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Texas Hold ‘Em Tips and Strategies
honest or bet recklessly on a win- ning streak. You’ll lose your
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hands in an earlier position.
• Play aggressively when “short
Mucking
The card term “mucking” refers to not showing your hole cards in the showdown. All human players can choose to muck (leave their hole cards face down) or to show their cards. All computer players’ hole cards are automatically shown (not mucked).
During the showdown, a mes- sage will be displayed on the tele-
vision: SHOW. CARDS?
The winner is automatically declared, and all of the remaining players have the chance to decide if they want to reveal the hand they were playing with.
Players who did not win the hand can choose to show their hole cards by pressing the STEP button on the controller within approximately 20 seconds. If a player does not press either of these buttons within 20 seconds, 12
the hole cards will be automatical- ly mucked (left face down). The players have the chance to decide if they want to reveal the hand they were playing with.
Here are some tips and strate- gies to help elevate your novice poker skills to advanced poker prowess.
Tips and Strategies:
General Poker Play
No matter what variation of poker you’re playing, these prac- tices are always beneficial.
• When you know you have the strongest hand, convince your opponents to put their money into the pot. When you know you have the weakest hand, keep your money out of the pot as best you can.
• Be prepared to make adjust- ments when players are eliminat- ed. The fewer players there are, the more hands you’ll have to play.
• Don’t get too attached to a hand, since almost every hand can be beaten.
• Chips you’ve put into the pot are not yours. Don’t protect them.
• Don’t bet to keep someone
money quickly.
• Consider all the possibilities of your hand, but don’t waste time and money on long shots.
• Always be unpredictable.
Tips and Strategies:
Betting
In poker, betting intelligently is half the battle.
• When you have a good hand, bet strongly, right from the begin- ning. Make others spend money to stay with you.
• If your hand is second best, it’s likely to stay that way. It pays to be patient.
• Bet according to pot size. Don’t bet 150 on a 7000 pot; the others will certainly call. And don’t put a large number of your chips at risk in order to win a small pot.
• If you raise, you could have the best hand, or your opponent could fold. If you call, you have to have the best hand in order to win. It’s almost always better to raise than to fold.
• Play more hands in the late position, where you have the ben- efit of watching your opponents make their first bets. Play fewer 13
stacked” (when your chips are only
• If you are dealt strong pocket cards, bet and raise, if possible, before the flop. This increases the value of the pot and encourages weak hands to fold.
• If you are dealt unconnected low cards of different suits, fold the hand unless it is very cheap to stay in.
Tips and Strategies:
Pocket Cards
Learn how to deal with the “pocket” or “hole” cards.
• Be careful when dealt and Ace and a lower card (like 4, 8, or even 10). You might get sucked into losing a big pot when your oppo- nent has a better kicker.
• Play small pocket pairs cheaply before the flop. If you hit the third and/or fourth in the flop, try to trap your opponents. If you don’t, fold.
• Percentages: with a pocket pair, there’s about a 12% chance you’ll flop a set. If you have Ace- King, there’s a 40% chance you’ll flop at least a high pair.
