8 Advance Texas Hold’em Techniques (Episode 2)! Only A Step From Becoming A Pro

Were your eyes opened by our last article about the advanced Texas Hold’em techniques? I didn’t think this game is a complicated one a couple of years ago when I first played it. The strategies people use and the understanding of different players make this game so fascinating.

We are introducing the remaining 4 techniques in this episode. Once you’ve learned all of it then you should have improved a lot in your games. You should be able to target the fish afterward. So let’s get started.

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Texas Hold’em Advanced Technique 5: Big blind may be better than the button!

Let’s take a look at a position misunderstanding in technique 5. Most people may think that since the Big Blind need to place a blind bet initially then it’s a place with a disadvantage. A lot of players fold their hands pre-flop since it’s not a strong hand. Though big Blind is a position where we can do some manipulation to the game. Let me explain it to you.

In a new game, the player first to act is UTG, and then in order till button, SB, and BB. Say we are playing 100/200 then we need to bet 200 initially. Those who wish to play in this game will have to pay 200 each also. If all the players call the bet to us, the dealer will ask us if we want to check or raise it. Here’s where the fun begins.

Say we raise to 2000, according to the rules of Hold’em, other players will have to consider whether they want to match the bet or fold and give up the initial 200 they‘ve put in already. Only when there are no more bet add-ons can we see the flop. So it means that BB has the advantage to put pressure on all the players since BB gets to act last pre-flop. We can mix it up by raising with strong hands and with garbage hands from time to time.

Texas Hold’em Advanced Technique 6: Observe every action taken by the players!

In Hold’em, observation is a key skill that everyone should possess. Since it’s a game about players making options according to their understanding of their hands with the board compared to other opponents. It’s crucial that we know how to observe otherwise we won’t know if we are strong or weak.

There are several types of players in Hold’em, some are aggressive while others are conservative. There are stone players who act while they have a hand, and there are also actors who tend to act a lot with their hands during the game. So we need to know our opponent's tendencies to adjust with them. Be patient and look carefully, wait for the right moment to go in and win big. To do so we have a strong mindset.

Texas Hold’em Advanced Technique 7: Improvise in Texas Hold’em

There are a lot of styles and strategies a player can choose to play in Hold’em. Despite that some of them may not be useful, most of the pros would learn all of them and improvise with the situation they have run into. There’s no 100% winning strategy in this game.

You might be extremely good at one strategy and it may have brought you some profit initially. Though if you stick with it for a long time, other players may know your tendencies and start to focus on your weakness. Then you will feel a lot harder playing the games because you won’t be able to win while you have a hand and tend to get bluff a lot while your hands are stronger than the others.
So improvise with the situation, and never stop changing.

Texas Hold’em Advanced Technique 8: Strong starting hands may lose sometimes!

We’ve come to the final technique of the article. Here what we are sharing is how to play a strong initial hand. We will be using an example of Aces, Ks, Qs, and Js since these four hands are as strong as we can get pre-flop. Say we are at UTG and raise it from 200 to 1000. Button then reraise it to 10k. What’s our optimal move?

First of all, there’s no fixed answer to this question. Though with enough observation, there are paths we could take to increase our win rate. Take me for example, I tend to mini-raise with my Aces when I’m at UTG to not show the strength of my hand. If the later players reraise big. I tend to reraise again.

Since I’ve got the Aces, I don’t need to worry about my opponents having a stronger starting hand. With that reraise, I can cap the range of my opponent's hand to some strong high cards and pairs that are no less than 10s. If the flop comes sticky like 789 or KKQ with flush draws, then I tend to slow down since there’s a probability he hitting triple Ks or flopping a straight.

So I would check first and wait for my opponents to make a move. If he checks back, I get to see then turn for free. I can also have information that he probably didn’t connect with the board. So if the turn is blank, I can start to attack and place a bet again. Though if the player bets big after I check. Then I know I might’ve been out-flopped and folded my hand since my hand won’t get improved with the turn and river. This is why we said strong starting hands may lose sometimes.

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Conclusion

That’s all for today. It’s a game that requires deep thinking. We all need to focus on the details within the game to gain leverage over the other players. That’s why it’s ranked by the players in the game that’s competitive with skills rather than luck. If you wish to increase your income, playing Texas Hold’em is an excellent choice. I hope you like what we shared in these two episodes. I will see you next time.