Poker Strategy Article: Min Raising at Party Poker and oh What a Mistake!

One of the biggest mistakes I see online players making is the dreaded MIN-RAISE whereby from any position players will make the minimum bet in order to accomplish. er.. well, it actually rarely accomplishes anything except in building the pot for one of your opponents. It also has the tendency of alarming shrewd players to your inexperience, and they will make notes on you.

Let's say you are in late position in a NL hold'em tournament and 4 players have limped before you at a paltry 50 chips. You are holding pocket 44 and decide since no one showed strength you are going to add to the pot, and raise to 100. Well 9 times out of 10 each of those players are going to call, and well they should as you are serving up pot odds for virtually any two cards they deemed strong enough to limp in the first place. In this spot your weak holding has an equal chance of taking the pot as everyone else. It does not offer you a distinct advantage to keep the pot multi-way. You are giving your money away in this spot.

You may wonder why I used 44 here, as an example holding. It is because I witnessed my friend doing the exact same thing in the same spot with the same hand. I asked him why he min-raised on the button there and said it was "because nobody showed any strength." Oh man did he get a lecture! In this case, chances are the flop is going to check all the back to you where you will have to bet at least half the pot. Now you may win it, but not likely. In fact, a pro will very well be waiting for you to raise and he will re-raise you back, knocking your silly little pair right back where it belongs - in the muck. If its going to cost you a half pot raise after the flop anyway, invest at least some of that in making a more serious effort at taking the blinds or getting heads up. Your bets have meaning, and are not just a nuisance.

Oh, and the other 1 out of 10 times, you will be re-raised by a clever poker player and put to a tough decision preflop, while losing credibility as you sheeply call his re-raise.

I must say here that there are a few select opportunities for min-raising, like when blinds are so huge in the late stages of a tournament. Usually by that time one raise is a good chunk of many players' stacks so it essentially does the same job as does multiple blind raising in the earlier stages.

Another time you may do it is if you are a big stack late in a tournament and the blinds are huge. You do this to put out a message to limpers on your button, and to generally pressure small and medium stacks to play strong on you, or just leave you and raises alone.

Other than that, stop the min-raising! You are embarrassing your families and losing money.

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No Limit Texas Holdem Super Strategies

No Limit Texas Holdem Poker is such a game whose rules can be learnt in few minutes, but it might take a life time to understand its subtle intricacies. In other words, there are no many shortcuts to become a master of the game. The more you play, the more you will understand about the rules, strategies and the game as a whole.

In this article, we will see the highlights of some essential strategies that could work for any player who tries his/her hand in no limit Texas Holdem game.

Before discussing the strategies, here is the way the game proceeds - To start with, two bets are put up, one half the minimum "small blind" by the player positioned next to the dealer and another, same as the minimum "big blind", put up by the next player towards left.

Please understand that you may find different table minimums out there $1-$2 or $2-$4 and no player place a bet at this time. Further, as the play rotates, each player will take turn as dealer. Now, at the open, each of the players will receive two cards with face down, after which the one to the left of big-blind starts betting by matching the bet "call" or "raise" (doubling it).

Once the first round of betting completes, a set of three cards called the "flop" are placed face up. Another round of betting commences after this.

After the flop, a fourth card called the "turn" is introduced, and is followed by another round of betting. Then, the final community card the "river"is added and the final round of betting takes place. From this point, the player who could manage the best five-card poker hand would win the game.

Successful completion of no limit Texas Holdem poker requires a mix of skill, quick thinking, and loads of patience, coupled with different strategies for various positions on the table. As a general rule, for any player, it will take a stronger hand to win from an early stance, as a number of players will follow with the ability to raise a pot. It is also advisable not to make the mistake of playing too many cards. Once past the flop, one must have a clear idea of his/her hand that is not just one-fourth away from completion. At this point, without a higher pair, placing a bet would be a blunder unless one is so sure about his/her lucky stars.

Once the game goes past the turn card, some players are seen to needlessly stay in the game hoping some big turn around to happen in the river card round. While it is simply not advisable to call here without any reasonable chance existing, it will be disastrous as well to fold the game at this stage if there is a ray of hope somewhere.

As mentioned earlier, expertise in no limit Texas Holdem game can only be garnered through experience. But for an easy leap forward, it is advisable that one may check the charts - depicting the appropriate steps for various hands - available on the internet, and incorporate those strategies to ones own game. After all, when readymade advice is available, why solely wait for ones own experience to shape your strategies fully?

Finally, like in any other poker game, the success in no limit Texas Holdem rests much on a players ability to make inferences from the actions of his/her opponents and act accordingly. That is, one must be able to time a call, fold, raise or bluff by reading ones own hand and the reactions of other players on the table simultaneously. This is something that can only be developed with experience. No charts could help one in this regard.

In its fullest sense, the game of no limit Texas Holdem will be a test of ones own judgment of character, mathematical skills, and common sense. But a good understanding of the game coupled with a sound strategy could ensure that you scores more than the average percentage of pots. Yes, a little luck can better your prospects further. Good Luck!