any game of poker a mistake often made is when to move up to a higher limit ...Playing Online Roulette We tend to think of roulette players dressed up in black tuxedos, mostly from the dramatization from television shows. Today’s Roulette players, however, can play in their pajamas from the comfort of their own home. Fortunately, for those who do not want to get all dressed up and travel many miles to the nearest casino, online roulette has gaine ...Affiliate Marketing Websites A great way to make money on the Internet is to affiliate with an established company that wants your help to market its products or services. There is no obligation for you buy anything and most of the actual work is done for you. You’re simply sending referrals to the company’s website and if your referrals make purchases you get a commission. ...Spider Solitaire: A Strategy Guide For Beginners Spider solitaire is a well-known solitaire game, which has gained a lot in popularity since Microsoft have started shipping it free with windows. It is very hard though, and many people want to know how they can increase their chances of winning.The aim of spider solitaire is to build an ascending suit sequence in the foundation zone. Bu ...Best Online Poker Rooms Reviewed: Free Tips for Players Finding a good place to play poker is a must. If one is to play online for large stakes then they are going to want to find a poker room that’s going to deal them decent hands when it counts. Some poker sites constantly deal crappy hands that can keep a player down on his luck.Paradise Poker is a great online poker room. Some people know ...Reasons to Play Texas Hold'em Poker The game of Texas Hold’em is a very popular game to play. Right now, the demographic of players is growing much younger in the ages of the players. And there is a great deal of reasons for these players to play Texas hold’em poker. These reasons are many and the players who appreciate them are even more.One of the most obvious reasons ...How To Make Big Money With Online Football Betting: Fresno St. vs. Boise St Sports Betting on the NFL and college football is a national pastime. Every week millions of dollars are bet on the home town favorites with local bookies. People bet even more money with online sports book agencies. Even the major news services publish all the betting stats. If you're going to bet money on games, you might as well be as informe ...
|
