Calling or Folding

[Toby]

The way I play holdem poker is obviously I see what my hand is and I whether I call or not depends on if I have a good hand. If I have low cards like a 4 and a 2 I normally fold unless they are the same suit. If I have a high pair like 10's or above I normally raise the stakes. And of course if they bet $10 I call just to see the flop, but if its a high raise like over $100 I fold unless my hand is good.
Could anyone suggest any better strategies?

 

[Grumbledook]

fold even more

in fact stop calling, if its not good enough to raise with then fold it

nothing worse than calling all your money off

if you stick with that guideline and don't bluff (its not worth it at low level limits people call you anyway) then you will start winning larger pots (betting with the best hand at low limits people call you anyway) and stop calling your money off on losing hands

I still keep calling hands down when i know I have lost the hand, its one of the worst leaks of most people. I am getting better at folding them and you should by all means do it occasionally against really loose players. Don't get fooled into keeping them honest, most people will play straight forward poker, let others pay to keep them honest.

2 low cards in general even suited are worth folding practically 100% of the time, if you hit a pair it will be a low one and someone else will almost certianly usually have a higher one, all your hoping to hit is a flush and the odds of that against the money in the pot aren't usualy worth playing and if you do hit the flush there is always the chance someone will have a higher one (this will usually result in you handing over more money than you would like to them)

I did see a site with a good list of starting hands somewhere, I will see if I can dig it out.

When i started folding a lot more than I was before I found I was winning money when i played rather than generally breaking even on most occasions.

 

[Toby]

Ye your right im starting to fold a lot more now and in the long run i end up with more money, i practise a lot on www.holdempoker.com and ive learnt a lot. thanks a lot for your views Grum

 

[Nick]

I always go for the fold unless I think I have a chance... on the occasion when I have say a 4 in my hand and 2 3 come up in the flop, 6 comes up on the turn, I'll raise and really go for it, hoping that the river is a 5. Quite often it happens. It's just luck of the draw I guess.

 

[Grumbledook]

thats fools logic there nick you are betting on one card out of 4 coming up to make your straight to win the pot, unless the pot is very large thats bad odds to be drawing too, specially as most of the time it won't come and your giving your money away

drawing from the flop to need 2 cards to make a straight though is insane odds, certinaly way too big to make the play for

if the pot odds don't beat the odds of making your hand then its a bad play, besides what you doing playing hands when you have a 4 ;]

 

[Toby]

Ye i agree i wouldnt put money on that chance the odds are very much against you.

 

[moozician]

If you develop a reputaion for folding every time.. unless you have a strong hand, then you can bluff, on occasion, especially if no one is playing aggresively. HOWEVER... do not do that too often:
1. Someone will call you on it, and you won't have the strongest hand.
2. It's hard to garner a rep as a "straight" player if you do bluff a lot.

In low-stakes, or No-stakes ("play-money" tables), it really becomes difficult to bluff. Nothing is at stake, really, and some players will stay in for pride, or out of sheer boredom. However, play tables are a good way to get strategies down, or to keep your insticts and senses sharp. Keep in mind, however.. If you are SERIOUS about getting involved in money games, don't let your experiences in the play tables rule how you play... especially if there are a lot of players. If you can hang on until the too-aggressive players are ousted, then it's easier to get aggressive. The odds of you having the best hand with pocket 10's goes up.

 

[Big Slick]

I've been told you're supposed to raise any pocket pair you have. Obviously it depends on how much the betting is though to consider the bets. Now with just suited cards I'll almost never play. 7-2 is the worst hand statistically to play. Just because they are suited I won't play it. You have so many other options above your 7 for someone to pull a higher flush out.

 

[Grumbledook]

raising with any pocket pair isn't good tactics

unless you made trips (3 of a kind) on the flop if there is an overcard and a few others in the pot chances are your hand is beaten and you are drawing usually to only 2 outs

if raising it will put you heads up with maybe one other then sure, but you can do that with any 2 cards at the end of the day, as long as your opponent misses the flop and you come out betting usually you win the pot there with nothing

 

[Big Slick]

I'm saying pre-flop. And honestly, I almost never do with low pocket pairs. It's just something I've heard from someone.

 

[eitemiller]

I had a hard tinme teaching the following to my g/f - but she is coming along.


I play hold'em pretty tight. I have no problem throwing away an K/6 off suit. Now that probably doesn't agree with some people, but let's think about it. If I hold the K/6, and the A comes in on the flop, great, I have a pair of K's. But so does someone else. So either I have to match my 6 up, or hope my opponent has a really, really crappy kicker. And also, it depends on where I am seated at the table. I might play that same K/6 off-suit if I am the dealer, and not many other people are playing. But if I am "early" in the betting action, i just toss it away.

I will play pairs, even low ones, but only if no one has raised the big blind. If I dont match up after the flop, then i run away.

And I will raise on pocket ladies or higher - i dont want some morron sticking around with 2 lame cards, and then matching them both up for two pair. Go all in on AA - you got at least a 50/50 chace at winning.

 

[Toby]

Thats a pretty wise move, ive got much better at throwing away cards its just soo annoying when i throw away and the cards i want come up in the Turn or the river.

 

[Grumbledook]

yer have to get used to it and play the odds in the long run you win out

must say i have been calling too much as of late and it showed up looking at my records :/

 

[eitemiller]

yea, i understand how ya can get upset when you throw away a k/4 and then realize you would have flopped a fullhouse if you would have stayed Buy it's kinda like playing blackjack - if you have 16, and the dealer shows a face card, your best move is to hit your 16. You will lose that hand 62% of the time by hitting, but you will lose the hand 69% of the time if you stay. Same thing, if you hit the 16, and then find out the dealer didn't have the 20 you thought, and then the dealer busts - it kinda makes you mad. But you still stick with the odds.

 

[eitemiller]

Here's a decent example of patience - although it is taken to the extreme...

So last night I am playing a freeroll at partypoker. 6000 people registered for this hold'em NL tourney. After over two hours of play, there were only about 380 people left, and I was ranked #32 in the chip lead out of those 380. I had $35,000 in chips at the time. A bunch of my friends came over to play a "real" tourney, so I set the game so that I would fold every hand. So I am playing really tight, right? Not playing a single hand. Well, after a few hours, I ended the tournament in #55 place. So - 330 people lost all of thier chips while all I did was throw in my antes/blinds. The power of patience hehehe.

 

[Toby]

Im not a big fan of BlackJack i just think its soo quick and boring. But i see where your coming from you've got to work out the odds.
Like in poker if you have a good hand and someone else is betting high you should try and think of all the possible hands your opponent may have.

Thats a good way to play, playing tight but then you should call now and again if its not been raised especially if your wasting money on blinds and anti's. But yea definatly fold a lot of the time until you've got a hand worth playing for.

 

[PokerTourInfo]

hey, that holdem poker looks really cool.

I am going to sign up and check it out, definitely!

If i remember right, the starting hands table that someone was talking about - could it be from http://www.learn-texas-holdem.com??

 

[Nick]

Yes, the exact link here: http://www.learn-texas-holdem.com/texas-holdem-odds-probabilities.htm

 

[PokerJoker]

Hey there...

I'd agree with most of the posts here...u gotta fold more often...Most good players fold atleast 70% of their hands...u gotta know when to hold'em and when to fold'em....but then again...this depends on the tables...i'd say ..study the table u wanna play..chk out the playing patterns..hw many calling stations..how many aggresive players..and how many tight plyrs...and then proceed accordingly...there is no hard and fast rule as to what cards u should have to raise and what cards to fold on...it all depends on the other players at the table..evn if you have a pair of Aces and there are many calling stations on the tables...then its dangerous...cause they'll call no matter what...and sometimes do get lucky....

so change ur style depending on the plyrs of the table..remember u gotta spend some time watching the table before u join in..


Cheers
Jeff

 

[Nick]

u gotta know when to hold'em and when to fold'em

damn i love that phrase!

Checking out your opposition is a good idea, maybe sitting out a few rounds and just watching before you go in for the kill. However, not that many people have the patience to just check out their opponents for time, because by the time you sit in, they may have left

 

[holdemhost]

I do agree agree as well with most of the posts here, but regards to observing a table
before you begin betting, I am hard pressed not to quote Matt Damon from the beginning of "Rounders". "If you can't spot the sucker at the table in the first 30 minutes, you are the sucker!!" This is a good stategy to live by, especially when playing with people your not used to.

 

[fonzerelli_79]

2 4 suited is still a terrible hand -why would you call with this??

10s are different - if there are only 2 or 3 players id raise. If its a full table id call as any Jack, queen , king or ace drops (and you dont make your set) then your beat

 

[Dempah]

if u call with 24s, in the end, you will have no $ left.

 

[herlis]

i dont fold often like many of you say thats why i always run out of money, maybe ill try to fold often . ty for the tip!

 

[CUBSWIN]

I don't see such a huge problem calling to see a flop with 2 4 suited. Possible st8, or flush or some crazy flop with 2 dueces on it. Depends on the blinds I guess. I can think of a lot worse hands to call with.