The Nuances of Becoming a Winning Limit Hold 'em
Player
While we all dream of
becoming a master Texas Hold 'em Poker player, the stark reality is that most
players never progress to become an effective and consistent player. Those that
do develop into consistent winners typically do so because they are able to
understand and grasp the nuances of Texas Hold ‘em Poker.
There are many
considerations for the novice to understand when setting out to play limit Texas
Holdem Poker.
While many of us have
watched Texas Hold 'em Poker on TV and have seen players bluffed out of pots we
understand that this effective strategy in no-limit Texas Hold
'em rarely works
in limit because you are limited to a maximum bet. This makes bluffing and
picking-up small pots more difficult in limit Texas Hold 'em Poker.
While I do favor an
aggressive style of play in limit Texas Hold 'em Poker it does need to be
controlled. What this means is that when you do play a pot, you play it
strongly.
Another factor to consider
in limit Hold 'em is that you can have as many as five or six players going for
the pot. This is a result of the fact that bets are fixed so it can be harder
to trim down the number of players vying for the pot.
Going up against several
players for a pot means that the ability to read an opponents hand is one of the
most important tools a limit player needs to develop. Most of the times you are
going to have to show down a hand, and being able to read what hands you are
going up against will help you make better decisions. Because most of the times
you will have to show down a hand you will typically want to stick to playing
big hands.
Oftentimes the deciding
factor in whether you are successful in limit Texas Hold 'em Poker is patience
and self-discipline while playing.
Being patient and waiting
for playable hands, especially when you are a beginner is very difficult. It
can be boring sitting on the sidelines watching others play out their hands.
You can't let past hands
ruin your judgment. Being patient will pay dividends in the long run. Resist
the temptation to play bad hands, throw them away. We've all folded away poor
hands only to see a great flop that comes down that would have given us a full
house or straight. Never let that tempt you into playing poor hole cards.
When you are on the
sidelines you should be paying attention to what others are doing. This is
where you will begin to develop the ability to read your opponents hands. As
mentioned previously, this is one of the most important tools that you can
develop.
The time you spend
watching others and learning how they play hands will be very useful when you do
play a hand against them and are now armed with information on how they played
in similar situation.
If you've been playing
close attention to your opponent you'll know how many hands he plays, is he
aggressive or does he tend to call most of the time. Is he a good player? Does
he play the same hands the same way all the time?
By carefully observing
your opponents you will be able to pick up 'Tells' – physical mannerisms which
may give up information about their hand. When playing online, while you won’t
be able to pick up the physical tells, you will be able to pick up whether an
opponent tends to slow play a certain type of hand or just jump right in with a
bet.
You're more likely to
profit from this type of information if you’re playing with relatively
inexperienced players. Tell's are great if you find one.
Also keep in mind that
your opponents will be observing you for clues on your style of play. That is
why it is a good idea to mix-up your play by treating the same situation in
different ways. You can avoid being too predictable by changing the way you
play your hands.
By avoiding predictability
you will keep your opponents off balance.
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