Would someone be able to tell me legit stratgies for Texas Hold'em Poker. I've been playing for a while now, but still don't understand how some stratgies work.
Learn to bluff. In the long and short term, being able to bluff well will earn you a lot of money.
Start the game playing conservatively, and stick with high quality hands. Mid-to-high range pocket pairs, two hole face cards, and don't play too aggressively unless you're pretty sure you'll win.
Then, once you've established yourself as a conservative player who only plays good hands, start throwing a few bluffs. Most people will fold rather than try to play against you, unless they've also got a really good hand. Then switch back to conservative once people start realizing you're throwing in bluffs. You'll get called more, leading to your good hands winning more often. This is my favorite strategy, and I find it works pretty well.
Of course, that sort of thing will only work if you're not playing friendly family games where everyone calls everything and the money on the line is more than $5. But in competitive type games, it'll probably help you develop your own strategies.
Hopefully that will also help with your reading skills too. During the middle part of the strategy, where you're actually bluffing people, you'll have to be able to tell when a bluff won't work. Really the only way to develop that, unfortunately, is to have your opponent show his hands so you can see how accurate your reads were. That means getting called. But you should always be trying to guess everyone's hand anyway. It's just something you'll pick up as you go, there's not really any sure stratey for learning to read other players.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Know your statistics. Above all else and before all else, know the stats.
If you have a 2 and Jack of diamonds in your hand, the flop is a ten and king of diamonds and a ten of spades, you need to be able to answer the following:
What are the odds that I will get another diamond card to get a flush?
What are the odds that someone else has two diamonds in hand and a higher card than me?
What are the odds that two more diamonds drop and someone else has the Queen or Ace of Diamonds?
What are the odds that someone gets a full house on this hand?
Until you can answer those questions, you cannot bluff, you cannot make a value bet, and you cannot hope to call an opponent's bluff.
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"[Screw] you and the green you ramped in on." - My EDH battle cry. If I had one. Which I don't.
That's invaluable advice for online poker. Online, you can't see how a person looks when betting, so you'll need to know the statistics pretty well to have maximum advantage.
In face-to-face poker, I find that there's a bit of leeway when it comes to the statistics. A rough, but educated, guess at the statistics will very often let you know how you're doing in the hand when coupled with paying attention to the other players' actions and reactions.
I'd look at a poker hand statistic guide to get an idea of the odds of all the most common situations, so you can say "Oh, there's about a 1 in 5 chance he flopped a better hand than me" or "There's only about a 30% chance my hand will hit on the turn".
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
More specifcally is that I am having trouble learning the strategy behind betting. EG: How much to bet and when.
When I find myself with a good hand (Three of a kind or better) I usually want to try and bet right away to increase the pot for future bets. But when this happens the player around typically fold.
When I try to bluff I usually get caught in the process.
I was once told that my eyes give everything away so I started playing with sunglasses (didn't hinder me at all), but this has not helped all that much either.
A good rule when taking any action in poker is to wait for 2-3 seconds before acting. Whether it's folding, betting, checking, or calling. Always keeping your reactions under your control can only help.
The odds are that when you've got a good hand, you're giving yourself away when you bet. If you reach for, and put your chips out, too quickly you'll look eager to get your money in. If your hand hovers over your chips for a few moments before you bet, you could appear weak. If you have to stop and think a while before you call, it's obvious you've got only a moderate hand. Lots of little things can add up to give other players all the information they need. Eyes, like you said, are definitely a good way to read someone. There are all kinds of little unconscious reactions that people aren't aware they're doing. That's why a lot of poker players wear sunglasses. It's much easier to disguise an involuntary eye twitch than learn to control it.
When I first started playing, 7th grade or so, I would blush every time I got a good hand and practically throw my chips into the pot when I knew I would win. I didn't win much until I got it under control. It's all about keeping your cool no matter the situation. Just try to always keep your face blank and you'll be that much harder to read.
As for betting amounts... that's a bit harder. A lot of the more number-oriented players have all kinds of ideas on how to bet perfectly. I've always gone more with gut when I play, so I'm not much help on the right amount to bet.
In general, if I've got a really good hand (A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K), I bet low before the flop. That'll entice players to call later in the hand. If I've got a mid-high range hand (A-Q, A-J suited, J-J, 10-10, K-Q suited) I'll bet a bit higher to push out other midrange hands.
Pure midrange hands (9-9, 8-8, two suited face cards, 7-7) are probably the toughest. There are two ways to go with them: Bet high to push out better hands, or bet low and hope the flop has lower cards or I hit something good. Of course, there are all kinds of nuances in all those situations that can change how and when and what you bet.
Honestly, the best way to learn the best bets to make is to play. Watch how the other players bet when you're not in a hand, and watch what they have when they show their hands. You'll learn faster in real games than with advice online.
And also keep in mind that what works for one player doesn't always necessarily work for another. I'm no expert by any means, and my strategies and advice are only from my personal experience. I'm sure if you asked five poker players for advice, you'd get ten answers.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
A good rule when taking any action in poker is to wait for 2-3 seconds before acting. Whether it's folding, betting, checking, or calling. Always keeping your reactions under your control can only help.
This is probably the most important advice to be given for face to face poker. Give nothing away with your body language. Turn the game into something akin to playing online. If they get no information from your expressions and movements, they have to get all the information they can from your bets.
When I first started doing well in poker, it was with a usual group of guys. I had my expressions under control. I timed all my decisions consistently so I never made "quick" or "slow" bets. After a while, though, I started getting dominated by one player in particular: A statistician.
He was watching my bets, paying attention to my patterns. For all my work to eliminate my tells, my bets still told him enough to know when I was bluffing and when I wasn't. My weakness was my predictability. So if I have one more piece of advice to give, it's this: Play like Norin. Be a little random.
Do something crazy, like betting big on a 2-7 off suit with a terrible flop and scare everyone into a fold, then show your hand. Or play super conservative with pocket aces and an ace on the flop. Maybe these crazy plays as individuals look bad, but look at the whole game. If your opponents have to guess whether you're playing smart or in one of your chaos moments, it's a good thing.
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"[Screw] you and the green you ramped in on." - My EDH battle cry. If I had one. Which I don't.
The wait a few seconds thing actually holds true for internet poker as well. I used to play online some before the FBI cracked down on it. One of the things i always watched for is about how quickly people tended to bet. If they were oddly fast or slow I knew a little bit more information on them.
You can also use that tactic against people. If you play fairly slow for a long time then decide to bluff, call quickly to make them think you are excited, or if you know you have the nuts sit back and think about it extra long to give the appearance that you arent on a great hand yet.
I'd like to think I know a little bit about the concept behind bluffing but I can't imagine large bets off of a 2-7 with a poor flop is very good advice. All you need is one person to call you and then you probably just lost some chips. Maybe betting big off a low pair or with low connectors on a rainbow flop but just betting at a pot with literally nothing to work with seems like suicide.
Always fold 2-7 imo.
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Beauty of mine, sit before me. Let me peruse you and remember you... always like this.
I'd like to think I know a little bit about the concept behind bluffing but I can't imagine large bets off of a 2-7 with a poor flop is very good advice. All you need is one person to call you and then you probably just lost some chips. Maybe betting big off a low pair or with low connectors on a rainbow flop but just betting at a pot with literally nothing to work with seems like suicide.
Always fold 2-7 imo.
That's exactly my point. It's a terrible play to make, but after you've established yourself at a table, sometimes it's good to lose one hand if it makes sure people are guessing about your strategy.
Sometimes you get away with it. The table folds to it because they expect you to have something like pocket aces. At that point you smugly smile, flip your cards over and rake in a small number of chips. Yeah, all it takes is one guy to call and you lose the bet, but in my mind, it's a small price to pay. Either way it pans out, the chaos remains, which was the goal.
Really, though, I just picked a radical example. I'm really just trying to warn against becoming consistent and predictable. Just do something out of character every once in a while. If you're usually a tight player, make a risky bet. If you're usually risky, back down from a raise. If you're sitting there thinking "I would usually do X," do something else instead, because the good players at the table know what you'd usually do. A couple random actions is all it took to throw my best opponent out of the position of always knowing what I was up to.
I raise on these hands. But every now and then will slow play to mix things up.
Higher hands:=================
examples:
JK suited AK off suit.
JQ suited. KQ suited.
Pocket pairs=================
Here, it is absolutely essential to play these with a consideration of how many players are present.
Let's say you play 2-2 pocket pair, and you go all in. If only one other player goes up against you, I think even AK has only a 50-50 chance of beating you, meaning you have about a 50-50 chance of winning.
Those odds drop drastically if there is a third player, or fourth player. It means that if ANY of them get a pair, you're hosed unless you triple up. If you cant be sure you're going to eliminate all but one player, play conservative. This holds for 2-2 up to 8-8 IMO.
9-9, 10-10, and JJ
Raise cautiously. Again, the odds of you winning is considerably higher with fewer players. NEVER overplay JJ--remarked many times as the hardest hand to play in texas hold-em.
QQ, KK, AA
Raise high, or slow play. Its your call. If you raise high, you will likely win.
If you slow play however, you must be ready to fold if the flop is exceptionally bad for you...ex. there is a potential straight AND flush on the table with four players.
Rag-Ace (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 + Ace)=========================
Infamous for getting new players in hot water. These hands often lose with the low kicker. Even worse is pairing up both the ace and the low card, only to be beaten by a higher two pair set.
Fold these, or play conservatively. I never push rag-ace. Though, its ok to be more aggresive with only 2 or 3 players.
Common occurences:============================
You have high pair, and the pair isnt very high. ex. flop is 2 5 8 , you have K8
bet with reasonable assurance, but fold to hard pushers.
You have high pair, and the pair IS high.ex. flop is 2, 7, A, you have A J
bet strongly. dont slow play. high pair isnt strong enough for that.
You have two pair, and your pairs are low. WARNING. be very wary against a pair on the flop, turn, or river.
Ex. 23 8, you have 2,3 opponent has 8,9 unsuited.
9 on the turn or river
AA on the turn and river
JJ on the turn and river.
you lose in these cases.
You have two pair, and they are high.
raise. However, watch the high raise preflop however for pocket pairs. Dont push againt flops and turns with straights and flush potential. especially four to the flush or straight.
You have trips, but only with one card.
ex. you have 8, 10.
Flop is
2 4 8 T:8 R: 9
Push depending on your kicker. dont go nuts, and watch for straight and flush potential.
You have trips with pocket pairs.
Raise high, but watch for st potential, flush potential, and of course the higher pocket pair set. Be ready to fold if the flop shows 4 to the flush or straight.
what that means is:
the table is:
4 of clubs 8 of clubs 9 of clubs 10 of clubs 7 of hearts
you have 10 of spades, 10 of diamonds. I know you want to push it, but be ready to fold your hand. Theres too many potential straights or flushes.
Straights:--watch for the higher straights, especially if you there is four to the straight, and you have the lower straight card. This hand is near worthless to me.
you have 56 off suit, no clubs.
Example.
4 of clubs 8 of clubs 9 of clubs 10 of clubs 7 of hearts
Bet hard if you have 2 key straight cards.
Flushes:--watch for the higher flushes, especially if there is four to the flush, and you have a low flush card. Ace high flush lets you stay confident.
Bet hard if you have 2 key flush cards. be careful still of two higher flush cards.
Understand the concept of balance. When you do anything in Poker, your range of hands should never be completely defined. A lot of it comes down to knowing yourself and how you play.
An example would be a preflop situation where you have a decision to re-raise or call: the hands that you raise with can't all be super good hands because that is completely exploitable if your opponent just folds every time you re-raise (which, in turn, is also exploitable). You have to play the same way with weak hands as you do with strong hands sometimes, so you become less predictable. Whenever the opponent puts you on what you have, you've lost the hand even if you end up winning chips. This doesn't mean you can do crazy unpredictable stuff, you have to be aware of the math that's involved. Beyond math and balance (which can be summed up as "knowing yourself") you can move on to logic and deception (aka "knowing your enemy"). This is where adaptation occurs, and exploitable actions become potentially profitable with the right information. At this stage it's easy to lose track of the math and the balance; people get carried away with trying to outplay the opponent that the basics end up biting them in the butt. Remember that exploiting ALWAYS opens yourself up to be exploited.
They have a 7 day trail where you can download videos to watch later. Pretty much the best way to start out is to watch some training videos geared for new players.
Tight-aggressive play with the occasional shift of gears via bluffing should be profitable for you at soft tables.
When I say tight: play quality hands. Try and protect your blinds when available. Don't be afraid to sit back and watch other people's play styles so you can know how they'll act when you finally enter the pot. Similarly, let the other players at the table know that when you are in the action, you've got the goods (useful for the occasional gear-shift I referred to once you've been at the table for a while).
When I say aggressive: when in the pot/hand, raise aggressively (2.5-4x the big blind) and force people to pay to play with you. Don't let drawing hands (i.e. 8-9 suited, flush/straight-friendly flop) have any life. Get your value bets in (enough that they'll pay on the river when you've got it won) accordingly, and feel out just how much they're willing to give you to see your hand.
Control your emotions. It'll come with time. Playing with headphones and/or sunglasses and/or learning chip tricks will help.
Yes, buy Slansky's book, and probably Doyle Brunson's too.
I would not buy Doyle's book unless you play primarily limit poker. And like..you should not play primarily limit poker, unless you're at 6/12 or higher stakes. At anything lower than that, there is too much variance(donkeys play too many hands) and the rake just eats you alive.
Beyond that, I'm not sure what you mean by 'how some strategies work'. There isn't that much strategic variant in NLHE(as opposed to say Chess), mostly it's just recognizing what each of your opponents are doing and tailoring your play to beat that.
It’s been said that Texas poker is easy to learn but hard to master. But I will give you some tips and strategies which will help you become a pro poker player, with general online poker advice and strategy too for players new to the game.
1) FUNDAMENTAL RULES OF THE GAME
2) DON’T PLAY TOO MANY HANDS
3) DON'T BLUFF TOO MUCH
4) BE AGGRESSIVE
5) PLAY STRAIGHT FORWARD
6) PAY ATTENTION TO THE GAME
7) DON'T PAY TOO MUCH FOR DRAWS
8) SUITED CARDS AREN'T THAT GREAT
Just focus on these it will help you while playing the game and i wish u to be a pro player.
Start the game playing conservatively, and stick with high quality hands. Mid-to-high range pocket pairs, two hole face cards, and don't play too aggressively unless you're pretty sure you'll win.
Then, once you've established yourself as a conservative player who only plays good hands, start throwing a few bluffs. Most people will fold rather than try to play against you, unless they've also got a really good hand. Then switch back to conservative once people start realizing you're throwing in bluffs. You'll get called more, leading to your good hands winning more often. This is my favorite strategy, and I find it works pretty well.
Of course, that sort of thing will only work if you're not playing friendly family games where everyone calls everything and the money on the line is more than $5. But in competitive type games, it'll probably help you develop your own strategies.
Hopefully that will also help with your reading skills too. During the middle part of the strategy, where you're actually bluffing people, you'll have to be able to tell when a bluff won't work. Really the only way to develop that, unfortunately, is to have your opponent show his hands so you can see how accurate your reads were. That means getting called. But you should always be trying to guess everyone's hand anyway. It's just something you'll pick up as you go, there's not really any sure stratey for learning to read other players.
This too. Helps to know what you're looking for specifically.
{Magic: The RPG}
If you have a 2 and Jack of diamonds in your hand, the flop is a ten and king of diamonds and a ten of spades, you need to be able to answer the following:
What are the odds that I will get another diamond card to get a flush?
What are the odds that someone else has two diamonds in hand and a higher card than me?
What are the odds that two more diamonds drop and someone else has the Queen or Ace of Diamonds?
What are the odds that someone gets a full house on this hand?
Until you can answer those questions, you cannot bluff, you cannot make a value bet, and you cannot hope to call an opponent's bluff.
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
In face-to-face poker, I find that there's a bit of leeway when it comes to the statistics. A rough, but educated, guess at the statistics will very often let you know how you're doing in the hand when coupled with paying attention to the other players' actions and reactions.
I'd look at a poker hand statistic guide to get an idea of the odds of all the most common situations, so you can say "Oh, there's about a 1 in 5 chance he flopped a better hand than me" or "There's only about a 30% chance my hand will hit on the turn".
{Magic: The RPG}
When I find myself with a good hand (Three of a kind or better) I usually want to try and bet right away to increase the pot for future bets. But when this happens the player around typically fold.
When I try to bluff I usually get caught in the process.
I was once told that my eyes give everything away so I started playing with sunglasses (didn't hinder me at all), but this has not helped all that much either.
The odds are that when you've got a good hand, you're giving yourself away when you bet. If you reach for, and put your chips out, too quickly you'll look eager to get your money in. If your hand hovers over your chips for a few moments before you bet, you could appear weak. If you have to stop and think a while before you call, it's obvious you've got only a moderate hand. Lots of little things can add up to give other players all the information they need. Eyes, like you said, are definitely a good way to read someone. There are all kinds of little unconscious reactions that people aren't aware they're doing. That's why a lot of poker players wear sunglasses. It's much easier to disguise an involuntary eye twitch than learn to control it.
When I first started playing, 7th grade or so, I would blush every time I got a good hand and practically throw my chips into the pot when I knew I would win. I didn't win much until I got it under control. It's all about keeping your cool no matter the situation. Just try to always keep your face blank and you'll be that much harder to read.
As for betting amounts... that's a bit harder. A lot of the more number-oriented players have all kinds of ideas on how to bet perfectly. I've always gone more with gut when I play, so I'm not much help on the right amount to bet.
In general, if I've got a really good hand (A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K), I bet low before the flop. That'll entice players to call later in the hand. If I've got a mid-high range hand (A-Q, A-J suited, J-J, 10-10, K-Q suited) I'll bet a bit higher to push out other midrange hands.
Pure midrange hands (9-9, 8-8, two suited face cards, 7-7) are probably the toughest. There are two ways to go with them: Bet high to push out better hands, or bet low and hope the flop has lower cards or I hit something good. Of course, there are all kinds of nuances in all those situations that can change how and when and what you bet.
Honestly, the best way to learn the best bets to make is to play. Watch how the other players bet when you're not in a hand, and watch what they have when they show their hands. You'll learn faster in real games than with advice online.
And also keep in mind that what works for one player doesn't always necessarily work for another. I'm no expert by any means, and my strategies and advice are only from my personal experience. I'm sure if you asked five poker players for advice, you'd get ten answers.
{Magic: The RPG}
This is probably the most important advice to be given for face to face poker. Give nothing away with your body language. Turn the game into something akin to playing online. If they get no information from your expressions and movements, they have to get all the information they can from your bets.
When I first started doing well in poker, it was with a usual group of guys. I had my expressions under control. I timed all my decisions consistently so I never made "quick" or "slow" bets. After a while, though, I started getting dominated by one player in particular: A statistician.
He was watching my bets, paying attention to my patterns. For all my work to eliminate my tells, my bets still told him enough to know when I was bluffing and when I wasn't. My weakness was my predictability. So if I have one more piece of advice to give, it's this: Play like Norin. Be a little random.
Do something crazy, like betting big on a 2-7 off suit with a terrible flop and scare everyone into a fold, then show your hand. Or play super conservative with pocket aces and an ace on the flop. Maybe these crazy plays as individuals look bad, but look at the whole game. If your opponents have to guess whether you're playing smart or in one of your chaos moments, it's a good thing.
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
You can also use that tactic against people. If you play fairly slow for a long time then decide to bluff, call quickly to make them think you are excited, or if you know you have the nuts sit back and think about it extra long to give the appearance that you arent on a great hand yet.
I'd like to think I know a little bit about the concept behind bluffing but I can't imagine large bets off of a 2-7 with a poor flop is very good advice. All you need is one person to call you and then you probably just lost some chips. Maybe betting big off a low pair or with low connectors on a rainbow flop but just betting at a pot with literally nothing to work with seems like suicide.
Always fold 2-7 imo.
That's exactly my point. It's a terrible play to make, but after you've established yourself at a table, sometimes it's good to lose one hand if it makes sure people are guessing about your strategy.
Sometimes you get away with it. The table folds to it because they expect you to have something like pocket aces. At that point you smugly smile, flip your cards over and rake in a small number of chips. Yeah, all it takes is one guy to call and you lose the bet, but in my mind, it's a small price to pay. Either way it pans out, the chaos remains, which was the goal.
Really, though, I just picked a radical example. I'm really just trying to warn against becoming consistent and predictable. Just do something out of character every once in a while. If you're usually a tight player, make a risky bet. If you're usually risky, back down from a raise. If you're sitting there thinking "I would usually do X," do something else instead, because the good players at the table know what you'd usually do. A couple random actions is all it took to throw my best opponent out of the position of always knowing what I was up to.
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
I fold these. But play one every now and then randomly to mix things up.
Crap hands:=============
Example:
2-7 off suit
2-8 off suit
2-9 off suit
brunson off suit
2-5 suited.
3-8 suited.
4-8 suited.
I play these cautiously, but every now and then will bet higher to mix things up.
Mid-Tier hands:=================
examples:
8-9 suited. 10-J suited.
9-10 suited.
I raise on these hands. But every now and then will slow play to mix things up.
Higher hands:=================
examples:
JK suited AK off suit.
JQ suited. KQ suited.
Pocket pairs=================
Here, it is absolutely essential to play these with a consideration of how many players are present.
Let's say you play 2-2 pocket pair, and you go all in. If only one other player goes up against you, I think even AK has only a 50-50 chance of beating you, meaning you have about a 50-50 chance of winning.
Those odds drop drastically if there is a third player, or fourth player. It means that if ANY of them get a pair, you're hosed unless you triple up. If you cant be sure you're going to eliminate all but one player, play conservative. This holds for 2-2 up to 8-8 IMO.
9-9, 10-10, and JJ
Raise cautiously. Again, the odds of you winning is considerably higher with fewer players. NEVER overplay JJ--remarked many times as the hardest hand to play in texas hold-em.
QQ, KK, AA
Raise high, or slow play. Its your call. If you raise high, you will likely win.
If you slow play however, you must be ready to fold if the flop is exceptionally bad for you...ex. there is a potential straight AND flush on the table with four players.
Rag-Ace (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 + Ace)=========================
Infamous for getting new players in hot water. These hands often lose with the low kicker. Even worse is pairing up both the ace and the low card, only to be beaten by a higher two pair set.
Fold these, or play conservatively. I never push rag-ace. Though, its ok to be more aggresive with only 2 or 3 players.
Common occurences:============================
You have high pair, and the pair isnt very high. ex. flop is 2 5 8 , you have K8
bet with reasonable assurance, but fold to hard pushers.
You have high pair, and the pair IS high.ex. flop is 2, 7, A, you have A J
bet strongly. dont slow play. high pair isnt strong enough for that.
You have two pair, and your pairs are low. WARNING. be very wary against a pair on the flop, turn, or river.
Ex. 23 8, you have 2,3 opponent has 8,9 unsuited.
9 on the turn or river
AA on the turn and river
JJ on the turn and river.
you lose in these cases.
You have two pair, and they are high.
raise. However, watch the high raise preflop however for pocket pairs. Dont push againt flops and turns with straights and flush potential. especially four to the flush or straight.
You have trips, but only with one card.
ex. you have 8, 10.
Flop is
2 4 8 T:8 R: 9
Push depending on your kicker. dont go nuts, and watch for straight and flush potential.
You have trips with pocket pairs.
Raise high, but watch for st potential, flush potential, and of course the higher pocket pair set. Be ready to fold if the flop shows 4 to the flush or straight.
what that means is:
the table is:
4 of clubs 8 of clubs 9 of clubs 10 of clubs 7 of hearts
you have 10 of spades, 10 of diamonds. I know you want to push it, but be ready to fold your hand. Theres too many potential straights or flushes.
Straights:--watch for the higher straights, especially if you there is four to the straight, and you have the lower straight card. This hand is near worthless to me.
you have 56 off suit, no clubs.
Example.
4 of clubs 8 of clubs 9 of clubs 10 of clubs 7 of hearts
Bet hard if you have 2 key straight cards.
Flushes:--watch for the higher flushes, especially if there is four to the flush, and you have a low flush card. Ace high flush lets you stay confident.
Bet hard if you have 2 key flush cards. be careful still of two higher flush cards.
https://fieldmarshalshandbook.wordpress.com/
RUGLegacy Lands.dec
RUGBLegacy Lands.dec
RGLegacy Lands.dec
WUBRG EDH Lands.dec
UBR EDH Artificer Prodigy
B EDH Relentless Rats
An example would be a preflop situation where you have a decision to re-raise or call: the hands that you raise with can't all be super good hands because that is completely exploitable if your opponent just folds every time you re-raise (which, in turn, is also exploitable). You have to play the same way with weak hands as you do with strong hands sometimes, so you become less predictable. Whenever the opponent puts you on what you have, you've lost the hand even if you end up winning chips. This doesn't mean you can do crazy unpredictable stuff, you have to be aware of the math that's involved. Beyond math and balance (which can be summed up as "knowing yourself") you can move on to logic and deception (aka "knowing your enemy"). This is where adaptation occurs, and exploitable actions become potentially profitable with the right information. At this stage it's easy to lose track of the math and the balance; people get carried away with trying to outplay the opponent that the basics end up biting them in the butt. Remember that exploiting ALWAYS opens yourself up to be exploited.
They have a 7 day trail where you can download videos to watch later. Pretty much the best way to start out is to watch some training videos geared for new players.
When I say tight: play quality hands. Try and protect your blinds when available. Don't be afraid to sit back and watch other people's play styles so you can know how they'll act when you finally enter the pot. Similarly, let the other players at the table know that when you are in the action, you've got the goods (useful for the occasional gear-shift I referred to once you've been at the table for a while).
When I say aggressive: when in the pot/hand, raise aggressively (2.5-4x the big blind) and force people to pay to play with you. Don't let drawing hands (i.e. 8-9 suited, flush/straight-friendly flop) have any life. Get your value bets in (enough that they'll pay on the river when you've got it won) accordingly, and feel out just how much they're willing to give you to see your hand.
Control your emotions. It'll come with time. Playing with headphones and/or sunglasses and/or learning chip tricks will help.
Yes, buy Slansky's book, and probably Doyle Brunson's too.
Beyond that, I'm not sure what you mean by 'how some strategies work'. There isn't that much strategic variant in NLHE(as opposed to say Chess), mostly it's just recognizing what each of your opponents are doing and tailoring your play to beat that.
1) FUNDAMENTAL RULES OF THE GAME
2) DON’T PLAY TOO MANY HANDS
3) DON'T BLUFF TOO MUCH
4) BE AGGRESSIVE
5) PLAY STRAIGHT FORWARD
6) PAY ATTENTION TO THE GAME
7) DON'T PAY TOO MUCH FOR DRAWS
8) SUITED CARDS AREN'T THAT GREAT
Just focus on these it will help you while playing the game and i wish u to be a pro player.