POKER TIPPS

We`ve got more advice on improving your limit Texas hold`em play so you can become a true poker ace! Follow these tips and you can`t go far wrong.

Fold lousy hands!
Its sounds so simple, doesn`t ist? Why, then, do so many players get involved in pots with bad cards? Many otherwise decent players get attached to so-called trap hands, which end up costing them stackes of chips.
About ten years ago, I tracked every single poker hand I played for 18 straight months, and then tabulated my results. I found that I lost more money with K-J off-suit than any other hold`em hand. When I think of a lousy hand, I think of J-K.

In general, either raise or fold

This strategy works - try it. If you`re not comfortable raising in many situations where you would normally just callm then dont call. Perhaps you shouldn`t be in the hand if you aren`t confident enough to make a raise. Obviously, there are exception to this guidance, such as calling with drawing hands in a multi-way pots, but the raise-or-fold strategy makes you an extremly troublesome person to play against - exactly what you want!

Respect kickers

In a limit texas hold`em, more pots are lost at the showdown because of kicker-trouble than any other clash of hands.
This is especially true with aces. An Ace with a smal side-card is very tough to get away from when an Ace flops.
If you bet and get called in any spot, you can`t feel confident about your hand.
Big cards with weak kicker are the proverbial ball and chain of limit hold`em. Unless you`re in the blinds in a unraised pot, on you`re acting very late and might steal the blinds with a pre-flop raise, don`t play high card with a weak kicker.

Blinds are a table toll, not an excuse to play more hands

If you were to calculate the wins and losses from every single seat you`ve played in you hold`em career, you`d see that you have lost more chips in the blinds than in any other spot.
Here`s a hint: dont add to the losses. Blinds are the worst possible position to play from, and, against aggressive players, you`re at a huge disadvantage. If you can`t get in cheaply or reraise with a strong hand, dont get involved.
Calling liberally from the blinds should only be done in short.handed games and against very weak-tight opponents who may be susceptible to bluff after the flop.

Bluffing is vastly overrated, especial in limit games.

Bluffing can be effective in tight games or against timid opponents. However, it should only be used selectively.
Once you get tagged as a bluffer, you can`t do much more wiht it. One thing to consider is that players remember bluffers. We all recall when we are bluffed out of a big pot. You probably remember the person who bluffed you.
You don`t want to get tagged with this tactical albatross, because then you have to start playing showdown poker ( thatsis, showing the best hand to win the pot), which means you have effectively become card-dependent.
Moreover, it`s rarely wise to try a bluff more than one player, especially when you`re playing limit games.

Be a Zen Master

What`s a Zen Master, you ask? Zen is a Buddhist philosophy that encourges emotional tranquillity and acceptance of what has already transpired. Remenber that bad beats happend to ervery single poker player. This is because the good players usually have the advantage - until fate intervenes, that is.
The best poker players learn to accept tough beats as part ofd the game.
They recognise that losing control, or going on tilt, as it`s otherwise know causes more losses at middle-limit games than anything else.