Texas Hold'em poker - Advanced strategy

As mentioned, your starting hand in Holdem is not the dominating factor as it is in stud. To be a winner at Holdem, you must play well not only before the flop, but also on the flop and beyond. If your play on the later streets is poor the best you can do is hope to break even. Following are a few tips that will help you make the correct playing decisions after the flop, which in turn will largely determine your success in this complex game.

1. Bet most of your draws.

Suppose you have two suited cards and two more of your suit in the flop, giving you a flush draw. You should usually bet this hand. At the very least you should call it. Event though your flush draw has no current value, betting on it gives you two ways to win the pot. First, everyone might fold immediately and second, the flush card might come your way in which case you will be likely to win anyway.

2. If you don’t improve on the flop, be willing to abandon your hand.

Suppose you are dealt the ace and king of clubs. Even though this is a good starting hand, there is no guarantee that it will be worth much when the flop comes. If this is the case you should abandon it immediately. Failure to do so can prove costly.

3. It is sometimes necessary to throw away a big pair.

When you hold a big pair, you often don’t need to improve you hand to win. But sometimes the flop will be so detrimental that you should fold. For example, suppose you hold the ace of clubs and the ace of spades in a seven-handed pot. The flop reveals the 7,8 and 9 of hearts. There is a bet, a raise and three callers. Under these circumstances you should throw away your hand as there are to many ways in which you are likely to be beaten.

4. In multi-way pots, be aware that you might be drawing dead.

Suppose the flop reveals 10 of diamonds and the 9 and 8 of spades, and you hold 7s of diamonds and hearts.

Even though you’re trying to make a straight – which is often a very strong hand – you may already be beat by a player who holds either a jack-seven or a queen-jack for a higher straight. In addition, if a jack hits the board, anyone holding a queen will beat you. Therefore, you should throw your hand away in this spot if you are against several opponents.

5. Discard small pairs when they miss the flop.

Remember, when you play a small pair, you generally must improve to three of a kind. If you don’t improve, you hand has little value and should generally be abandoned. Remember, the odds of making three of a kind on the flop are 8 – 1.

6. If you flop a flush draw, and a pair also flops, you should usually continue to play.

When a pair flops, there is an increased chance that you will run into a full house if you make your flush. Even so, the odds against making your flush with two cards to come are only 2 –1, and a typical pot offers much more than this.