9 Secret Texas Hold'em Poker Tips: The Skills Pros Use In WSOP(P3)

We’ve come to the end of the 9 secret Hold’em skills. Have you been practicing the 6 skills we’ve introduced in the previous two articles? We’ve talked about hand selection and how the board may help us, and we talked about the mental strength a player must possess. As a professional dealer, I think that Hold’em is not a game player only needs to know the process, because with more advanced players joining in, the more difficult it becomes.

Today we will be mainly talking about some special conditions. Those who aren’t familiar with our previous skills can check our previous articles. We will complete the 9 secret skills of Hold’em in this article. After you read through it, you will find yourself very different from before.

• 9 Secret Texas Hold'em Poker Tips: From Pro Dealers(P1)
• 9 Secret Texas Hold'em Poker Tips: From Pro Players And Dealers(P2)

Secret Hold’em Skill 7: Mini Raise is a pain in the ass!

Before we go further, you all should know what “ mini raise” is. Mini raise in words means a small amount of raise, though according to the rules of Hold’em, a proper raise amount has to be at least equal to the last bet minus the previous bet. Say we are playing 100/200 and a player raises 2000, then the least amount I can bet is 2000+2000-200=3800. So if I raise to 3800, then that’s a mini raise.

The first condition we may apply mini raise to is when the game has not been raised yet. We raise it to two big blinds to stir the game up. The second condition is when there’s already a player raised in front of you and you want to isolate him to play with you. Then you can make a mini raise. As we mentioned before, the proper amount will be the last raised amount minus the previous bet amount.

Some may be confused why don’t we just double the last bet? Well, as a player you can choose to do so, though knowing how to mini-raise gives you an edge of manipulate your stake in an even more efficient way.

Those who did mini-raise hoped the original raiser to call. So it’s a trap set by the one who’s doing it to extract the max value. Normally we will be doing this when our hand is extremely powerful or has a lot of potentials so that we want to extract value from our opponents on every street of the game. We want you to call with your hand thinking there might be a chance for us to win. So if you are playing against a player who tends to mini-raise, then he might be a pro who can do mini-raise for the value of bluff both. You might get crushed if you are not careful.

Secret Hold’em Skill 8: Sometimes we have to give up AA!

The 8th skill is really special. It’s about the condition when we have to fold a strong starting hand, such as a pair of Aces. As long as a rational decision, folding Aces can increase our win rate from time to time.

You all know that Hold’em is a game in that players have to combine their hands and the board cards, therefore there are a lot of changes and variables inside. Say I play aggressively pre-flop holding Ace of Spades and Ace of a Club, another player called and then flop comes 6,7,8 all hearts. Then this kind of board does not help our hand. We lose to too many combinations of hands from two pairs to sets to straights to flushes. Therefore it’s better if we check call off the bet size from our opponents is decent, but once the turn didn’t help us or when the bet size was large, we should fold and give up on this one. 

Secret Hold’em Skill 9:Bluff at the highest level!

The highest level of bluffing is acting while no one expected you to. A real pro knows when to bluff and then uses the image to extract the max value when they hold a strong hand.
I remembered that one time when I was still a dealer, I was talking to a pro after the game. He shared with me his experience of bluffing. He said, those who are good at hunting always show up as prey. He said that he tends to show some wack cards for a couple of hands and then when he holds a strong hand, he will act poorly and makes you think you are going to win for sure. Then he would hit you by surprise.

This article shares the skills that are the toughest to master. It takes a long time to get enough experience of using these skills in a game. Also, we would need to be mentally strong enough to act through all these skills, sometimes even use it as a counter concept and gain profit from it. Once we master it, we will be able to act it through and then leave the table with our opponents stunned.

Conclusion

That’s all for the 9 skills of Hold’em. I wish the things we share with you help you with the game. These are all from my personal precious experience. Know the timing, know our opponents, know the game. Did all three of that then I promise you, Hold’em will bring you joy and wealth. Be confident in yourself. I wish you all the best. Hope you enjoy all the materials. Peace!