Texas Hold’em is the most complex poker variant of all. It requires a person to master several elements to become an expert. This is very different to other forms of gambling where a little knowledge goes a long way. In poker, as you develop, you realise what you knew a few years ago won’t necessarily serve you well in the present. A game that evolves with its players. However, there are some fundamental aspects that are static and need to be learnt well, regardless of the era we’re at. In this post, we will share with you the key areas you must focus on and why.

1) Hand Selection
The start of any hand but also an area even experienced players can get wrong – hand selection. Every hand you are dealt, you’re given a question, are you entering the pot with this hand given the action taken place? Each hand should be perceived in its likelihood of profitability. In isolation is not good as short-term results are volatile. Instead, consider whether it will make you money in the long run.

This is how the best players often think and drives the decision making. However, if you struggle to know whether its profitable, consider using hand selection charts. You can also invest in poker coaching to see whether a coach agrees with your selection. Some sites offer hand history review sessions which can help you.

2) Value Betting

You can have all the bluffing skills of Phil Ivey and the patience of Phil Hellmuth, but if you don’t know how to value bet properly, you won’t win much will you? Value betting is massive part of winning at poker. It’s about understanding your opponents likely holding and deducing whether your hand is best and how much they are most likely to pay.

Inexperienced players make the mistake of betting too small or over-betting and getting greedy. Seldom are either choice correct in the current climate. Instead, you need to cater your bet to your opponent, their tendencies and their perception of you. Give your value bets a lot of thought and as long as you are using logic and the context of the situation, you will be better placed to value bet well. It will become intuitive over time and you’ll be giving practical tips to others as a result.

3) Reading

Our final tip is about hand-reading. This is part and parcel of professional poker and evidenced through the amazing folds and hero calls you see on social media platforms like YouTube. The reality is far more boring, a professional is observant to what is going on and reading cards is like breathing to them. It’s all about process of elimination, resulting in the most likely combinations of hands your opponent holds. It’s not as challenging as one may think but it does take experience and an attentive individual to pull it off. We recommend you constantly narrow an opponent’s range as you progress through a hand. As you get to the hands conclusion you can often narrow it down to just a few possibilities which will help your decision.

Image Source: Unsplash