If you have only just began to play Texas Holdem online the thought of sitting down at more than one table probably scares you half to death. Whilst the thought of playing multiple tables simultaneously can be quite daunting at first, once you have learned how to do it efficiently and effectively you will wonder why you were so worried in the first place.

The first thing you need to do is to take your time and add tables gradually. If you attempt to go from playing a single table to play four at a time you will quickly become overwhelmed with the increased number of decisions you need to make, more likely lose money and quit your quest to be a multi-tabling regular in an instant poker is here for the long term so there is no race to add extra tables. Start by adding an extra table and once you are comfortable with two add a third and so on, until you reach your maximum.

Ensure that you have no distractions around you such as the television in the background or your favourite messenger service on your laptop. Playing multiple tables requires you to concentrate fully so minimising anything that can take away some of your brain power needs to be done before you start playing.

Increasing the number of tables you are playing will reduce your ability to obtain reads on your opponents so using poker software such as Holdem Manager or Poker Tracker is essential. These programs take the hand histories that the poker site writes to your hard drive and displays them in a database format so that you can view all your statistics and those of your opponents. Whilst this in itself is worth the price of the software, the Heads-Up Display, or HUD, is the crown jewel as it takes the aforementioned information and displays it on your screen in real time. This allows you to instantly know exactly how your opponents are playing and some say having a HUD is better than having a dozen reads on your opponent.

Until you have observed that your opponent is three-betting lightly then the best action to take is to simply fold and wait for a better spot. This may sound weak but unless the person three-betting is doing so lightly and is a poor player post-flop, you risk losing a large pot when you call and then hit one of your cards. Also, your passive play by simply calling means you have to hit the flop in order to win the pot so you will generally only win a small pot when your opponent is bluffing or lose a large one when you pair one of your hole cards but your opponent has a dominating one.

As an example, imagine you raise preflop with AcJc, get three-bet and call. Both you and your opponent see a flop of Ad5hQs and although you have flopped top pair, you are in a difficult spot as your opponent could easily have flopped a set of aces, kings, queens or hold a better ace such as ace-king or two pairs with ace-queen.

One option to consider is to re-take the initiative and make a four-bet. This would almost certainly be the default play with a premium hand in poker cash games but with hands such as ace-jack can be troublesome at best, especially if your opponent then shoves on you. Because with hands such as king-queen and ace-jack you are rarely four-betting for value so you may as well be doing it with hands that could potentially hit the flop very hard, such as nine-eight suited and similar.

The only other real alternative is to tighten up in that particular position or if the three-betting becomes too much simly stand up and find a different table!

When discussing hands you have played the most obvious detail you should begin with is the type of game you were playing as there are distinct differences between what the optimal play would be in a cash game or in a tournament scenario. The second piece of information required would be the stakes that the hand took place it. This is because as you move up in stakes players are generally more skilled and therefore require a different approach to a player at lower stakes. Would you play a hand at the World Series of Poker the same was as you would in a $1 rebuy tournament online? I sincerely hope that you would not! Whilst the example here is very polarised, even a slight change in stakes can alter people’s views on how a hand should have been played.

Once the game type and stakes have been outlined you should start by mentioning the position, in relation to the dealer button, each of the active players, including yourself, were seated. This is because it is standard to play tighter in early position and looser when near the button, a raise from under the gun should be given more credit than an open-raise in late position.

Stack sizes are also important, especially so in a poker tournament. Again this is to do with a player’s range of possible hands as a short-stacked player moving all-in should be given less credit for a strong hand then someone with a more substantial amount of chips. Stack sizes are also needed to see if you or your opponents had the implied odds to call a bet.

Before you even mention any hole cards you need to describe the table images of both yourself and the active players in the hand. As with all the previous elements, knowing if a player is loose, tight, passive or aggressive helps to make a more accurate picture of their possible holdings. Knowing how the table perceive you is also extremely important as if you have been caught bluffing your bets and raises will get less credit, whilst if you have been tight then your opponents will probably adjust and play a narrower range of hands against you.

Finally, now you can mention your hole cards! You should see here that although important in the game itself, your cards and those of your opponents are just a small part of what actually makes up a typical poker hand.

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!

The term isolate refers to a raise you make in order to attempt to get into a one-on-one situation with the player you are trying to isolate and is more common in a cash game than in a poker tournament. This strategy is extremely effective against habitual limpers or very loose players who are raising preflop with a wide range of hands.

Isolating is effective in that you will often win the pot preflop when the limper or initial raiser folds, you will win more than your fair share of pots when they call you and you make a continuation bet and when you are called you will have the best hand the majority of the time anyway.

The biggest downfall to isolating is the fact you will have extra money invested in the pot, particularly if you have three-bet preflop, which could put you in a very difficult position if someone left to act after you makes a further raise, though these situations are usually quite rare. If you play Texas Holdem at mid-stakes or higher and are frequently isolating players then expect the better players to make this move, also known as re-isolating, on you from time to time. In situations like this one any notes you have on the player in question become extremely valuable.

Solid, aggressive plays are key to becoming a successful poker player and praying on weakness is one such play. As you progress through the limits, weak players become more and more scarce so being able to locate them and then get them heads-up is very important indeed.

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.

We will all have faced this type of player during poker careers and they are especially noticeable if your choice of discipline is the cash game. They will call preflop regardless of the size of the raise made before them and they will be almost impossible to push off a hand, even one as weak as bottom pair.

How many times have you raised a limper preflop with Ace-King, seen a flop of A-9-6 and managed to get it all-in only to find that the limper was limping with nine-six offsuit? They show up with so many crazy holdings, and it often seems like they flop the weirdest two-pair hands when you have top pair top kicker that they can put even the most patient and controlled poker player on tilt.

If you come across one of these players the first thing that should enter your head is that they are almost always losing players, in fact if I were to hazard at a guess I would say over 99% of this type of player is a losing one, simply because you cannot cheat the mathematics of poker for too long and playing like this will soon see you go bust. You need to say this over and over again in your head if they are constantly sucking out on you to stop you going on tilt as you will get your money back from them eventually, as long as you do not tilt it off to someone else at your table that is.

The best approach for these players is to simply continue to play your usual game against them, although limit the bluffing post flop in my opinion. Preflop you should attempt to isolate them with a wide range of hands and try to get into a heads-up pot with them so when you do flop a strong hand, even one as weak as top pair, you can value bet it to the maximum and hope to stack one of the weakest player types there is.

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• 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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In the hand Josh Arieh raised to 225,000 holding Kh9s and was called by Greg Raymer, a big chip leader, who was dealt Ac2c. The action folded to Dan Harrington who, holding one of the worst hands in Hold’em in 6h2d, raised to 1,200,000 leaving himself just another 1,120,000 chips behind. Another player folded and then David Williams folded AsQc before both Arieh and Raymer also folded, leaving Harrington with a 600,000 chip profit.

On the surface this looks like a reckless bluff but in reality it was an amazing play based on number of factors. Firstly, Josh Arieh had been opening a lot of pots in the past few orbits so his preflop raise was not necessarily a sign of great strength. Harrington correctly decides that when Raymer flat calls he is doing so with a wide range of hands so he pulls the trigger.

As Harrington decided to squeeze poker hand strength is irrelevant although most players would prefer to attempt this move with a hand that was more robust but because Harrington has a reputation for playing very tight his large raise could quite easily be a hand like Aces or Kings. Add to the fact he leaves himself with under a pot-sized bet in his stack, indicating he is prepared to go all-in, meaning anyone who calls is not only calling the 1,200,000 bet but Harrington’s entire 2,320,000 stack, his bet looks extremely strong which is why David Williams folded a hand as strong as Ace-Queen.

For the squeeze play to be successful the table dynamics need to be perfect as they were in Harrington’s hand. You need to have a relatively tight image and have not shown down many sub-premium hands recently and both your own stack and that of your opponents needs to be at certain size so that it looks like you are prepared to go all the way with your hand and that by calling your opponents risk a large percentage of their own stacks. As mentioned, the play is a great way to pick up chips in a tournament but use it sparingly otherwise you could be left in a spot where you are putting all of your chips in the middle with a marginal hand.