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This page acts as the hub resource for understanding the fascinating elements of Texas Holdem poker strategy - listing the strategies and knowledge you'll need to know to learn poker and compliment any search to grow your skills. The continuing boom in the popularity of our favourite game means that increasing numbers of players are looking for the secrets of how to win at poker.
Following correct poker strategy sits firmly at the core of this search, and involves balancing the information you know in any game against the information you do not know. It is one of the essential elements of online poker that you must understand fully to be successful.
If you're a poker beginner and looking for free poker training or any form of poker advice, your best option is to approach your first steps to understanding the strategies involved in poker games by taking time to understand the general concepts and terminology. I'm making an assumption here that you are already familiar with the rules of Texas Holdem poker, and you understand how online poker works in general, the different types of poker games, the benefits and drawbacks of playing free poker games, and how to take advantage of poker bonus offers and promotions.
Basic Poker Strategy -
Beginner Level
Online Poker Intro
An introduction to online poker.
Best Poker Sites
Revealing the top online poker rooms. Respected high quality poker sites.
Starting Hands
Make sure you understand the hand ranks, which hands are the best to play, and how to play different hands. Playing aces is a skill which is worthy of particular attention. Understanding when you're holding one of the worst Texas Holdem starting hands and having the discipline to fold can save you money in the long run.
Basic Poker Maths
Introducing basic poker maths concepts, one of the essential foundation skills for any poker player
Understanding Poker Position
Know your position on the table relative to the dealer. Position changes throughout any game.
Playing Blinds
Knowing how to play when you're on small and big blinds is a critical poker strategy skill. Playing blinds correctly can make the difference between long term loss or profit.
Playing Styles and Player Types.
Recognise and understand the different playing styles, ranging from passive to aggressive. Your optimum strategies will depend heavily on your own and your opponents playing styles.
Bluffing
The well known poker art of bluffing. Learn how and when to try to bluff your opponents.
Folding
One of the central strategies that will determine your levels of success - learn when to hold and when to fold.
Raising
Raising is one of the core elements of poker strategy, and raising effectively at the right times will help win plenty of Texas Holdem hands.
Poker Betting
Learn how to bet appropriately in a range of situations. Betting correctly at the right times - and playing in games with betting limits that suit your experience and the size of your bankroll will help to ensure long term profits.
Observation
Watching your opponents and noting how they act in specific circumstances is a skill you'll need to master for long term success..
Poker Tells
Some players give off subconscious signals which may give you a clue to what they're holding or anticipating. Learn how to recognise poker tells to try and gain an extra edge.
Table Selection
Selecting the right table to suit your skills and playing level is critical to onerall success.
Playing Pairs
Revealing how and when to play and bet when you're holding pocket pairs - with supporting articles covering playing high pairs, mid pairs, and low pairs.
Trapping
Trapping is an art which should be used carefully. Learn how to set traps which draw your opponents into hands which you expect to win.
Betting Patterns
Read how to gain an edge by studying the betting patterns used by your opponents.
Bankroll Building
You won't get anywhere without a bankroll. Read how to build a pile of cash that's appropriate for the games and levels you're playing.
Limiting Losses
Long term success not only relies on your winning hands, but also on how many you lose. Read how to restrict losses and maximise winnings.
Poker Software
Discover the software tools which will complement your overall poker strategy. There is some great software available which can increase your success rate.
Pot Odds
Part of the mathematical element of poker, understanding the concept of pot odds helps determine when and how much you should bet to ensure a long term profit margin.
Bad Beats
What to do when it all goes wrong and you get murdered on a hand which you would statistically normally have won. Bad beats become especially painful the higher value of the hand you're holding which gets beaten.
Multi Tabling
Successful players can increase their overall profit margin by playing multiple tables at the same time. Read more on the methods and risks of multi-tabling.
Advanced Strategies - Intermediate to advanced level
Calculating Pot Odds
Revealing the methods for effectively calculating pot odds, including our guide to using a poker odds calculator effectively.
Stealing Blinds
This refers to the betting moves you take when raising before the flop and trying to encourage all other involved players to fold. If successful, you'll have won all the cash in the pot without showing your cards, effectively you'll have 'stolen the blinds'.
Poker Tools
Detailing a range of tools designed to compliment your poker games and strategies.
Slow Playing
Deceive your opponents into believing you have a weak hand. Set the trap, but be aware of the risks.
Bankroll Management
Proven methods and theories for managing your poker bankroll effectively.
Understanding Opponents
Discover the more complex elements of how your opponents act in certain circumstances.
Changing Gears
Mixing up your play is a great strategy for misleading opponents, and can be used to good effect in different game types and stages.
Relative Hand Strength
Relative hand strength refers to the skill of understanding which hands do better in certain situations than others.
Projecting an Image
Another element of strategy that's designed to mislead opponents. Projecting an image can set you up for big wins when the situation is right by playing the opposite of the image you've presented in previous hands.
Before The Flop
Optimum playing decisions before the flop. How to play your hole cards effectively.
After The Flop
Optimum stategies for playing after the flop.
Choosing a Level
Clearly it's wise to play at the level which gives you the best possible chances of success. This section shows you what to consider when choosing your game level.
Counting Outs
One of the critical mathematical skills. Knowing your percentage chances of making a hand helps determine whether it's going to be profitable to play, and whether you should bet or not.
Choosing Table Position
Your position at the table can determine your level of profit, with respect to the playing styles and skills of the players positioned before or after you.
Continuation Bets
This is a post-flop bet that continues your pre-flop betting in an attempt to force opponents to fold - thereby reducing the field against you and the chances one will hold an ultimately better hand.
Playing Strong Hands
Maximising winnings and limiting losses is a key skill. Know how to play strong hands to get the biggest profit.
Playing Drawing Hands
You'll need to play drawing hands very carefully. Find out the best strategies to use when looking to make a hand on the next turn.
Playing Tight Tables
Discover the best ways to play at tables filled with tight players.
Playing Loose Tables
Discover the best way to play at tables filled with loose players.
Poker Equity
Poker equity refers to the percentage value of the pot that you stand to collect based on the percentage value of the odds that you're likely to win.
Value Betting
Value betting is the term given to the bets you make once you're fairly sure you have a better hand than you're opponent. You're then betting in such a way as to extract the maximum value from the hand.
Relative Position
Understanding relative position can help win some nice pots. It describes your table position in relation to any initial raiser before the flop.
To summarise, a comprehensive understanding of poker strategy concepts - from beginner to advanced level - is necessary if you want to play consistently well.
As the final tip on our poker strategy hub page, the recommendation is to step right back to the top and read through again......and practice regularly. Remember that you don't have to practice with real money, in fact there are plenty of places to play for free. Some of the social casino sites also run poker rooms, in particular the CelebrityWorld Casino is one to try out.
I'm pretty sure you'll have found the information that you need on poker strategy on this page and the pages it links to, especially to be able to get you a strong understanding on which to grow your skills further. If not - and you want to read more - you can either join the PokerStrategy.com strategy school, or alternatively you'll find a huge number of sites by searching the leading search engines at Google, Yahoo, and MSN/Bing.
You'll get a lot of further useful material at any of the dedicated poker strategy channels on popular social websites - Facebook, Youtube, Twitter.
You can move straight on to the dedicated pages to basic poker strategy (and ultimately advanced strategy), or further below the individual elements of each are also listed in an easy to follow format. As an additional resource which covers all elements of online poker, you can also visit King Cobra Poker which covers all areas of online poker from beginner to advanced levels in a unique and well written page-by-page format.
