{"id":1274,"date":"2016-03-31T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T14:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travisheermann.com\/blog\/?p=1274"},"modified":"2020-05-16T14:29:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-16T20:29:00","slug":"the-eternal-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travisheermann.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/31\/the-eternal-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Poker Hand – The Eternal Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tip #1:\u00a0Play Fewer Hands And Play Them Aggressively<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There is a limit on how many starting hands you can play before the flop in No Limit Texas\u00a0Hold\u2019em, even for the world\u2019s best players. If you try to play too many hands, you\u2019ll bleed away your chip stack (unless lady luck is on your side).<\/p>\n

Developing a solid preflop poker strategy is by far the easiest and fastest way to improve your bottom line.<\/strong> However, while developing solid preflop ranges is relatively easy to do (like by downloading our free preflop charts) having the discipline to stick to them is difficult. Don\u2019t allow yourself to get impatient and play a hand not worth playing. Learn for free at DominoQQ<\/a><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The best approach is to play a tight range of strong and\/or playable hands, and you need to play those hands aggressively.<\/strong>\u00a0Playing\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0of your hands aggressively, including the more speculative ones like 7? 6? or 5? 5?, allows you to disguise the strength of your actual hand.<\/p>\n

When you raise, your opponents won\u2019t know whether you have A-A, A-K, or 7-6, which makes you super tough to play against. Tight and aggressive wins the game!<\/p>\n

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Tip #2:\u00a0Don\u2019t Be The First Player To Limp<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Limping (just calling the big blind preflop) is an absolute no-no as the first player to enter a pot. There are two main reasons why this play should be avoided:<\/p>\n

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  1. You can\u2019t win the pot before the flop like you could if you raised.<\/li>\n
  2. You give the players behind very enticing pot odds, making it more likely you face multiple players and thus less likely you win the pot.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The only acceptable situation in which to limp is when at least one other player has already limped. This is called over-limping, and it can be a good play because you are getting great\u00a0pot odds\u00a0to join the action so you can hit something good on the flop, hopefully.<\/p>\n

    Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Want to upgrade your poker skills?\u00a0Get our free preflop charts\u00a0<\/strong>and start playing like a pro before the flop.\u00a0Download now!
    \n<\/strong>\"\"<\/p>\n

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    Tip #3:\u00a0Semi-Bluff Aggressively with Your Draws
    \n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    If you want to truly crush poker, you need to bluff effectively. But bluffing ineffectively is one of the fastest ways to lose your money at the table. So, how do you keep your bluffing frequency under control?<\/p>\n

    The most effective way to bluff is to let the cards you have dictate if you are going to bluff or not.\u00a0<\/strong>This means bluffing with hands that have outs to improve to the best\u00a0hand on a later street, such as straight draws, flush draws, or even just an overcard or two to the board.<\/p>\n

    Think of these draws as your backup plan in case your bluff gets called.<\/p>\n

    \"semi-bluff<\/p>\n

    Poker players call these hands \u201csemi-bluffs\u201d because of their potential beyond the bluff itself. You can learn more about semi-bluffing\u00a0here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    When you\u2019re just starting out, bluffing with total nothing hands prior to the river is not advisable (except in one situation that I\u2019ll tell you about shortly).<\/p>\n\n\n