Calling or Folding

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?

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.

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

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.

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 ;]

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 :/

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.

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.

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.

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??

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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!

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.

There aren't many worse hands actually....Head to head, 2/4 suited is one of the worse hands (with only 33 percent chance to win, with worst hand having 30 percent chance).In fact, there are only 11 worse hands in head to head, this is considerably poor pulling into account there are around 200 different hands to start with. With 10 people calling into the pot, it bumps up noticeably over many other poor hands but still holds only approximately a 10 percent chance to win (with the worst hand having a 5 percent chance in this situation). It is more probable that there will be about 4 callers, and 2/4 suited is still a poor hand, and ranks in the lower half of hands(holding a 14 percent chance to win, with the worst hand holding about a 10 percent chance)
Unless you pull a straight flush, your flush can be outdone, if you pair a four or two, your kicker is probably beat, and even if you have a set, if another person has that same set, their kicker probably has yours beat once again. You want to avoid this hand usually or else you could be fishing for a card to get a straight or flush. Usually, you can lose a lot of money this way with a talented opponent who will make you pay dearly to see the next card once he thinks you are fishing.

2-4 suited...just crazy in my book. If you are seated at a full table (say 8 or more people) and you get the flush, the first thing that is going to bother the crap out of you is wondering if someone else has a higher flush. Especially if 4 suited cards come up in the middle - then you know you are toast. And trying to catch that straight is crazy. If you are holding the 2/4 to gain a pair on the flop - that's just nuts as well. Great, you have a pair of 2's, but there are 2 other cards on that flop - with 2 more coming - and if I have one of them, mine are higher than yours.

If you try to force your hand, you may catch what you are looking for sometimes. But you may also get beat with your pair of 2's because I have higher.

Everyone plays differently, but the odds say, if I play as tight as I do, and you play so lose that you are willing to play 2/4 suited - I would probably beat you most of the time. Someone said earlier that you should fold about 70% of your hole cards - I do live by that. Play tight - play like you are going to be playing for hours. Do not take the risks of playing 2/4 - wait until you get that good hand and stick it to 'em. Just my opinion

Ya also tourneys are harder because you cant study the ppl your about to play
you're constantly being transferred from table to table and you have no idea who your opponents are
im talkin about online tourneys of course

i always fold low cards unless i am in the blinds and i have nothing to loose

if you dont know what to do u probly shouldnt commit all your money

hey everyone, new poster here. just my 2 cents:



im a very tight player, but i hardly limp in. im either folding my hand or im raising with it. the only time i like to limp is when i have small pockets [2s-6s] i find if im in good position and i know the players to the left of me arent over aggressive i might get lucky and flop a set. if theres a raise its easy for me to fold my hand. mid pockets [7s-10s] are also hand i can limp in with and also call a small raise with because i can hit a set and also if its low cards on the board with no draws i can play my hand accordingly. high pockets [Js-As] are they hands i like raise/reraise with to narrow the field and get all the draws out. on the flop you can bet to how you see fit. i personally like to bet strong on the flop even if i hit a set or theres an over card (and i have a good read on my opponent). i bet strong [on sets] because i dont believe in slow playing and letting someone catch. and also if i get called or dont get called, i like to show im betting into a big hand because it opens the doors for well timed bluffs later on.

playing suited connectors (usually mid - high) is a bit tricky. depending on what position im in and how the players to left to me are. if im in late position and its limp ins, then ill limp and see if i get lucky. if its early ill usually fold (even if everyone limps in after) i dont want to commit myself and be forced to call a small raise. high suits like 10/J, J/Q, etc is worth a small raise call, though.

playing A-2 - A-9 suited and off suit. lol, people call me crazy for this, but i fold a lot of these hands if they're not suited. why? because if an Ace flops and kicker plays theres a chance you are out kicked..even with a 9 kicker. if they're suited i find them to be worth a call or a small raise, just because i might flop the nut flush or nut flush draw.

A-10 - A-K. i like playing these hands suited or unsuited. ill raise with A/K in late position, but just call with A-10 - A-Q. A-10 is the "tricky" hand in this group because of the kicker, but i find if i flop two face cards, im willing to call small bets to see if i can hit my gut shot straight. especially if i believe my opponent is also chasing/or hit a card smaller then an ace (so if an ace hits i might be able to scare him off.) its also really easy to know when to fold the A-10. A-J - A-K is a bit harder to lay down, but good to know when you're beat.

something i keep in mind with playing dangerous hands [Q/9, K/10, J/K, etc] i find these hands are tempting to call with and if you hit you could be tempted to play. you could win, but then you could also lose a lot if you find yourself chasing. these are cards where i rely more on position and the other players then on the hand itself. if you're in late postion and theres no raise, then its an easy call. if its early on i usually fold if im looking at aggressive players after me. to me if the hand isnt worth calling a raise, then its probably not worth a limp in. [just dont kick yourself if you end up floping the nuts.]

...sorry, long post.

I fold a LOT of marginal hands. Seems the more I fold the more I make, however, there are some times when the opportunity presents itself say in late pos lots folders that I dont mind calling with marginal hands. Plus it throws people off when your 89 or 78 flops set or boat or two pair they usually have u on face cards or have kk or qq or jj will raise u all the way to river.

Be selective, stay out of 9 ways action pots unless can see cheap.

yep latley i been very careful playing my hands i usally fold more then i play probaly by 60 percent i fold i only play connecters or high face cards some times ill take a chance with low pockts but mostly i fold. plus depends on postion

I fold about 70% of my hands. If it's not worth raising, you should fold it, unless in position. I'll only play high cards, pocket pairs, any suited connectors above 3 4, and any cards that are suited with a king or an ace. Again though, I will muck most of these hands if I am facing a raise or out of position. However, as people start to drop you out. you have to remember that the value of starting hands go up. If I was first to act pre-flop in a nine player game, I'd fold Ace 7 every time, but when the table drops to three or four, I would likely raise about 3 times the big blind. A good guide of hands to play is in Doyle Brunson's Super System.

always call yeah