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Basic No-Limit Strategies
Position
Your position at the table in relation to the button is of great importance.
It will dictate which hands to play before the flop (See Starting Hand
Requirements) as well as how you will play those hands post-flop. The
main advantage of position is seeing what other players do before you
make your decision. The position of the dealer or "button" has the most
advantages because you will be the last person to act in all betting
rounds after the flop. Therefore, you will have the most information
about the other players at the table before making your decision.
Generally speaking, you should play very cautiously when acting from an
earlier position (example: play tighter and don’t raise or bet as much).
Late position play is just the opposite; you will play and raise a wider
range of hands and bet more aggressively.
Pre-Flop
Be patient and try not to play too many hands before the flop (See
Starting Hand Requirements). Here is the best piece of advice for
staying out of trouble: Keep your flop percentage at 35% or less (online
poker rooms will allow you to track this statistic easily). In my experience,
I hardly ever lose over time when playing in loose ring games because of
the fact that I maintain these percentages. However, if you are dealt
many amazing hands, by all means play them even if it means bringing
up the percentage for the short term.
Flop
After you see the three cards of the Flop you will have a very good idea
of the strength of your hand and whether or not you will continue playing
it. Many pots are won or lost on the Flop. You will need to "read the flop"
and decide how it fits in with the other players’ pocket cards as well as
your own. Try to determine the strength of your hand in comparison to
what other possible hands or "draws" that are out there. You will also
need to formulate a plan of how you will be playing your hand on the
Turn and River. You should think ahead and consider what will happen
as the other cards come off and bear in mind how you will react to the
future actions of your opponents.
Turn & River
Beware of the Turn. You may feel some attachment to the pot at this
point because you already have chips invested in it from the previous
betting rounds. In other words, you feel “pot-committed”. Try not to feel
this way. Think of the money in the pot as no longer belonging to you.
The turn is a prime time to fold if you do not have a strong hand or have
missed your draw and are not getting the proper odds to call bets to see
the next card. If you do decide to proceed to the River card, you should
have a strong hand or at least the proper odds to call a bet so that you
may complete a drawing hand (Pot-Odds and Drawing are covered
below). If you make it to the last round (calling or raising on the River),
then you should be fairly certain that you have the best hand. This is
called "The Showdown". You will want to have a very high "win
percentage" here. If you are going to the river and winning only half the
time, you are most certainly playing far too loose. Remember this
important advice throughout all the betting rounds: Always ask yourself
"Am I beaten?" If the answer is yes then fold.
Drawing & Calculating "Outs" and Pot-Odds
"Drawing" in poker is when you need more cards to complete your hand.
You are "drawing" more cards out of the deck. "Outs" are the cards that
have not yet been seen that can improve your poker hand. Having a
good understanding of how and when to count your outs is an important
part of playing good poker. Let's look at a very common example that
involves pot-odds and outs. You are dealt the AJ, both spades, and the
flop comes down 5,7,K with two spades. You have four cards to a flush
meaning you need only one more Spade to complete what will almost
certainly be the best hand. So, there are 52 cards in the deck and you
have seen 5 of these (your two hole cards + the three community cards
in the Flop). That leaves 47 unseen cards that can help you. Of these
47 cards, there are 9 cards that are spades (there are 13 cards of each
suit and you have seen 4 Spades already). Now it's just a matter of
dividing 47 / 9 = 5.2. This means that the odds of making your Flush ON
THE NEXT CARD are 5.2 to 1, but let’s just say 5 to 1 to keep it simpler.
Here is where the pot-odds come into play: in order for a call to be
profitable, the pot must contain at least 5 times the size of your opponent’
s bet. Drawing to a Straight is very similar. Let’s say you have 5,6 and
the flop comes down 3,4,K all different suits. You will need any 2 or 7 to
make your 5 card straight (this is called an "open-ended" straight-draw
because there are two different cards that can complete your straight).
Let’s calculate: there are four 2's and four 7's in a deck of cards. That is,
there are eight cards that will complete your hand. 47 / 8 = 5.875 so you
have approximately a 6 to 1 chance of making your hand on the next
card. When evaluating your outs, be careful that you are not "drawing
dead". This means that you are drawing to a second best hand. For
example, if you complete a straight and there are four cards of the same
suit on the board, you may very well be beaten by someone who has a
flush.
