There are also quite hundreds of websites with online resources where you can search and learn about how to start and even more online poker rooms where to start practicing. Many websites include full poker sessions with comments and analysis. Poker is a very interesting game, and nowadays beginners have at their disposal much, much more than those before them. They better take advantage of this!

If you’d like to know what are the best hands in Texas Hold ‘Em poker, here’s a quick reference list. When your two hold cards have been dealt, if you hold any of these hands, be sure to stay in the game. You have a very good chance of winning.

Poker Starting Hand #1. Ace-Ace

Everybody knows this is one of the best poker hands one can hope for. It wins more than any other hand. Other names for the Ace-Ace are American Airlines, bullets or pocket rockets.

Poker Starting Hand #2. King-King

After two Aces this is the next strongest hand. Being the second best hand, this is still extremely strong. A pair of kings are also knows as ‘cowboys’.

Poker Starting Hand #3. Queen-Queen

Holding two queens may not be as strong as holding a pair of kings or a pair of aces, but you can pretty much beat anything below.

Poker Starting Hand #4. Ace-King

Ace-King is generally a strong hand in online poker, but just how strong it is will depend largely on the flop. If the flop is able to provide you with a pair of aces or kings to complete your set, then you have a winning hand.  A suited Ace-King is typically stronger than an unsuited Ace-King, because reaching a flush is easier.
5. Jack-Jack
Holding a pair of Jacks gives you a fair chance at winning. Unless the flop reveals an ace, king or queen, you’re definitely a front –runner in the game.

Poker Starting Hand #6. Ace-Queen

Ace-Queen is also a strong hand. If suited, it should win 20% of the time during the game.

Poker Starting Hand #7. King-Queen

If you are dealt a King-Queen, it will definitely work to your advantage. This hand is only at risk if an Ace is shown in the flop.

Poker Starting Hand #8. Ace-Jack

An Ace-Jack is another great hand, especially when suited.

Poker Starting Hand #9. King-Jack

If you hold a King-Jack, you do have a fair shot at winning, especially if you are in later positions in the game and also if the King-Jack is suited. Remember though, it can be beat by the other strong hands and if a big raise has been made, your smartest move would be to fold.

Poker Starting Hand #10. Ace-Ten

Ace-ten is another decent hand to have. If you’re lucky enough that the flop holds a King, Queen and Jack, then you’re on your way to winning poker games.

• Be aggressive about getting the best seat in the best game

Make sure you spot the best seats and the best game. Place yourself in such a way that you have more passive players to your left and aggressive players to your right. Do not be afraid to ask for a seat change if you think you would be better off somewhere else. And never change your seat because you think it’s unlucky; people who do this are not the best poker players.

Betting – Try to analyze your and your opponents play…

Analyze your own betting strategy instead of blindly placing a bet when impulse dictates. Understand that placing a bet will accomplish certain outcomes and will also allow other players to analyze the amount you bet and gather information about your hand as well.

Be Tight – Always play a tight stile

By playing fewer hands in early positions, you are making sure that you’re not risking money on just any hand. Wait for the right time and the right play.

Be Hungry for a Win – Its all a quesetion of your attitude…

Make sure that you come to your game eager to win and not afraid to play the game aggressively in order to do so. Never feel guilty about taking money from someone, you’ve come there to win and that is what you should focus on. Identify the weak players and take advantage of their weakness. Letting emotions come into play will only damage your game.

Calculate Well – Keep your mind clear for some math

Thoroughly understand how to calculate pot odds and your outs. It’s very important for a good poker player to master the art of probability- it will help you make every decision and if your inferences are right, then it will very likely lead you to a win.

Be Alerted – Always stay focused…

A huge part of the game is the psychology and analysis involved. Note the behavioral and betting patterns of the other players. Put them in categories, loose, tight, passive and aggressive. Observe their tells and listen well. Most players will reveal something or the other during the game, and this is information that can be used to your advantage when it comes to making important decisions.

Go Slow – Always take your time to act

Playing in a cash game has the advantage that you can take your time to pause and think your decision through before proceeding. Instinct is different from impulse and make sure you are aware which is driving your action before you take it.

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Crucial to know when to fold!

The main mistakes poker players make is folding either too early or too late. When new players get in on the game, it’s quite common for them to be extra careful and at times, they end up throwing in their cards at the first sign of a potentially bad game. And while this move may sometimes pay off, it’s definitely not a way to win.

A tip to follow, if you have a hand that you’re not feeling particularly confident about, (like a middle pair) it does not necessarily mean that you have to fold. Analyze the table and try to get a feel of the game. If you appear to be in an advantageous position, don’t fold. Instead, if you try and raise before the flop, your stance might intimidate the rest of the players causing them to fold early, and therefore increasing your odds. Playing and winning with a mediocre hand actually adds an interesting component to your game which is, an element of unpredictability. Other players will not be able to know or read your game, as they would have, if you had consistently played good hands.
Now, let’s take a look at the other kind of players. The ones who play with whatever hand they have, good, bad or just okay. Just because you hold one or two cards of high ranking does not mean that you should follow the entire game right to the river. Similarly, a player who holds a possible flush ends up ‘chasing’ the game, by trying to make a flush, again right to the river.

Try to understand the difference between bad strategy and strong play.  When playing, always keep in mind your hand and your stack. Fold your hand, if you know that you have nothing. Playing would only jeopardize your position in the game.
A mistake most new players make is that they assume that folding in poker is giving up or backing down. It means neither. Folding is like any other play in poker, and is a strategy. Folding allows the player to be a spectator and then jump back into the game when the time is right. A real poker pro knows when to get out and when to get back in.

Online Poker Rakeback

Knowing when to fold and knowing when to stay in the game is as important as any other decision in playing poker. Another thing is Poker Rakeback. Playing poker without getting rakeback is just stupid. If you play poker you pay rake, now imagine how much bigger your winrate becomes if you get 30-50% rakeback on top of your poker income. Even loosing players can get winners thanks to a good rakeback deal!

Never Show Your Cards When the Hand is Still in Play

This is one of the most important rules of etiquette in the game – never show your cards before the hand has played out.  This is poor etiquette, and in some casinos you can even be fined for doing this. If you do reveal your cards when you hold a great hand, it will be your loss, as this may be viewed as you folding.
If you fold, make sure you do so without revealing the hand that you held. If you do, it may change the course of action that other players might take in the game.

Do Not Play Out of Turn

Always wait till it’s your turn to either raise or fold. Do not jump in before it’s your turn – doing so can give other players too much information and again, change how the game plays out.

Don’t Talk About Your Cards or Over-react

Once you’ve folded your hand, you might feel like chatting about it, but in doing so, other players who are still in the game might overhear and make inferences based on what you’re saying.
Similarly, if you fold before the flop and then realize that you could have hit a great hand once you’ve seen the flop, don’t exclaim or react in a way that would allow the other players to realize it too. This gives an unfair advantage to some players and makes the game harder for others.

Do Not Splash the Pot

Splashing the pot is when a player tosses his bet into the pot in such a way that his/her chips cannot be distinguished from the rest of the pot. This slows down the game and is very bad etiquette. Make sure you stack your chips neatly in front of you, before you slide them over to the pot.

Do Not Call and Raise at the Same Time

Never make string bets – there is certainly no need to call someone’s bet and then raise it another amount. This is a rule in casinos. If you would like to raise, then raise directly. Do not call first, as this usually means that all you can do is ‘call’ and that you cannot consecutively raise too.

Never be Rude Or Mean to Your Opponents/Dealer

There is never any excuse for anyone in any game to be rude or mean to other players. You may be outraged by your losing streak or a bad hand, but that is certainly no reason for cursing or snapping at your opponents at the table. Be polite and composed. If you seem to be the victim of verbal abuse, do not retaliate. Maintain a civilized, respectful attitude and it can only do you good.
Likewise, do not get angry at the dealer for a bad hand or blame them for the outcome. They do not control the way the cards are dealt.

Pay Attention to the Game

Don’t be a nuisance and have people keep reminding you when it’s your turn because you’re too distracted talking on your phone or day dreaming to pay attention to the game. Stay on top of the game and don’t lose focus.

It is a well known fact that the skill of the average poker player has increased in recent years and it has become more difficult to make money from the game. That is not to say poker is no longer profitable, in fact quite the opposite is true but now in order to become a regular winner you need to continually improve you game.

One of the most popular ways to do this is to sign up to a poker school and take advantage of the knowledge of winning players through various forms such as videos, tutorials, forums and one-to-one coaching. Most training sites now have something for everyone but some still specialise in one particular format so be aware of this before you sign up and financially commit yourself.

You should be aware that joining a poker school you do not have a given right to suddenly become a winning player or someone who goes from a moderate winner to someone who crushes the games. In order to get the best out of a training site you need to put in a lot of effort and hard work, not simply watch the videos or read the forums available to you.

Whilst watching the videos make sure you take some detailed notes on particular plays you or the author thought were interesting or difficult and discuss them with fellow members or poker playing friends. If there is something you do not understand then ask the author personally or post the question on the forum. There is nothing worse than trying to apply some theory at the table when you do not understand why you are doing so.

Also, be aware that many of the training sites are geared towards mid-stakes poker where players are wanting to either progress to the high-stakes or earn more money at their current level. There is little in the way of micro-stakes footage and much of the content out there will be completely lost on opponents at the lowest levels of poker as they simply will not understand what you are doing when you make a certain move on them.

If you play at the other end of the spectrum and are a high-stakes regular then training sites are probably not for you either. Players of $5/$10 and above usually have a very good understanding of the game and as a result you will probably already be aware of some of the concepts the coach is trying to get across in their material.

Training sites are a great tool for a player who wants to develop their skills or learn a new game but you only get out of them what you put in.

Something I see regularly in my local casino game is players determined to show their hole cards at the end of a hand. They will always show if they have bluffed or they will show that they are folding what they perceive to be a strong hand but my argument is you should very rarely show your hole cards ever.

Poker is a game played with incomplete information and it is how we piece together the little scraps of information that determines whether our reads on a particular player are correct or not. By showing your hole cards at any point during the hand, you are giving away free information to your opponents.

The first piece of information you supply to your observant opponents is what type of hands you play in a particular position at the table. This info is extremely valuable and if you do it often enough a good opponent will be able to deduce if you are positionally aware or not and act accordingly.

Showing you have laid down a strong hand has some merits as it shows you are capable of making big lay-downs and are therefore a solid player but it also shows a decent opponent that you can be bluffed off a strong hand if the situation is correct. A good, adaptable player will then start to attempt to bluff you at every opportunity.

Revealing your cards after a bluff also has some merits in that it can be the catalyst to putting someone on tilt but again a good opponent will reply how you played the hand in their head and start to be aware of how you act when you are running a bluff. Showing a bluff can also help create an image of a crazy player which again has pros an cons. The good thing about this is you will almost certainly get action on your big, made hands but you will get played back at so often that a lot of playable hands will be finding their way to the muck on a regular basis.

Something else I have seen recently is revealing just one of the hole cards whilst the hand is in progress. Whilst it is not allowed in tournament play, it is within the poker cash games rules although the rule differs from casino to casino currently. It adds a new psychological aspect to the game but the above statements also apply to showing just a single hole card.

Calling

If the player answers “yes”, then the draw maybe worth chasing, since there is a greater likelihood that after the player hits the draw, he will pay him off. In this case, calling is best, since a reraise might force the opponent to 4-bet the draw – making it fold.

Raising

If the flop was not likely to hit the opponent, raising the bet maybe a good option for two reasons: 1) the opponent might just be bluffing and fold, 2) if he does not fold, the turn may hit the draw and the player will win that way. Raising also builds the pot, so in the case that the opponent calls to see a turn card, if the draw hits, the opponent will have a much harder time folding since the pot will be very big at that point.

Folding

Folding is usually not the best option to play a draw but in some circumstances, it can be argued that the best option to fold. First, if your Full Tilt Poker opponent does not have a big stack, chasing the draw is usually not mathematically correct. That is because the opponent simply does not have enough chips to pay the draw off properly if it hits. Secondly, the bet the opponent makes on the flop has to be taken into consideration. What percentage of the pot did the opponent bet? Is the opponent giving the player with the draw proper odds to call? If not, certainly a fold is not a bad choice. Last, if the board is paired, draws should usually be folded. This is because even when the draw hits, the player will still not know if he has the best hand or not, since a full house will be possible.

Bankroll management basically involves playing at a certain levels and buy-ins to help prevent yourself from going broke at the poker table. You have to set yourself limits to where you can play poker due to the variance found in every poker game. There are always going to be times where you have runs of bad luck that you cannot control, and you will lose money due to the bad runs of cards, and not necessarily due to any bad play. Therefore there is no use in putting all of your poker money on one table, because there is a good chance that you will lose it all and not be able to continue playing poker.

As a result, it is important that we have a large enough bankroll to absorb the effects of this variance so that we can continue to play poker even when we have very bad runs of cards. In addition, we don’t want to go over the top and play at micro levels with a huge bankroll because it is unlikely that we will go broke, and we want to give ourselves the opportunity to win a decent amount of money from our poker sessions. Therefore there are useful rules that you can follow to make sure that you give yourself the best opportunity to make money from poker without going broke.

In Texas Hold em cash games, you should never put more than 5% of your bankroll onto the table at any time. So if you want to play in $1/$2 cash games and intend to buy in for the full amount, you should have a bankroll of at least $4000. This will then give you enough room to take a few bad beats and losing sessions, but still be able to continue playing poker without the fear of going broke.

Another way of looking at the 5% rule is to remember that you should have 20 times the maximum buy in of the level you wish to play at in your bankroll. Most online poker rooms offer a wide range of limits, so it is perfectly possible to keep your bankroll under control, no matter how large or small it might be. Alternatively, if you are a tournament player, you should have around 40 buy-ins minimum for the level of tournaments you wish to play in.

It is important to remember however that bankroll management is only useful if you intend to play poker regularly, and that you are a winning player. If you only play poker casually then it is not as important to have a set bankroll, but to just be careful with your money instead. In addition, bankroll management will have no effect on your moneymaking endeavours if you are a losing poker player. However, bankroll management will slow down the time it takes for you to lose the money if you are used to playing at higher stakes.

Common Staking Deals

Usually players who stake each other work on either a stake back or stake not returned basis. Staking someone with stake back means that if they win money you get your stake back and then the profits are split. Stake not returned means that any money that remains in the bankroll after the stake is completed gets divided up, including the original stake money.

Staking deals do vary when it comes to the percentage profit split. Players who know each other and are friends outside the game are much more likely to agree a 50/50 player and staker split. However some stakers want a high percentage because they are assuming all the financial risk. As a player anything above a 40% share is good. As the person doing the staking you want to get the biggest percentage of profits you can.

Types Of Stakes

There are two main types of stakes; one off stakes and bankroll stakes. A one off stake is pretty self explanatory, the player is staked to play one event which is usually a multi table tournament. Bankroll stakes are more long term and involve the staker providing a bankroll to the player and then setting them a certain number of games or hours to play before splitting what remains. Cash players are more likely to receive bankroll stakes and tournament players are more likely to get one off stakes.

Benefits Of Staking

As someone staking someone else the benefits are pretty obvious. You win a percentage of whatever they win. However, you need to be sure the player you are backing is good enough to play in the game you are staking them for. Often financially well off players will stake up and coming players in big events like the WSOP hoping to make a big score.

If you are the player being staked then you get the chance to play poker with someone else’s money. This means that you are playing pretty much risk free. The problem is if you do win you have to give a large percentage of the profits away.