Folding is one of the most difficult decisions for a Texas Holdem Poker beginner to do. The mindset of most Texas Holdem Poker beginners is to hang around and see the flop in the hopes of hitting it just right and improving a hand.
While a beginner will hit the flop and improve their hand occasionally, more often than not they will miss it. The Texas Holdem Poker beginner player that plays poor starting hands will end up throwing more money away than they will win.
When you are dealt one of the best starting hands I recommend raising the pot which will serve two purposes. First, it will force players with weak hands to fold instead of allowing them to stay in the game and see the flop for free.
Secondly, by seeing who raises and calls you get to see who feels that they have a good hand and who may be trying to hang in for the flop.
When the flop is dealt you should look carefully to see if you have improved your hand. Even if you have not improved your hand, because you started out with one of the better hands you may still have the best hand. This is especially true if your starting hand was a pair of aces or kings.
If your opponents raise back this can be a strong signal that they may have a powerful hand. Ask yourself, “What could my opponent have?” “Could they have improved their hand?”
Ask yourself these questions after each round of cards are dealt and try to “read” your opponents hand.
If you have a high pair a raise after the flop can help you assess whether your opponents feel if they have a strong hand or not.
If you think you are beaten there is no shame in folding at this point.
When the turn card has been revealed, if you think that you may still have the best hand I would raise the pot so that I could obtain information about my opponents’ hands.
I would follow this same strategy on the river card.
To summarize this basic Texas Holdem Poker beginner strategy:
- stick to playing the best starting hands
- fold the bad hands
- use the power of the raise to knock out weak players and to assess the strength of your opponents hands
