Poker Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
The player must bear in mind that the chances of being dealt a pair or
The player must bear in mind that the chances of being dealt a pair or better in five cards are approximately one in two. Therefore, if three or four players remain until the showdown, almost invariably the winning hand will hold a pair or better. With this thought in mind, the smart gambler, failing to hold a pair, always has to have a higher-ranking card in the hole than any other player's upcard. He bases his calculations on the theory that if he holds two cards lower than the upcard of one or more players and he has the possibility of pairing one of his low cards, each of his opponents also has the same possibility. And, if he and one of his opponents each pair a card, his hand is valueless, because his opponent paired a higher card. This gambler uses sound judgment. So much for the first two cards. Now the first betting round has ended, and each player has received his second upcard.
This gambler, should he see any other player's two upcards paired,
This gambler, should he see any other player's two upcards paired, and if he fails to hold a pair, will at his proper turn of play fold up. His theory, which is sound, is "Never play a hand at the start which you know is lower than your opponents'." In other words, don't chase a pair or a higher hand when the pot is small; because if you did play for the third upcard, you might be tempted to chase your money which you have in the pot, and that is not good Online Hold'em Poker playing.