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Texas Hold'em : Making Money Playing Hold'em
When the average Joe off the
street thinks of poker, the last thing to come to their mind is a game of
strategy, discipline and preparation. Instead images of guys sitting around
a kitchen table smoking cigarettes drinking beer and calling out "give me
four cards" are common; a game where the ability to bluff and call peoples
bluffs makes you a winner. Texas hold'em would be grouped in with games such
as black jack, roulette and horse racing. Is that true though? Is there a
way to beat the game or is it a crap shoot? Can a person make money playing
texas hold'em or is it nothing more then a lottery?
Now that I stretched that question about as long as one could, the answer is
short and sweet: yes you can make money at texas hold'em poker. Not only is
it possible to profit by playing, many people make their livings at it. That
isn't to say it is easy but it is definitely possible. The first thing you
have to realize is that texas hold'em is not typical gambling or a "casino
game". You'll find it in many casinos but there is a big distinction between
the two games. In a game such as black jack or roulette you are playing
against the house but in hold'em you are playing against the other players.
The casino or house, makes it money from the rake and it doesn't matter who
takes home the money. They get paid as long as the game continues. So what
you are doing is just risking your money against someone elses in a game of
skill. As you progress as a player you'll find that many people, who play
regularly even, still consider it a game of luck (and that's great for
you!).
What about luck though? No one knows how the cards will fall. That is true,
no one can predict how the cards will be dealt. Texas hold'em poker is a
game where all the information isn't available. It is incomplete game unlike
checkers, chess, or reversi but that doesn't mean one can't play it with a
degree of certainty. Math governs all things and in poker its influence is
so strong that even if a player can get lucky now and then, good old numbers
smacks them back to reality.
How much money can I make at hold'em? That question is too general to
answer. The best I can say is that it depends and give you a few stats. I
forget whether it is Sklansky or Malmuth (poker experts and writers) that
said this but earning about a big bet an hour is realistic in limit hold'em.
So if you play a $5/10 game and play 100 hours, your expected rate is $1000.
To just throw something out like that is way too general for our article.
Your skill and the skill of your opponents governs how much you will make.
When you play low limit hold'em and actually know how to play, you can make
way more then that hourly rate. When you move up in the ranks things become
much harder because everyone you play with knows the same information that
you do, has the same experience you do, and has read all the same books you
have. This is where their numbers are about as accurate as you can get. In
addition to limit holdem, there is pot limit, no limit and tournament play.
It's also harder to say how much a person can make in these types of games
but generally no limit and pot limit are played at a higher rate money wise
then limit holdem so you can make more but you also risk more. Tournaments
can be played too that have a nice return but be prepared to pay $10k for a
buy-in if you want a chance to win the two million dollars The World Series
of Poker gives for first place prize!
Texas hold'em poker and other games where one plays other non-casino players
can be beaten. Remember that when everyone thinks hold'em is gambling, and
that luck plays the biggest role in whether they win or lose, you have found
some great people to sit down with. As you learn more about how the game of
texas
Some sure ways to lose money in texas hold'em:
The following is some pitfalls
that most players fall into when playing texas holdem. By reading these tips
hopefully you can save some money by not doing the same.
Poor hand selection: Playing too many cards, often at the wrong time, is the
biggest flaw in the losing hold'em players game. The opposite of this is
being able to play good cards and weaker hands when the game, position, and
pot dictates. You may not think that playing looser changes that much but it
gets you into a whole host of problems that you could avoid if you played a
little tighter. This especially applies against a raise that you think means
the person has a quality hand. If you bring KJ and KQ against AK and KK all
the time you're in for a lot of losing. Imagine if you play 89 off suit
everytime you get it how quick you'll be calling for the chip runner to
bring you another rack. It is hilarous because everytime you'll play there
will be people who even play hands like J2 off suit! Don't be one of them,
unless you want one of the other readers here to take your money home.
Gutshots: A gutshot is a straight draw where only one card makes your hand.
For example if you have JT and the flop is AK. If a Q hits then you will
have the nut straight. People routinely draw to the river for this. You are
only 1/11 to hit it on the turn and 1:5.8 to hit it by the river. To make it
a profitiable play to draw to, you need to make sure that whatever you have
to bet to get to the river will be better then 1:6. Sometimes that is the
case, but most of the time it isn't. In low limit games you can sometimes
draw for one card to the gutshot if the pot is very large and it will be the
nuts but doing it consistently is another sure fire way to lose more then
you have to. To keep you away from rigid rules, I'll throw in another
exception. Let's say you have AK and the flop is QT4. Now you have a gutshot
and two over cards. That means you have 10 outs instead of 4. If an A, K, or
J comes you have a pretty strong hand. Extra outs change your hand.
Backdoor Flushes: Even worse then the gutshot is the backdoor flush. This is
when you need two perfect cards of the same suit to complete your hand. An
example would be if you have JdTd and the flop is Qd6h5h. Notice that you'll
need to diamonds in a row to win and this is worse then 1/20 to hit. To draw
to that you'll have to have extra outs.
Small Pairs: Having a hand like 55 in a loose game is great because if you
hit on the flop you'll have a very strong hand. What if you don't hit? Is it
worth trying to catch that other 5? On the flop it is about 1/8 to hit the 5
but after the flop to draw to it the odds are 1/23 on the turn and if you
want to go all the way to the river it is worse then 1/10. So unless it is a
pair that could hold up without improvement, drawing to it isn't a great
idea.
General Chasing: Most players you will run into will go to the river trying
to catch their Ace and most of the time not hit it. They will also call with
the lowest pair hoping to catch another one or two pair. All of these plays
can be correct if the odds justify it but usually they don't. What you'll
find most of the time is a calling station type player that draws to just
about anything (gutshots, an A, small pairs hitting sets, backdoor flushes,
etc). Avoid this like the plauge.
Reraising Weak Hands: At low limit hold'em, unless you against a maniac, a
raise usually means something. When you reraise your hand has to be even
stronger then the initial raise because what you are saying is that you know
he has a good hand, but yours is even better. To put in that third bet you
should definitely have a very good hand (nuts or close to it). It's rare in
low limit that a player will reraise you without a great hand either. For
example you wouldn't want to cap it with someone if you have a flush and it
isn't the nuts. If you raise and they reraise, just call. Or if you raise
with a non nut hand and they three bet you should take a harder look at your
hand add see if it is worth calling and paying off.
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