Longhand Limit Texas Hold’em Strategy
Posted on | September 17, 2009 |
Basic Poker Strategy:
This post will introduce new card players to some basic poker strategy for longhand limit Texas Holde’em (a card game with eight or more players.) This strategy is intended for poker beginners, and should be used in conjunction with lower limit tables, normally $3-$6.
Preflop Starting Hands:
Most beginning poker players make the fatal mistake of playing too many hands. Longhand limit Texas Hold’em is a card game that requires patience. Without needing too much strategy, your odds are the best if you simply for yourself to be dealt a quality hand. The best way to be successful is to be able to recognize when you have been dealt a good hand. To examine the different card hands you may start out with we will break potential starting hands into different groups.
Group 1:
AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK
These starting hands are the best that you can play. Optimum poker strategy dictates that you should attempt to raise or re-raise the table before the flop, especially if you hold pocket (a pair of) aces.
Each hand in group one should almost always be played, with the rare exceptions of situations where you hold an ace king or a pair of jacks, and the other players strategy makes you certain that they are holding pocket aces or pocket kings. When you hold any hands from grouping one your goal should be to try and get as much money into the poker pot as possible before the flop. However, if you have an AK you should be wary about raising the stakes too high too quickly, you have to get lucky and pull a pair from the deck.
Grouping II
TT, 99, AQ, KQ
The second best grouping of cards includes pocket tend, pocket nines, ace queen and ace king. These hands are very good, but they generally aren’t the types of hands that will win you the pot outright. You normally have to get help from community cards. Even with pocket nines and pocket tens you need to at least pull a third card to complete a three of a kind.
Hands in group two should be played most of the time, though they generally are more successful when there are fewer players left in the pot. However, while you want to have less players in the pot, you should also be careful not to reraise the pot as these hands don’t have much value on their own. You should not call three bets with any of these hands. If somebody raises you should call, but don’t call a bet that somebody else has raised and had reraised. You shouldn’t call three bets cold because it would mean that you wouldn’t have the advantage when the flop comes, because when you call a later bet you are reacting to the other players.. You should only call one raise when your in a later position.
Grouping III
88, AJ, AT, KJ, QJ, JT, QT
These are all good hands, but they carry a risk of losing to a higher kicker card. These hands should be played often when you are in late table position with suited cards. When the cards are suited you have a much higher percentage change of winning, especially in a multi-person pot. In late position you have much better idea of where you stand in relation to the other players. If there has been heavy betting before your turn comes up it might be wise to fold as other players could have a much better hand than yours. On the other hand, if everyone has been relatively weak in their play then you might have the best hand, and you could potentially raise it.
Group IV
Cards in group four include Ay suited (an ace with any small card of a matching suite). K>7, a king with any matching suited card greater tan seven. Pocket 7’s, 6’s, 5’s, 4’s, 3’s and ‘2
Suited Connects: 10/9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 10/8s, 97s, 86s,
Group four hands are different than the other hands. With these hands you want to have a large pot with many playes involved. These hands require help from the flop, and often times they turn out to be nothing. However, if you can get lucky and pull a straight, flush, or trips on the flop then you have a chance to really make a big play. When this does happen, you want the flop to be as big as possible.
Tags: hold em poker > how to play poker > poker guide > poker strategy > texas hold em poker help > texas holdem poker
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