How to Bet

A bet is a declaration that you have a good hand. When a player raises, they are proclaiming they have the best hand and they’ll wager money on it. Typically, players are supposed to raise when they have a good hand and those who have a bad hand are suppose to fold. If everyone stuck to this policy, there would be no need for any strategy. However, most players play contrary to this idea and attempt to be cunning and deceptive. The following descriptions are strategic plays:

Blind-Stealing: When you are on the dealer button and only you have the blinds are left, a raise is often called blind-stealing. This may cause the blinds to fold, stead of simply checking. This strategy will never make you rich, but ends the game fast so you may be dealt a new hand (and adds a few chips to your stack).

Blind stealing is a tremendous tactic within a tournament game, especially when the blinds become very high.

Steal-Raise: If you are the last to act and all players have checked to you, a simple raise can limit the number of active players or take the pot. This move is only recommended if you’ve hit a piece of the flop and want to see where you stand.

Check-Raising: The act of checking to your opponent with the intention of luring them to raise, so that you can reraise them back. Your intention is to lure them to feel secure about their hand and betting so you can reraise back at them. For example, I was in early position and was holding AQ and the flop came down as Q-A-A. I didn’t want to scare anyone out of the pot so I checked and waited for someone to bet. My opponent bets, and I raise him back with a substantial amount that kept him thinking for a minute.

The Opener: Raising when you’re first to act. This strategy is used to limit the number of players and is an information bet (usually players with strong hands will call). Many will fold, but the ones remaining will either be equally aggressive or truly have a good hand.

Squeezing: Raising when suspecting another player or players may be on a draw (players looking for a straight, flush, etc). Raising discourages players taking a chance on their draws. For example, I was holding a suited hand J10, and the flop came down as 2-A-8 with two clubs on the community. One more club would have gave me a strong flush possibility, but my opponent bet a strong amount that wasn’t worth gambling if I didn’t hit my flush.

Lesson One:
Texas Holdem Image and Poker Personality
Profiling your opponents style of play

Lesson Two:
Factors of a Texas Holdem Game
Points to consider when entering a table

Lesson Three:
The First Five Minutes
Pinpoint the sucker and avoid being the sucker

Lesson Four:
Poker Position
NL texas holdem is all about people and position

Lesson Five:
How to Bet
The different styles of betting in texas holdem

Lesson Six:
Bluffing 101
When to bluff and how to bluff properly

Lesson Seven:
Poker Tells
The ability to read your opponents

Lesson Eight:
Choosing Your Hand Preflop
Recommended hands for you to play preflop