Poker strategy

Introduction to poker strategy

Poker strategy encompasses a wide range of concepts, so much so that we must narrow it down to fit everything into one article. In this particular piece, our focus will be on Texas Holdem. However, it's worth noting that many of the poker strategies applicable to Texas Holdem can also be effectively applied to other types of poker games. The principles remain the same across the board.

Becoming a skilled poker player requires more than just learning a few simple tips and tricks. You won't get far with occasional hands where these tricks may apply. Poker, both in general and especially online, is about consistently making correct decisions over thousands of hands. That's why you must first master all the fundamental theory before you can apply it in practice.

In this article, we will delve into the theoretical aspect. The theory has an incredibly wide range of applications, covering a vast expanse that would require hundreds of kilometers of text to explore fully. However, if you grasp the theory completely, you will possess everything necessary to embark on your poker journey and evolve as a player. Poker is largely about practice, and no theory in the world can alter this fact. The theory guides you in the right direction and aids in avoiding the most common pitfalls. The rest depends on honing your skills at the poker tables against fellow players in real money games.

Let's kick off this article with a quick overview of fundamental probability theory. After this brief warm-up, we'll dive into playing style to give you a nudge in the right direction. Next, we'll discuss the ranking of starting hands, which consists of the pocket cards dealt before the flop, and complement this with the relationship between your position at the table and the strength of your hands. Moving on, we'll delve into the ranking of hands and the associated hand odds that prevail during the remaining betting rounds. We'll follow this up with an explanation of pot odds, which are of utmost importance when playing cash games. Pot odds will be contrasted by a subsequent chapter on basic tournament strategy, which differs especially in terms of pot odds from the strategy suitable for cash games. Lastly, we'll go through the simple yet incredibly important bankroll management, which is where most beginners stumble.

It must be emphasized that the actual applied approach varies significantly across different betting structures and between cash games and tournaments. Nevertheless, all of these strategies are based on the same theoretical foundation, and it is this foundation that we present in this article.

We recommend starting with the "Limit Holdem Cash Game" as your first game after studying the theory. It is the simplest game where the theory can be applied straightforwardly without any complications. Once you have mastered this game, you can move on to the "No Limit Holdem Cash Game." And when you have finally, after much perseverance, mastered even that game, it's time to try your hand at the "No Limit Holdem SitNGo."

Probability theory

There are three fundamental concepts used in probability theory:

In any type of game where money is wagered on uncertain outcomes, it is the odds that hold the greatest relevance. Within the realm of poker, only the odds against an event occurring can be utilized, as significant events with more than a 50% chance of happening are neither common nor require much consideration when they do occur.