This article is focussed on Texas Holdem Poker in the Limit variant and the selection of tables before you begin to play.
Are you looking forward to playing a game of Texas Holdem Poker? Not sure of the best way to get started with the greatest advantage point? One of the first steps is the table selection.
Concerns About Table Selection At A Texas Holdem Poker Game
There are some questions to ask before sitting at a table.
When do you want to play? If, like most people, you have a job working 9-5 then you are looking at evenings and weekends.
Perfect!
This is when most recreational players are at the poker tables. You don't want to be playing during the day because that is when the professionals put in some of their hours. Also, there are a lot of retired folks who want to scratch out some pin money.
The average retired player is probably around sixty-five or older. This would be considered a rock - peddling the nuts and playing tight. You can't make much money, if any at all, from these guys.
Stereotypes in this day and age are not considered to be politically correct, but in poker if you want to save or win money, it's a good place to start and your view can always be changed. We will be writing more on psychology and player profiling another day.
The Saturday Night Texas Holdem Poker Game
It's decided then we are going to play on Saturday night - the busiest night of the week and that guarantees action. We walk in for the first time and hear that beautiful sound. The sound of riffling chips. Action is everywhere but where do you sit?
If it's your first time you want to sit at the lowest limit available. Usually its $0.5/$1 ($2/$4 if you are playing land based) limit Texas Holdem. There will be a few tables running so you need to know what to look for in picking a good table. You should judge a table by two yardsticks:
1) How loose/tight is the game? 2) How aggressive/passive is the game?
Referring to number one, you want to play in loose games because your opponents are playing more weak hands to see more flops and get lucky. The more mistakes your opponents make, the more you will win.
On the second point, playing in an aggressive or passive game is a little trickier. My preferences are the more aggressive games that are loose. The wilder the better. My variance will swing with stomach churning ups and downs but inevitably my hand selection abilities will see me through. With this, I will see payoff big time when my hands stand up at showdown.
For most beginners, I would recommend to start in a passive game where your mistakes will not be punished so badly. Also, your opponents will not extract the maximum from you.
So get a feel for the place - watch a few tables in the limit you are interested in playing. Want to play at a passive table? Watch for a lot of "calling stations." These are where people are calling all the time without much raising going on and it feels like a relaxed friendly table.
If you want aggression and looseness look for people four way capping preflop, a high chip average for the table, and lots of chips in play. If you are prepared to play tight and only premium starting hands be prepared for a roller coaster ride and strap yourself in because this is the table for you.
Once You Find a Table To Play Texas Holdem Poker
You find a ten-handed game and decide to chip up. How much to buy in? I always like to buy in for double the usual amount. This is for two reasons:
1) If you take a couple of bad beats to begin with you may have enough to carry on. There is nothing worse for your ego and confidence than to have to chip up again early on. Plus, if you are short stacked and get heads up (two players left including you) with the nuts (best hand) and there is no cap on betting then you won't make as much.
2) When other people join the table later and they see your large stack they will give you more respect. Hopefully you can then run more bluffs and appear a much stronger player than if you had less chips.
Use these simple strategies to play your best game and you'll win out in the end. Just keep your head cool and don't let emotion play into the game. By picking good tables, you can increase your chances of winning.
About the Author
Gabriel James is a semi-professional poker player turning over 12,000 hands of Texas Holdem Limit Poker per month online. He is writes for www.texashold-empoker.com