Poker Articles

If you expect to have the best hand for every hand that you win, you are playing the wrong game. The reality of it is that most of the hands that you win  are going to be far less than what the board promises the best to be.  It is the play in these hands that is going to make the difference in whether or not you are a successful No Limit Holdem poker player.

If there are checks in front of you or you have isolation, do not assume that just because you did not hit the high end of the flop that you have the weaker hand in the game.  It is very likely that you have the best hand and the only way to find out is to throw out a bet and test the waters.  Reading the board will help you decipher any calls that happen and where to go from there.

The reason this play is so successful is because when there are only a small number of poker players going to the flop, it is rare that anyone actually hits it.  In most cases, people are stuck with the strength of their original hand and it is how they bet that makes the difference.  When you get a piece of the board on the flop, you are very likely ahead and need to take advantage of that.

A value bet here will take down a lot of pots, especially if the player in front of you has shown weakness by checking.  They may call, but if the turn falls right, you need to stay active and continue to apply pressure.  If they have walked into a draw, put on more pressure to get them off of a drawing hand and take the pot down right then and there.  Even if they come over top of you at this point, you can still be sitting with the winning hand.

A very common move in No Limit Holdem Poker is to make the big raise on a flush draw or open ended straight draw.  If the bet was checked to you on the flop with nothing and then a draw pops on the turn, it is very likely that they either have the draw or are trying to represent the draw.  If you have the stack, it is not a time to walk away from the hand.  You can push back and put them all in or take your chances with a call.  A smart player will back off the hand on a draw if you come back at them and you can end up winning the hand right there.  If you think you are the best, put them on a big decision and walk away with the pot.