Learn Poker Free Lesson 2 - Starting Hands

Playing your starting hands selectively is probably the first step in progressing from a Texas Hold 'Em Poker 'noob' to a casual amateur. In general, what starting hands you play should be determined not only by the quality of the hand, but also by position relative to the button and your knowledge of the other players at the table. However at first you must learn about the different classes of hands and what is generally better than other hands. The following are the hand rankings that I personally use when I play poker:

1. Premium Hands

These are your big pairs. Premium hands are any hand that you almost always want to get your chips all in with before the flop. You always want to raise with these hands. There are only three of these hands - AA, KK, and QQ. Queens barely makes this category, as I have successfully folded them to pocket kings and aces before. However the vast majority of the time when you have queens against kings or aces you're going to get all of your chips in and there will be nothing than you can do - this is understandable as it is not that common of an occurrence.

2. Sub-Premium Hands

These are hands that you love to look down at, and it is not entirely uncommon that you end up all-in before the flop with them. You always want to raise with these hands, usually even if there is a raise ahead of you. There are 5 of these hands - AK, AQ, JJ, 10's, and 9's. Again, 9's are at the bottom end of the spectrum, as you are not always happy getting your chips all in with them. Jacks, tens and nines often times will go all-in pre-flop regardless as they are very difficult hands to play post-flop, considering that an over card will hit the board against jacks 40% of the time and almost all of the time for pocket nines.

3. Mid-Pocket Pairs

88, 77 and 66. You will sometimes want to raise with these hands before the flop in order to try and only go to the flop against one opponent, thus decreasing the likelihood of someone hitting an over card. You want to call small to medium sized raises ahead of you and possibly re-raise if you sense weakness. Of course if you flop a set, that's a moot point. You only usually want to end up all in pre-flop with these hands if you are playing very short-handed (4 or fewer players) or if you are short stacked.

4. Good Big Connectors

These are your big connecting cards. You will sometimes want to raise with these hands depending on position and whether or not another player has raised in front of you. You usually want to call small to medium sized raises behind you and fold to large raises or re-raises. There are 2 of these hands - AJ, KQ. You can often flop top pair, best kicker with these hands. Often times with these hands you will raise then make a continuation bet on the flop, whether or not you hit the flop. If you face resistance or get called you usually give up unless you flopped top pair.

5. Small-Pocket Pairs

These are all pocket pairs 5's and below. You only ever want to raise with these when you are playing short-handed or short stacked. You will call small to medium raises behind you, depending on your stack size, hoping to flop a set. If you don't, you generally surrender the hand immediately.

6. Weak Big Connectors

These are the lesser big connectors. You only generally want to play these from late position without a raise ahead of you. There are 6 of these hands: A10, KJ, K10, QJ, Q10, J10. The value of these hands goes up slightly when they are suited and I have for example raised from late position with suited KJ, though this isn't a common occurrence. You hope to flop top pair with a good kicker with these hands, though you will often have an inferior kicker when you flop top pair. This is why you will usually fold these hands to raises pre-flop - you don't want to have KJ and be up against an AK that raised from early position, do you?

7. Suited Ace

This is an ace along with any other low card as long as it is the same suit, for example both the ace and the eight of spades. It is not uncommon that I see flops with a suited ace. You will usually fold when raised pre-flop and you need to be very careful to not go all-in if you pair your ace on the flop - there is a good chance someone out there has an ace with a better kicker. Instead, what you are hoping for is to flop a flush, flush draw, trips or two pair with this hand. It isn't that often that you hit, but when you do you get paid off well. Often times when you flop two pair with this hand, you will get paid off by someone who only paired their ace but has a better kicker.

8. Suited Connectors, One-Gappers & Two-Gappers

Suited connectors are any two suited cards that numerically follow each other (for example 89, 76, 65 and so on. Suited one-gappers are any two suited cards that are one number apart (for example J9, 86). I think you can figure out what suited two-gappers are. Only the highest couple of each of these groups are considered highly playable. With these hands you hope for a flush, straight draw, trips or two pair. Usually you only play this sort of hand when you can see a cheap flop, hoping to hit it big.

9. Suited King

This is the worst class of hand that I will usually play. I will occasionally limp in with a suited king based on the same reason I will do so with a suited ace, playing with the same precautions as well. With a suited king your flush will be nearly as likely to be good as an ace high flush if you make it, and I tend to get paid off well on king high flushes when they hit. You hope to of course make a flush, trips or two pair with this hand. Often times when you flop two pair with this hand, you will get paid off by someone who only paired their king but has a better kicker.

10. Junk

Everything else is junk and shouldn't generally be played except in unusual circumstances (for example raising to steal blinds). There are some hands in this category that are rarely playable, such as a suited Q8, but for your average 10-person table in tournaments and cash games you don't want to be caught playing junk like that.

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Learn Poker Free Lesson 1 - Fundamentals

No Limit Texas Hold 'Em Poker is, in its purest essence, a very simple game. You can learn the rules and start playing within an hour or so, however if you want to start playing competitively you need to have a good knowledge of the fundamentals of poker. These are simple tricks and tips such as what starting hands to play, when to bet, how much to bet and whether or not you have proper odds to call a bet. However in this first article in the series, we will briefly go over the basic rules and a little bit of the history of the game. For more in depth strategy check my other blog, How to Make Money Playing Poker.

No Limit Texas Hold 'Em Poker is generally played at 6 or 10 person tables. Back in the good 'ol days when the game was created to be played amongst friends, each player would take turns dealing so that an element of fairness was preserved. The 'dealer' would then rotate around the table clockwise. Later on, when casinos started running Texas Hold 'Em games themselves they used a casino dealer for every hand. The dealer button (commonly referred to as 'the button') then came into use to signify which player represented the dealer for a particular hand. It's important to know which player is the dealer because it determines who must pay the blinds for that hand. Player position in relation to the button also becomes important when you consider more in-depth strategies.

The blinds are a set amount that the two players to the left of the button must pay each hand before cards are dealt out. The player to the left of the button must pay the small blind, an amount equal to half of what the player to his left must pay - the big blind. Games are often described by their blind levels (e.g. 'I was playing $1/$2 No Limit'), though if you are in a tournament the blinds continue to go up as you play. In No Limit Hold 'Em the big blind is also equal to the smallest amount that you are allowed to bet. If the big blind is 100 chips, you must raise at least 100 more. You needn't raise in increments of the big blind, for example it would be perfectly allowable to bet 225 chips there, but you wouldn't be allowed to raise to 175.

After players put out their blinds, each player is dealt two face down cards which only he or she may look at. The small blind is always the first dealt to. The player to the left of the big blind is the first to act before the flop (also known as 'Under The Gun' or 'UTG'), and he may elect to call the current bet, raise, or fold his cards. Each player in turn does this around the table in a clockwise order until it gets to the big blind. If someone re-raises, you may need to make another rotation around the table in order for people to call the new bet or fold. Note that all other players may fold before the flop to a big raiser, a strategy that many employ when they sense weakness. Once it has made it around the table once with no players raising (and as long as there are at least 2 players still in the hand), the dealer moves the pot (all of the chips that players have bet or called, including blinds) off to the side and deals out the flop.

The flop is a set of three 'community cards' which may be used by anyone in combination with the two cards they were dealt, their 'pocket cards' or 'hole cards'. Before dealing the flop, you may notice that the dealer burns or discards the top card of the deck into the muck (discard pile near the dealer). This is to prevent players from cheating by knowing what the top card is - this is possible if for example a player managed to mark all of the aces in the deck with a very slight crease to one corner, he would certainly know if an ace were coming. After the flop there is a new round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the button, and each player receives the option of checking or betting. If a player bets, then other players in the pot may fold, call, or raise the bet. You are technically allowed to fold even if there is no bet ahead of you, though this is generally not done because as they say, 'checking is free'.

Once this new round of betting is complete, the dealer burns another card and puts out one more community card. This is known as the 'turn' card. Another round of betting occurs, starting with the first person to the left of the button once more.

The dealer then burns again and deals out the final card, known as the river. Why this name is used for the 5th community card has never really made a whole lot of sense to me, and some may refer to the turn and river as 4th and 5th street. Another round of betting follows, and once everything in the pot is even everyone turns up their hands, and the best hands win. The best hands possible in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em are as follows, from best to worst:

Royal Flush: 10, J, Q, K, A - all the same suit)

Straight Flush: 5 cards in sequential order and of the same suit. If there are multiple straight flushes then the one that stretches to the highest card wins.

Four of a Kind: Also known as 'quads', four of the same card. If four of a kind are put on the board, then the player with the highest 'kicker', or other card, will win. For example, the flop is 444 and it turns a 4 and then puts a 5 on the river. If you have an ace in your hand and your friend has a king, then you will win because your ace is a better kicker than his king.

Full House: A combination of three of a kind when a player also has another pair, for example 5, 5, 5, 8, 8. This would also be called 'fives full' or more specifically 'fives full of eights'. The three of a kind is more important in hand ranking and determines which hand is better if there are multiple full houses, with aces full of kings being the best full house and deuces full of threes being the worst.

Flush: Five cards all of the same suit. The flush with the higher cards beats lower flushes, for example an 'ace high' flush beats a 'jack high' flush. If the highest card is the same, then you compare each second highest card. If that's the same, then each third highest card, and so on.

Straight: Five cards all in sequential order, for example 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Higher straights beat lower straights, with 10, J, Q, K, A being the best (referred to as 'Broadway') and A, 2, 3, 4, 5 being the worst (referred to as 'The Wheel', one of the most important hands in another poker game, Omaha Hi/Lo).

Three of a Kind: Three of the same cards, such as Q, Q, Q. The higher the better, with aces being the best. If there are two on the board and one in your hand, it is referred to as 'trips'. If you have two in your hand (i.e. a 'pocket pair') and only one is on the board, this is called 'a set'.

Two Pair: Two pair, like A, A, J, J. In determining hand ranking, the highest pair is considered first and only if they are equal are the lower pairs compared. In the case of players having the same two pair, kicker (the 5th card in their hand) is considered, with the pot going to the player with the highest kicker. If the kicker is the same, then the pot would be split.

One Pair: The highest pair wins. Kickers are compared in the case of multiple players having the same pair.

High Card: Player with the highest high card wins. In the case of the same high card, you compare lower kickers.

Well, that's about all you need to know to get started playing No Limit Hold 'Em Poker! Check back soon for more!