Knowing The Table

You have just bought your chips and are ready to jump up right into a table and get started. This article is geared to online Texas Hold'em playing, but it is also helpful to Hold'em casino players. Before even creating a account at a online casino (I suggest Poker Room), you should know your limits. Okay you know your limits and join a popular online casino, you click on a type of Hold'em you wish to play and you stare at the list of tables in front of you. Your bankroll will greatly affect which table you site at. If you have $500 to spend, I doubt you are going to go to the $500/1000 Hold‘em table. Because you could possibly be out on the first hand and lose a ton of money. You might settle for a $1/2 game.

Decide before you go online if you are going to play limit or no limit and for what amount. Be sure to know how much you are going to spend, this is explained furthur here. Now browse through the tables you wish to play at. Do not play at a table just because you are eager to play poker. Click once on the table that you are thinking of playing at. The table info should appear on the screen.

Check the average pot at every table and the percent of players in on each hand to see the flop. The more people in to see the flop and with the biggest average pot will usually have either the most inexperienced players or the maniac players who are more then willing to throw away their money.

Also, look at the other players bankrolls. I have found that new online players usually set a limit for themselves, like only giving themselves $5 or $10 to play with. Finding a game with everybody at this level is a goldmine and you should be really happy. But usually there will always be users who are regular players and take no pity on taking over your entire bankroll or losing there entire bankroll trying.

Never be intimidated by these players. They are good, but anybody can win at Texas Hold'em. Don't let anybody's bankroll scare you once you sit down at the table. Some like to double the amount that you are currently playing with to intimidate you. Do not be scared. In fact, you should make a goal to yourself to win at least half of that money by the times the game is over. Now you are seated. You should already be a custom to the buttons and the setup of the room. If not, leave the real money table and sit yourself in a play money table to get accustom.

Okay, action begins. This is when you should be paying 100% of your attention on the board. Notice when every player checks and when they raise the pot. If they raise the pot before the flop, they probably have a high pair, AK, or AQ. I have noticed that a lot of players play any suited hand.

Paying attention to the board and the other players reations can give you a lot of hints of when to bet. Betting at the right time might give you a free pot. Also watch other players that seem to use this technique a lot. If you have a decent hand, you might want to re-raise him. Then when he checks the next round of betting and you raise you have got him in a corner. If the player doesn't seem like a frequent bluffer, than he might just be trapping you. Be really careful on not labeling yourself as a frequent bluffer because players might try to trap you a lot.

Being aggressive is said to be one of the best strategies and you can probably win a lot of players money. But it is really important to know when you do not have a good hand and when to fold the hand. As always Good Luck!

This article was written by Michael Gersitz, an online poker player who owns the site Poker101.net! Visit his site for more poker articles.