A simplified Texas Hold 'em Strategy
Moderators: ihatejacks, Section Moderators, Moderators
4 posts • Page 1 of 1
A simplified Texas Hold 'em Strategy
by georgeous2008 » Sun May 18, 2008 7:53 pm
Hi,
I've been playing Texas Hold 'em poker for a few weeks now. However, before I've begun, I aimed to understand what this poker variant is about. Until then, I was (as any beginner) convinced that luck is the main determinant of winning. However, as I read about strategy on tightpoker and other websites, I tried to come up with a system which would guide me through my choices. Such a system should follow the basic rules (odds, position, etc.) while also being easy to remember, in particular when you don't have much time to think it all over and to help yourself with spreadsheets or calculators.
What follows are two components of the strategy:
- the starting hand decision ;
- knowing your odds.
The components are nothing really new, as they are based on the articles available on this website and others. Nevertheless, as laid out here, these components are very easy to remember for normal brains.
The Starting Hand
-----------------
Instead of having to remember card combinations, the starting hand decision in my system is based on points. Each card is worth a certain number of points. If the number of points in your hand exceed or equal the number of points required taking into account your player position (early, middle, late) and the nature of your cards (pocket pairs, suited cards, unsuited non-pair cards), you should play the hand, otherwise you should fold. If you are the SB, you can divide the number of required points by 2 provided no one raises. If you are the BB, checking is of course always an option you should make use of.
Whereas : 9 or ten = 1 point, Jack = 2 points, Queen = 3 points, King = 4 points, Ace = 5 points, 2 suited cards = 1 point, low pair (min. 5 5) = 1 point, medium pair (min. 8 8) = 2 points
There is one additional rule to this table: Avoid playing big cards with small kickers (e.g. below 5). This is one limit of the table, as it only considers the total value of your hand, not the individual value of each card. A more conservative approach would tell you that a small kicker would be below 9. In that case, the table takes into account the constraint.
Another limit is that the table does not attribute any importance to sequence cards (e.g. 78), even though such a combination could be considered an advantage.
The table reads as follows: if you are in an early position, you need at least an 88 pair or 2 suited cards with a total value of 5 (e.g. jack / queen) or 2 unsuited cards with a total value of 8 (e.g. Ace queen). As your position becomes more favorable, the number of points required decreases. Notice the sequence 0 1 2 6 8 in the table, which makes it very easy to remember.
As a whole, the table rather corresponds to a conservative strategy. However, it can be made more aggressive simply by decreasing each of the number of points required and it will still remain a system.
Knowing your odds
-----------------
The articles available on tightpoker more than extensively cover this subject. My contribution to this is to make the odds calculations easier for the normal brain players via :
- a simplified odds table : The calculation difference between 47 (before turn) and 46 cards (before river) is minor unless you are a very accurate and fast counter. Moreover, the table here below only reflects the odds for the next card ;
- a simplified decision rule to make use of these odds : no more need to calculate pot odds, simply convert your hand odds into a value and compare it to the pot value
ODDS TABLE
DECISION RULE : Call or raise if the value obtained by multiplying your odds by your call/bet value is equal or less than the current total pot (running bets of the previous players included). Fold if it is above.
The advantage of this table (compared to the accurate versions) is that it is easy to remember and that calculations are made easier. However, keep in mind that the more potential outs you have, the more imprecise the table is, thus making your statistical advantage less advantageous. Nonetheless, for a beginner I think this doesn't really matter. After all, what really counts is counting the number of real outs - you should not be burdened by complicated calculations, which don't really matter unless you are a more experienced player.
I've been playing Texas Hold 'em poker for a few weeks now. However, before I've begun, I aimed to understand what this poker variant is about. Until then, I was (as any beginner) convinced that luck is the main determinant of winning. However, as I read about strategy on tightpoker and other websites, I tried to come up with a system which would guide me through my choices. Such a system should follow the basic rules (odds, position, etc.) while also being easy to remember, in particular when you don't have much time to think it all over and to help yourself with spreadsheets or calculators.
What follows are two components of the strategy:
- the starting hand decision ;
- knowing your odds.
The components are nothing really new, as they are based on the articles available on this website and others. Nevertheless, as laid out here, these components are very easy to remember for normal brains.
The Starting Hand
-----------------
Instead of having to remember card combinations, the starting hand decision in my system is based on points. Each card is worth a certain number of points. If the number of points in your hand exceed or equal the number of points required taking into account your player position (early, middle, late) and the nature of your cards (pocket pairs, suited cards, unsuited non-pair cards), you should play the hand, otherwise you should fold. If you are the SB, you can divide the number of required points by 2 provided no one raises. If you are the BB, checking is of course always an option you should make use of.
- Code: Select all
Position Pocket pairs Suited cards Unsuited non-pair cards
Early 2 6 8
Middle 1 2 6
Late 0 1 2
Whereas : 9 or ten = 1 point, Jack = 2 points, Queen = 3 points, King = 4 points, Ace = 5 points, 2 suited cards = 1 point, low pair (min. 5 5) = 1 point, medium pair (min. 8 8) = 2 points
There is one additional rule to this table: Avoid playing big cards with small kickers (e.g. below 5). This is one limit of the table, as it only considers the total value of your hand, not the individual value of each card. A more conservative approach would tell you that a small kicker would be below 9. In that case, the table takes into account the constraint.
Another limit is that the table does not attribute any importance to sequence cards (e.g. 78), even though such a combination could be considered an advantage.
The table reads as follows: if you are in an early position, you need at least an 88 pair or 2 suited cards with a total value of 5 (e.g. jack / queen) or 2 unsuited cards with a total value of 8 (e.g. Ace queen). As your position becomes more favorable, the number of points required decreases. Notice the sequence 0 1 2 6 8 in the table, which makes it very easy to remember.
As a whole, the table rather corresponds to a conservative strategy. However, it can be made more aggressive simply by decreasing each of the number of points required and it will still remain a system.
Knowing your odds
-----------------
The articles available on tightpoker more than extensively cover this subject. My contribution to this is to make the odds calculations easier for the normal brain players via :
- a simplified odds table : The calculation difference between 47 (before turn) and 46 cards (before river) is minor unless you are a very accurate and fast counter. Moreover, the table here below only reflects the odds for the next card ;
- a simplified decision rule to make use of these odds : no more need to calculate pot odds, simply convert your hand odds into a value and compare it to the pot value
ODDS TABLE
- Code: Select all
#Outs Odds
2 22
3 14
4 10
5 8
6 7
7 5.5
8 5
9 4
10 3.5
11/12 3
13/14 2.5
15/16 2
DECISION RULE : Call or raise if the value obtained by multiplying your odds by your call/bet value is equal or less than the current total pot (running bets of the previous players included). Fold if it is above.
The advantage of this table (compared to the accurate versions) is that it is easy to remember and that calculations are made easier. However, keep in mind that the more potential outs you have, the more imprecise the table is, thus making your statistical advantage less advantageous. Nonetheless, for a beginner I think this doesn't really matter. After all, what really counts is counting the number of real outs - you should not be burdened by complicated calculations, which don't really matter unless you are a more experienced player.
Last edited by georgeous2008 on Mon May 19, 2008 4:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- georgeous2008
- Fish
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 6:01 pm
by georgeous2008 » Mon May 19, 2008 6:51 pm
Thanks, took me some thought and lots of reading. However, I just came across the ridgepoker website and realized that there is still a lot to be learned. Just funny, 4 weeks ago poker was about nothing else than luck for me, how terribly mistaken I was ! Now a whole world of strategies opens up ...
- georgeous2008
- Fish
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 6:01 pm
by ihatejacks » Tue May 20, 2008 8:31 pm
Poker is definitely a lot more than just luck! We have a ton of articles on TightPoker to help you learn all about the different factors involved 
-
ihatejacks - Site Admin
- Posts: 477
- Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:28 pm
4 posts • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests
