Poker For Beginners –
Why You Should Play Tight
When you begin playing poker
one of the first things you notice, is that
playing a tighter style will often net more
profits. Playing tight is defined as playing
fewer hands and more specifically playing only
quality starting hands before the flop. When you
tighten up your play and limit your starting
hands, your decisions on the later sheets in the
hands that you do play become much easier.
When first learning the
fundamentals of winning poker playing tight is
essential to building your bankroll. The longer
you continue to play loose and reckless without
understanding the fundamentals of poker the
further you will watch your bankroll dwindle
down the drain. Playing tight is essential when
first starting out so that you can understand
the flow of the game and the plays people are
making. Once your master playing tight you can
loosen up your game and begin to play more hands
before the flop.
You'll decide whether or not
to play the hand before the flop ever comes out.
Your decisions after the flop can be more
specific because you're only find yourself in
that situation once or twice per betting round
however your play before the flop is extremely
crucial because you're making that decision
every hand. Having too wide a range before the
flop is like giving away your money. When you
play loose before the flop you will often find
yourself putting in one bet only to be folding
once the flop comes out. Poker is a game that
requires a long-term outlook. In the long run a
bet saved is a bet won.
When first starting out
playing poker your range of pre-flop hands is
going to be quite limited. You really only want
to be seen the flop with hands that are
considered to be in the top 10%. The hands you
want to be playing are the obvious monsters
hands like AA, KK, QQ, all the way through
handsets as 1010. The other hands you want to be
playing our hands that will make top pair with
an excellent kicker. These hands including hands
like AK, AQ, KQ, AJ, etc. there are other hands
that you want to look to play when you have
position in the hands. These hands include hands
that have a lot of inherent drop possibilities.
These hands include hands such as smaller pocket
pairs and hands like T9S, TJS, and other medium
to large suited connectors. These are hands that
you really only want to play if you're able to
hit the flop. You want to flop at least the nut
draw if not better. You also want to keep in
mind that these hands should really only be
played in position.
You really want to steer clear
of any other types of hands other than those
mentioned. As a new player you often squeeze out
of hand like K6 suited and feel like you have a
pretty strong hands. This is an easy hand to get
trapped in and is in fact not that strong all.
If you happen to pair your sixes on the flop
chances are that you are not top pair. When your
king pairs on the flop you are often going to
find yourself far out kicked because you're only
holding a six for backup. You will often hear a
player justify his play by saying but it suited.
In this situation being suited only improve your
odds by 2%.
A good rule of thumb to follow
when first starting out is that if you would
fall the hand if it was off to suit you want to
fold it even if it is suited. When first
starting out, and not knowing all the odds, you
don't want to take a chance of having to get a
flush to win the hand. Suited hands are easy to
get trapped with, so the best idea is just to
fold them if they are not that strong and
certainly never limp with them.
In contrast one of the hands
that we would play a hand like AK, when either
of your card it's the flop, you automatically
have top pair top kicker. This is a hand that
you can play with utter confidence because you
know exactly where you are at. You do not have
to make any assumptions or guesses, or tough
decisions to put your opponent on hand.
This often makes your
decisions on later sheets much easier. You'll
always find yourself holding a quality hand that
you can showdown with confidence, and it will be
a rare situation when you find yourself
outkicked. It is important to realize the
texture of the flop, and be able to put your
opponent on a flush or should it draw if the
situation presents itself.
If you limit yourself to
playing hands pre-flop that are in the top 10%,
then you'll be able to find yourself more
comfortable at the table much more quickly. You
can sit back and absorb the game without having
to make any hard decisions, and putting yourself
at risk. Experienced poker players rely on the
new players to make mistakes, that's how they
make their money. Playing a tight style when you
first start out will in many of a lot of chances
for you to make mistakes. The more mediocre
hands you're seeing a flop with, but tougher
year making it on yourself, and the easier it
will be to make a mistake. Keep yourself clear
of tough decisions and your bankroll will be
rewarded.
